Swimmers - light/moderate or vigorous effort?

nadler64
nadler64 Posts: 124 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
There's certainly no guidance, so when I'm picking which cardio to log, I don't know if I should be picking "Swimming laps - light/moderate" or "Swimming laps - fast/vigorous." I typically do 1800 yards (36 laps) in under 40 minutes. Anybody else out there curious about this?

Replies

  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
    From what I remember from most of the studies that are used to compile the METs data (from which MFP gets their numbers), the bar for "vigorous" in any exercise is awfully high. Unless you're a competitive athlete in training, go with nothing higher than "moderate".
  • MikeLeTwigg
    MikeLeTwigg Posts: 162 Member
    My personal definition

    Light pulse in zone 1-2 should be able to maintain a conversation

    Moderate pulse zone 3-4 can speak but short phrases

    Vigorous pulse zone 4-5 can't talk too busy sucking in all available oxygen
  • luluinca
    luluinca Posts: 2,899 Member
    I'm a swimmer too and have found the calorie burns here a bit off for swimming.....I use this site to determine an approximate calorie burn.............good luck with your goals!

    http://www.swimmingcalculator.com/swim_calories_calculator.php
  • nadler64
    nadler64 Posts: 124 Member
    luluinca, that calculator is awesome, thank you! Just bookmarked it. It just confirmed what I suspected - at my usual pace light/moderate isn't enough and vigorous is too much. I'm just about exactly in the middle. I'll either have to split my time between the two or create my own.
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
    luluinca wrote: »
    I'm a swimmer too and have found the calorie burns here a bit off for swimming.....I use this site to determine an approximate calorie burn.............good luck with your goals!

    http://www.swimmingcalculator.com/swim_calories_calculator.php

    Using my own weight loss records, I determined that both MFP and the swimmingcalculator site overestimate my calorie burn for swimming. I swim 2700 yards in 72 minutes; MFP says this is upwards of 750 calories, and the swimming calculator says it's closer to 800. But based on the calorie deficit generated from exercise that I calculated from my own weight loss records, I put my average workout burn closer to about 650 calories.

    I think that the error comes from the fact that some people are just more efficient swimmers than others. I have a pretty good stroke (if I say so myself!). I'm far from the fastest kid in the pool, but the folks who are moving a lot faster than I am also have a much higher stroke rate than I do.

    So, even though by the low=can sing; mod = can talk but not sing; high = can't talk" method, I definitely fit in the "moderate" intensity category, I log my my regular 72 minute/ 2700 yard swim "light/moderate effort" for 60 minutes, which comes out to about 652 calories. This comes much closer to what my actual weight loss/ calorie deficit seems to be.
  • debbiewade55
    debbiewade55 Posts: 12 Member
    I know this is an old thread, but luluinca, thank you for the link. Actually, the calories from the calculator and the light/moderate effort calculation on my fitness pal are within 30 calories. Good to know!
  • GrumpyHeadmistress
    GrumpyHeadmistress Posts: 666 Member
    Wow, I've been massively underestimating my calories! I've been using the figure of 450 for my 2500m swims but apparently it should be 715!
  • TheCupcakeCounter
    TheCupcakeCounter Posts: 606 Member
    I wish they didn't bundle them like that. There is a huge difference (in my opinion) between light and moderate effort. I usually log it as light/moderate because what I do now is a lot less intense than what I did in HS swim practice and I would rather underestimate my calorie burn than over.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    MikeLeTwigg wrote: »
    My personal definition

    Light pulse in zone 1-2 should be able to maintain a conversation

    Moderate pulse zone 3-4 can speak but short phrases

    Vigorous pulse zone 4-5 can't talk too busy sucking in all available oxygen

    I have a hard time talking at all while swimming. There's no one close enough to talk to, plus I don't how to talk with my face in the water. I just use "light to moderate effort".
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    I always log my swimming as light exercise, moderate when I am completely exhausted and can barely walk in the end. Even if I feel like dying, calories are burned based on distance covered mostly, and my speed and overall distance are nowhere close to what an athlete could achieve, so no "vigorous" for me :)
  • Emily3907
    Emily3907 Posts: 1,461 Member
    I am just a beginner, so I always log as light effort and then take about 30% off the total.
  • SarahLascelles1
    SarahLascelles1 Posts: 95 Member
    You can manually over write the calorie burn if you have info from whatever
  • SarahLascelles1
    SarahLascelles1 Posts: 95 Member
    Sorry, information from elsewhere. Auto correct fail...
  • Donostio
    Donostio Posts: 3 Member
    Old thread, but in case anyone is listening still...
    I use my Garmin watch to record swimming sessions which syncs with Garmin Connect, which then syncs with MFP. However fast I go in group training sessions on a Thursday night MFP only tags these sessions as 'light-moderate'. I thought it was a bit of a slap in the face, but this thread has reassured me that vigorous is a very high bar! Probably only sustainable for 100-200m for most non-professionals...
    So if you're recording manually 'light-moderate' is a good effort!
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    Donostio wrote: »
    Old thread, but in case anyone is listening still...
    I use my Garmin watch to record swimming sessions which syncs with Garmin Connect, which then syncs with MFP. However fast I go in group training sessions on a Thursday night MFP only tags these sessions as 'light-moderate'. I thought it was a bit of a slap in the face, but this thread has reassured me that vigorous is a very high bar! Probably only sustainable for 100-200m for most non-professionals...
    So if you're recording manually 'light-moderate' is a good effort!

    Aw, it’s not a slap in the face. Just look at the bigger picture. It might be a vigorous effort for “you” but not compared to a what high level competitive swimmer would burn.

    I might feel running a 13 min mile is vigorous for-me but is crawling compared to a 4-6 min mile.

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