Swimming?

I swim about once a week, as well as power walk/swim in the ocean on weekends, and it's an awesome workout. If you want to add muscle, you need to strength train, but for low impact cardio, swimming is the best. I also walk, cycle and do various cardio and strength training in the gym (I have bad knees too), and so far I've lost nearly 50 lbs just since December. It's all about moving and burning more calories than you consume.

I am noticing a difference and it DOES burn calories. Try treading for a really good work out, as well. You will be huffing. I also take time out and hold on the wall of the pool with my back against the wall and raise and lower my legs(heels touching, knees touching) with just my stomach muscles. My abs bark at this. Best of luck and happy swimming.

The biggest issue with swimming, is it's very difficult to track your calorie burn. Intensity and overall swim time play a part in your burn. It's not like being on the treadmill where you can walk steadily for 30 minutes for a predictable burn. Personally, I think MFP drastically OVERestimates the calorie burn. When I swim, I use 3 different online calculators that ask for a standard 100yd time, and take the average from them. Even that is just a rough guess.

Go for it though. It gets you HR up, and works those muscles, and can be a helluva workout if you put in the effort.

not arguing, as i really haven't done much swimming recently, but wouldn't a water resistant HRM be effective at tracking calorie burn from swimming? i was considering getting one myself for just this purpose, as i do swim a lot on vacations and such where a pool is available. have you tried one?

Don't let anyone tell you that you can't lose weight with swimming. I'm an ex-competitive swimmer, and I was always, without exception, 10-15 lb lighter in the main competition season (multiple workouts a day) than the off season (a few times a week), and when I quit, my weight started to skyrocket. That being said, just how much you can lose depends how good you are at it. If you don't have the endurance/technique to go for very long or at a very high intensity, you aren't going to burn as many calories as someone who can swim for hours each week at a good clip. The old ladies doing their gentle, slower-than-a-turtle breaststroke (IN MY FAST LANE :mad: ) are barely burning anything at all.

Fair warning: I haven't yet found an exercise that makes me hungrier than swimming does. An hour in the pool, and I WILL try to eat absolutely anything set in front of me. I find my appetite boost from other exercises to be much more manageable.

ya know..thirst is a great point. It's easy to think you're not thirsty when you're in the pool. I always leave a water bottle at the end of my lane and also drink another after I'm done. It helps.
I'm still hungry as hell though. Crazy how this sport does that more than any other...and I play/do lots.

I'm a swimming believer though. I learned how to swim before I learned how to walk. It's never failed me. Keep it up...and enjoy! :happy:

~ I just got out of my pool and burned over 700 calories ( HRM verified ) ... I do a " Sprint " type running that can easily burn up to 650 cal per hour ... LiveStrong.com has a lot of info on swimming exercises and burns. I didn't trust my HRM originally ... thinking that is way over calculated ... but then I checked three different websites ... all coming close within 40 cal difference.

Also ... when I started my journey ... my first 9 months were in a pool doing water aerobics and water jogging. I swam 5 days a week for 2 hours a day ... I lost over 70lbs doing this ... along with healthy eating habits.

Swimming is such a good source of exercise ... it is easy on your joints, anybody can do it ... and the water provides a calmness that is good for your soul.

Exercise should be enjoyable .... if you love the water ... you can most definitely burn calories swimming ! Just look at the bodies of professional swimmers ! Enough said ...

:flowerforyou:

The biggest issue with swimming, is it's very difficult to track your calorie burn. Intensity and overall swim time play a part in your burn. It's not like being on the treadmill where you can walk steadily for 30 minutes for a predictable burn. Personally, I think MFP drastically OVERestimates the calorie burn. When I swim, I use 3 different online calculators that ask for a standard 100yd time, and take the average from them. Even that is just a rough guess.

Go for it though. It gets you HR up, and works those muscles, and can be a helluva workout if you put in the effort.

This is very true. Get a heart rate monitor, OP. I wear one in the gym and in the pool - you get an accurate reading. Swimming DOESN'T burn mega calories and MFP really DOES overestimate it. I swam only yesterday and my calorie burn for 80 mins (slowly) was about 270 calories. MFP calculated it at over 1500.

were you swimming laps or just playing around? I used to be on the swim team back in the day if you swim laps or use kickboards etc you can burn tons of calories

One of the guys I work with has about 8% BF... he lifts weights constantly, but maintains that his best workout, the one that drains him the most but is how he lost all of his weight, was through swimming. It's a low/no impact exercise that is pretty close to a full body workout.

If you're not an experienced swimmer, you won't have the technique/stamina to do it for very long (this is the point I'm at, and the point my coworker WAS at), but as you continue, you will get better, be able to go longer/faster, and burn a LOT of calories.

I swim as well - usually as a supplement to other cardio, but there is nothing like it for using muscles that don't get used in other activity. I am never in better shape (especially upper body) than when I am swimming.

I use a hrm - today I burned 175 calories in 30 minutes. I am not sprinting - I am working but also stretching out my muscles from the run that preceded the swim. I typically burn 550-600 running in an hour, so I definitely am not getting the same calorie burn swimming. But, it is good for my muscles, my stamina, and my mental well-being!

Swimming is fabulous exercise. Go for it!

I burn about the same if I speed up a little. It is a wonderful exercise, I love it too.