Swimming whilst dieting - a waste of time???

[SoggySummer]

Along with SW and the gym and a few runs here and there I am also swimming a few times a week. The main aim being to help speed weightloss and/or inch loss and to reduce any wobbly bits. I also find it very relaxing and time to get my head together tbh.

I was chatting to a woman the other day and as soon as I said I went swimming she poo pooed it. She said its crap to assist weightloss/inchloss of any kind. She says for swimming to be of any benefit you need to swimming really hard and fast and breaking into a sweat in the water. She said an afternoon walk or shopping trip would do more.

I am wondering how true this is. I was feeling good after my swims but since she said this I feel a bit meh about it.

I kind of guessed that as I am not in the same red faced, exhausted sweaty state I am after a cardio work out, class or a run that it was not super benficial but that surely some activity - even if it is only moderate breast stroke for 45 minutes - has to be better than nothing at all. I tend to go swimming when I feel too stiff for the gym - say after a class or a harsh run the day before. I also use it to break up gym boredom.

I kind of thought that surely if I am swimming it has to be better than sitting on my fat arse mumsnetting and being tempted by chocolate biscuits in the cupoboard, because I tend to swim on the days I dont feel upto a gym workout.

Anyone in the know about this?? Am I really wasting my time? Would I really be better pushing a trolley around Sainsburys than swimming??

Not sure that its relevant but the lady who said this to me is a young nubile 20 year old and not a 40 year old battling the bulge.

Of course swimming will help!

To help with fat burning aim to work at a level where you could still just about manage to carry on a conversation.

It will also help with toning as it is a resistance exercise (the water is the resistance).

Don't let what she said put you off.

Thank you!! The woman that said this is a fitness freak and although I was bit about what she said - she seems to know alot about diet and fitness (and has a body to die for).

Will deffo grab my cossie and go for a swim then this afternoon now.

I usually swim at a pace that leaves me fairly out of breath. I try not to stop but sometimes do for a minute or 2 when needed.

If you get too out of breath you are no longer working in an aerobic (that is fat burning) way.Aim to work consistently at a level where you would just be able to have a conversation,for 20-30 minutes.
Don't forget to warm up and cool down.

Either way,some activity is better than no activity,so however you do it it's doing you more good than not doing it.

I think it sounds like a good mix to be swimming,gym and running.

Make sure you are not over exercising though and give yourself at least one,and ideally two rest days per week.

I would try to fit in some stretching too,if I were you.You are working on stamina and strength with what you are doing ,and could do with complementing it with some work on flexibility.

Hope you reach your goal and have fun along the way!

Thank you for the tips.

I love swimming. Had a lovely 40 minute swim this afternoon - most of it in an empty pool.

I use swimming alot it's the1 exercise I enjoy. It really sorts out my middle section and arms. If its a case go for a swim or sit on the couch, swim will do better for you :-)

To burn fat you need to raise your heart rate, hold it there and then drop back down again. Recover then do it all over again. Like doing sprints on a treadmill. Also increases your fitness as your recovery time will decrease as you get fitter. Much better to exert yourself hard for a shorter time than spending a tedious amount of time at an almost comfortable rate whilst hardly burning much.

mum I thought when you are working too hard you are working anaerobically and not burning fat

Swimming is great exercise and an almost empty pool a joy. Great for mind and body.
Your exercise routine sounds great and enjoying exercise is part of the battle.

Your only working hard enough to raise your heart rate, then giving yourself a recovery period.
I do interval sprint training but assume that it can be applied to swimming.

Interval training raises your metabolism and burns fat faster than low intensity workouts.

Running/swimming as fast as you can, or sprinting, makes you breathe harder, so it increases the amount of oxygen in your blood. This helps your body detoxify. It strengthens your muscles and raises your metabolism and heart rate. Performing short sprints at intervals throughout the day raises your heart rate more effectively than low intensity training, and can ultimately help you lose more weight than would low intensity training alone.Interval training burns calories while adding muscle and enhancing cardiovascular endurance. It combines aerobic (endurance building) and anaerobic (muscle building)exercises into the same workout session.

Ah thats good to know. So when I swim quite hard and get out of breath and I have to stop and rest a little while and restart again - that is good?

No dont stop completely, slow your pace down to recover. Ive been doing interval training since january and have lost and toned a LOT and thats only healthy eating monday to friday, takeaways and lazy food on the weekends. I work out 3-5 times a week.

Maybe dont change your swimming but change your running to sprint training? I like you, enjoy swimming but I use it as time to relax and ponder! I do unfortunately agree with the the gym bunny you spoke to. Swimming is good for toning though as it is resistance training but you still need to push a bit.

Interval training vs steady state....

30 mins of steady state cardio (in the so called "fat burning" zone) will burn, say 200 calories. 30 mins of intervals may burn roughly the same, during the 30 minutes. But interval training has been shown to have a greater "afterburn" effect so your metabolism stays higher for longer, as a result burning more calories overall per session and also provides more dramatic improvements in fitness.

Over a longer period, steady state cardio will burn muscle as well as fat (think of Paula Radcliffe's lean, but not muscular, body). Interval training, by its intense nature, cannot be done over a sustained period and as you push your body, then recover, you do not enter a muscle burning phase, only fat is generally used for energy.

High intensity intervals aren't for everyone and aren't obligatory. I would suggest that you should only try them once you've achieved a reasonable to good level of fitness, using steady state cardio .

It is true that purely as a method of burning calories, for many people, swimming is not the best exercise because they don't swim hard enough, however, it is excellent for working and toning all muscle groups, improving breathing (great for runners), many people find it soothing mentally, like the OP, non impact so great for a break from running or high impact stuff. On pretty much every level I'd say it is better than pushing a trolley round the supermarket (would that make you out of breath ?) and miles better than eating biscuits on the sofa! I would just stick with it if I were you OP, it's a great habit and it sounds like you are doing well on every front .

OK thanks. With the running I am still fairly new so still building up and doing a run then power walk/jog - depending whether I go the hilly route or not.

I am crap at knowing how to excercise for the best results but am already feeling so much fitter than I was and I love the post excercise high.

• and then run again - after the slower power walk/jog

You sound like you are doing fantastically well, pushing yourself and feeling great afterwards. Carry on with that.

When you feel like you can do a steady, say 5km run without stopping/walking or reaching a plateau (fitness or weight loss wise) then introduce intervals, running or swimming is fine. You can mix up the sessions too you don't have to stick to one or the other .

A really good workout when you feel fit enough (it is quite challenging) is to do 10-20 mins intervals then 20-30 minutes steady state cardio.

Started swimming (50lengths at a time -45 mins) in February and aqua aerobics, I do this about 5 times a week aswell as calorie counting
And it has / is working!!

Swimming has really toned me,was 13,8 and now 10,12.
My arms actually have muscle definition now!!
Can't be a coincidence!!

all movement is exercise. All movement burns calories.

end of.

Not a waste of time at all but you need to go consistently.

I used to swim four times a week for 30 minutes non-stop (front crawl and breast stroke). I lost weight and it evened out my body shape (shoulders got bigger, arms more toned, flat tummy, streamlined thighs, etc.).

Thanks for this thread OP. I am looking to get back into exercise myself, my gym has a lovely pool & now weather is brighter I'd like to go in the mornings before work.