Swimming tips for weight loss

i eat pretty much the same things as when i'm not swimming, my calorie goal is about 1400 per day before exercise. I started at 20 minute sessions and just this week increased to 40 minutes at what would be considered a low-to-moderate workout. 40 min burns approx 400 calories according to the MFP app (which I generally eat back about half of the recorded calories for exercise). Once a week I have a hard/vigerous workout which ups the calories earned a bit.

i paid for swim lessons in September and have been able to use that to increase my efficiency and workout out generally... prior to this i couldn't do even half a lap. I'm still kind of awful, but I improving awful. I now have a pretty set warmup, drills, and workout which helps me feel like i'm getting somewhere and i can generally track my improvements in the water, as well as on the scale.

the hunger after swimming is real so be prepared for it. definitely make sure you have your snacks and all that ready to go, or you'll overeat and waste the effort in the water

good luck!

I just wrote it all out and it's approx 15 laps total. I was going twice a week but I didn't see progress in my endurance until i hit 3-4 times a week.

My current sets are kind of sad but I figured I'd write them all out:

Warmup:
1 lap with board, freestyle kick
1 lap with board, back stroke kick
1 lap with board, breast stroke kick
(my legs are jelly at the end of this)
1 lap with pull buoy - i need to up this. I hate the pull buoy.

Drills:
2 laps, freestyle with snorkle
1 lap, resting hands freestyle
1 lap, fingertip drag freestyle

Workout:
3-4 freestyle half, return backstroke
2 backstroke
1 breast stroke

cooldown:
1 lap with board, walking in pool, etc.

@mimc66 what are you having trouble with? My biggest issue is breathing which really inhibits my endurance, which is why I use a snorkle during the first part of my drills.

Enyagoboom - yr much more structured than me. I usually do the kick board to warm up and then just repeats of freestyle with rest mid-post lap. End with treading water - I just sink unless I moving like crazy. My biggest problem is breathing and treading water(makes me nervous in the deep end when I get tired). For freestyle, I am either a.) raising my head way out of the water b.) not breathing out all my air before taking another breath or c.) getting water up my nose while going up/back from breathing. Only breathing to one side on every stroke with right hand. I have good cardio fitness but I'm exhausted from doing one lap so it's really frustrating. I guess I swim about 5-10 laps total when I go at lunch with plenty of rest mid-post lap. I took 3 group lessons already and am trying to improve on my own. The rec center has package of 6x30min private lessons which would be next step for me but feel like I should improve some (ie. breathing) before taking them. Does something just click on day and you improve dramatically?

mimc66 wrote: »

Enyagoboom - yr much more structured than me. I usually do the kick board to warm up and then just repeats of freestyle with rest mid-post lap. End with treading water - I just sink unless I moving like crazy. My biggest problem is breathing and treading water(makes me nervous in the deep end when I get tired). For freestyle, I am either a.) raising my head way out of the water b.) not breathing out all my air before taking another breath or c.) getting water up my nose while going up/back from breathing. Only breathing to one side on every stroke with right hand. I have good cardio fitness but I'm exhausted from doing one lap so it's really frustrating. I guess I swim about 5-10 laps total when I go at lunch with plenty of rest mid-post lap. I took 3 group lessons already and am trying to improve on my own. The rec center has package of 6x30min private lessons which would be next step for me but feel like I should improve some (ie. breathing) before taking them. Does something just click on day and you improve dramatically?

You sound like you are pretty much where I was when I started a few months ago. I can tell you what helped me with the caveat that your mileage will vary

1. It sounds like you're breathing out correctly (I didn't know about this until my lessons! it was a shocker!!) and I still have a lot of issues with breathing which is why I use a snorkle when I start my drills. I also spend some time in the warm up doing bi-lateral breathing practice and swimming on my side, taking a few breaths in the rest position until I'm ready to get back into it. I also have the issue where I don't expel all my air before breathing in, which creates a delay when I try to come up for air and finish breathing out. I am aware of it, but at this point it's a bit further down my list to work on

2. Going slow. My instructor noticed that my form and endurance are much improved during drills when I'm going slow and focusing on placement. It means that I might breathe every other stroke rather than every three when I'm not using my snorkle, but if my form is good and I have those habits, the breathing will follow. My leg strength has dramatically improved in four weeks - when I started with the kickboard he was practically tugging me down and back because I wasn't moving, it was like I was a very fat noodle. Now I can motor around with no problem at all. I'm tired at the end of it, but I have momentum.

3. If you have good cardio/endurance and one lap is exhausting, I would suspect (tho someone more qualified can clearly explain this better or tell me I'm wrong) that the breathing with the water is the main issue. Have you tried a snorkle? I look so stupid with it, but goodness it has helped.

4. Practicing keeping my head in the water in rest position and in swim. My gut reaction is to jerk my head up which causes my hips and feet to sink, which creates drag, which makes everything harder to do and wastes energy without any benefit.

5. Sticking to the outside lanes until I was a bit more confident. I always had a wall there even in the deep end, so I never felt panicked about being literally out of my depth. (what is making you nervous in the deep end specifically?)

I don't know that something clicked exactly - my last lesson was honestly hysterical with how bad it was after I had spent all week making some serious improvements. It was like I froze up trying to show the instructor how good I had gotten - fail! But I have noticed improvements in my endurance, bit by bit. Maybe trying some structured drills and going a bit slower for a couple weeks? Also I don't really time my laps. Every so often I'll see how long it takes me to do a 1/2 crawl and backstroke lap, but that's more for morbid curiosity (I'm at like 2 minutes. Slooooow)

I do think going 3x a week was kind of the thing that finally helped me put the lessons together with muscle memory.

I hope you stick with it - I have never been a swimmer so this is a whole new world for me and I finally feel like something is working, I have an activity that I have to work at but it brings me a whole lot of enjoyment.

So interesting to read all the above!
I just tell myself to do 20 laps minimum at any speed. Then I might do a few more if I feel like it. Practice some dance steps maybe walk a lap or two.
With breathing I take a breath every 3rd stroke so I’m using both sides but I tend to ‘roll’ my body a bit to each side when doing so there is not much neck or body movement. I try to swim in the morning and drink only water beforehand but don’t eat till afterwards. I log this as 20 min leisurely swim.

Thanks for the great feedback. I have not tried a snorkel but maybe it's worth a try. I don't want to get reliant on it but I think I would be more enthusiastic if I manage to swim a few (4-5) laps without stopping to hang on the side of the pool + maybe more use to being in the right position with my head down. I get nervous in the deep end because I have not figured out how to tread water. It's literally 2x the work as just swimming. I can float on my back so will practice transitioning to back so I can go closer to exhaustion. I really need more confidence in swimming which besides breathing seems to be a big problem. As with anything, the harder it is the more I seem to enjoy it as I improve. Happy I set this goal to be a better swimmer (medium term goal is swim 1 mile continuously). I am enjoying the pool and being a little outside my comfort zone.

GoodnightJulia wrote: »

Anyway swim as much as you like, maybe figure out if you're more tilted towards speed or endurance. I usually chose longer as opposed to faster sessions. It really helps to mix up the stroke every few hundred meters; butterfly and freestyle will probably torch the most calories but kicksets are killer!

This makes a lot of sense. I think generally I'm just looking for endurance anyway. I'm not planning on ever being competative with this And yes, warming up afterwards helps a *ton* I usually schedule a stop at my favorite health restaurant for a big bowl of salad and quinoa. I'm ravenous after my lesson and it's a nice, healthy treat.

I found using the pull buoy helps a lot. I resisted it for a long time, but it raises your hips which gives you better alignment and less drag, plus some extra buoyancy. Of course the goal is to learn how to raise and align your hips properly without it. It took a few laps to get used to but I've got the hang of it now and use it for at least half my laps.

@mimc66
I am a Masters coach & a swim instructor. I would recommend having someone look at your stroke sooner rather than later. A trained eye will be able to give you tips and tricks to improve your stroke, body position, timing, breathing, endurance, etc. Which should make your time swimming more productive or at least less tiring.

deannalfisher wrote: »

i'll throw this out there - swimming doesn't burn nearly as many calories as people think it does/how hungry you feel after a workout (for reference, i'm 5'3", 150lbs and a 3000yd workout will burn about 280cal)

I am interested to find out how you arrive at 280kcal/3000yds? If you walked 3000yds outside you would burn about the same amount of calories you just listed. The added resistance of water along with the additional time it takes to swim or water walk that distance would increase your caloric burn unless you never increase your heart rate out of the rest zone which let's assume is about 100bpm.

@josephsoto200
We would love to help you. Maybe give us some more background on what you are looking for in terms of guidance. What are you hoping to achieve in the pool? How long do you swim for? What are you currently eating pre-swim? Feel free to message me as well.