Swimming and body fat

I dont know about that, but to me swimmers arms look 'beefier' but they use their arms and upper body majorly where runnes just use there legs? not something i reall know for sure, just a logical hypthesiss

I personally like to swim because it is easier on my joints and muscles than the elliptical. I was in the pool all summer doing water aerobics and it was a blast! Burned a lot of calories doing it too.

hmm here's a theory. the water is usually not heated, so swimmers store a little extra body fat to stay warm?

I dont know about that, but to me swimmers arms look 'beefier' but they use their arms and upper body majorly where runnes just use there legs? not something i reall know for sure, just a logical hypthesiss

I was thinking this too. Comparing a distance runner to a swimmer you notice distance runners are tooth pics and swimmers are beefy

When I swim, and I do...I find that my muscles get toned. I also find that I am burning calories, because I swim laps and do it for cardio. When you swim with a program in mind, certain sets and reps, it's really not that different from other cardio sports. Except: It's not weight bearing, it's easier on the joints and the water provides resistance, not the body weight. While it's true that I burn less fat, it's an even burn, all the way around the body. And if you look at swimmers' bodies, they tend to have really toned ones, if they are training hard. That's certainly what my goal is. Although I have a way to go to get that swimmer's body, I definitely don't worry about being "fatter" or looking fatter because I swim.

I have to address some more misconceptions though, they're way off.
Fat does float. The more you weigh, the easier you float. BUT, that has nothing to do with the exercise itself. I don't need fat as a floatation device to swim laps, that's just kinda silly., and while I do swim for endurance, I also swim for strenght (yep, we do reps too, and use weights in the pool and everything), as for the fatigue and carbs, that's a weird thing to imagine only swimmers doing. All athletes have their routines, but I don't carbo load, or eat more because I worked out. At least I try not to (like other folks who are working out on this same site.As for cold water causing me to hold fat: I'd have to be in REALLY cold water. Like DANGEROUSLY cold water to have that happen. I swim outside, in Northern CA. It's not super hot here. I often swim when it's cloudy. But if the water were kept too warm, it would be really uncomfortable and I'd sweat more than I already do as I work out.

If you need a low impact exercise, and you want to build stamina and strength, swimming is terrific for you. Especially if you have injuries (which I do). So go for it! Swim away. And no, you won't have a short, squat, weird body, you'll be fit.

This is a pretty interesting subject. When you look at Michael Phelps or Dara Torres, they're both pretty ripped, and their specialties are the sprints. Plus, they're both mature (especially Torres) athletes with years of training (both in the water and out of the water). When you look at Missy Franklin, she's 16 years old, and she looks smoother, but she's still pretty lean.

I figure if I want a body approaching Phelps, I'd have to swim all the strokes, and throw in a little dry land training too. If the swimmers look smoother (fatter?), it may be because their muscles are smoother, and in the case of their legs, they may not be as muscular, because they are in a non-load bearing sport, and bulky legs just wouldn't benefit their times or performance.