Swimming - Satan’s exercise?

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  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    WJS_jeepster wrote: »
    Former collegiate swimmer here with a few thoughts:
    We were always told you are hungrier after swimming vs other exercise since the water keeps you cooler. Raising your core temperature a bit like with running suppresses appetite.

    Also, the less efficient of a swimmer you are the more calories you will burn covering the same distance.

    I LOVE to swim but had to quit due to over-use rotator cuff issues. I've considered having the surgery to repair that I would need to go back to it but it sounds absolutely awful.

    Can you swim with different strokes that don't engage the rotator cuff as much? Have you tried the Combat Stroke? I know several people with similar issues who do that exclusively now.
  • WJS_jeepster
    WJS_jeepster Posts: 224 Member
    edited January 2020
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    earlnabby wrote: »
    WJS_jeepster wrote: »
    Former collegiate swimmer here with a few thoughts:
    We were always told you are hungrier after swimming vs other exercise since the water keeps you cooler. Raising your core temperature a bit like with running suppresses appetite.

    Also, the less efficient of a swimmer you are the more calories you will burn covering the same distance.

    I LOVE to swim but had to quit due to over-use rotator cuff issues. I've considered having the surgery to repair that I would need to go back to it but it sounds absolutely awful.

    Can you swim with different strokes that don't engage the rotator cuff as much? Have you tried the Combat Stroke? I know several people with similar issues who do that exclusively now.

    As a swimming "snob" that makes me shudder. :D

    I really only swim free and back. I was a distance freestyle swimmer. Even in college I was known to cheat if it was a fly set and one-arm it.

    At the moment I don't have a pool near me that I would be willing to swim in, and I don't have time to travel further with two little kids at home. In the summer there's a long-course outdoor pool that I may try to get back to this year if I can baby my shoulders along.

    Sad to say I think my swimming days are over. I don't enjoy it anymore now that I can't go fast.

    ETA - now my main exercise is walking and running. I love that I can just put on shoes and head out my door. As much as I loved swimming it really takes up a lot of time to get to the pool. I used to have to get to practice up to 30 minutes early and psych myself up to get in the water (it was COLD - 76 degrees). I would usually end up getting pushed in by the coach once practice started.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    WJS_jeepster wrote: »
    earlnabby wrote: »
    WJS_jeepster wrote: »
    Former collegiate swimmer here with a few thoughts:
    We were always told you are hungrier after swimming vs other exercise since the water keeps you cooler. Raising your core temperature a bit like with running suppresses appetite.

    Also, the less efficient of a swimmer you are the more calories you will burn covering the same distance.

    I LOVE to swim but had to quit due to over-use rotator cuff issues. I've considered having the surgery to repair that I would need to go back to it but it sounds absolutely awful.

    Can you swim with different strokes that don't engage the rotator cuff as much? Have you tried the Combat Stroke? I know several people with similar issues who do that exclusively now.

    As a swimming "snob" that makes me shudder. :D

    I really only swim free and back. I was a distance freestyle swimmer. Even in college I was known to cheat if it was a fly set and one-arm it.

    At the moment I don't have a pool near me that I would be willing to swim in, and I don't have time to travel further with two little kids at home. In the summer there's a long-course outdoor pool that I may try to get back to this year if I can baby my shoulders along.

    Sad to say I think my swimming days are over. I don't enjoy it anymore now that I can't go fast.

    ETA - now my main exercise is walking and running. I love that I can just put on shoes and head out my door. As much as I loved swimming it really takes up a lot of time to get to the pool. I used to have to get to practice up to 30 minutes early and psych myself up to get in the water (it was COLD - 76 degrees). I would usually end up getting pushed in by the coach once practice started.

    Well, if it makes you feel better, now that people know what the Combat Stroke is and who developed and uses it, it is the "cool kids" stroke at the gym.

    True, swimming isn't nearly as convenient, especially with a young active family.
  • rodnichols69
    rodnichols69 Posts: 83 Member
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    earlnabby wrote: »
    loribethrice wrote: »
    Swimming is so good for you whole body. I also think it’s good for you mentally since you can zen out in the process. And walking is also one of the best exercises you can do for your body. I think people that knock other people’s fitness routines are just trying to bring them down to their level. Humans are naturally petty.

    You are so right. I hear people putting down walking but, according to the National Weight Control Registry, walking is the most common exercise among those who have lost at least 30 lb and kept it off for 3 years or more.

    My most successful fat loss began when started walking slow (2.4 mph) on the treadmill at the high incline for 20-30 minutes, and doing it immediately after my strength training.
  • FoodBodyChanges
    FoodBodyChanges Posts: 29 Member
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    I love swimming. But watch your form for shoulder safety - lots of good YouTube videos on proper form. There is research that shows you eat more calories after swimming than other workouts, but only in cold water. (Exercising in cold air also makes us intuitively eat more calories.)

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