I swam for years and always kept in great shape.
I quit for 2 years. After turning 41, which was 7 months ago, I started back up again. I swim 5 days a week for an hour, mostly freestyle. I'm in great shape again everywhere except for this stomach fat I can't seem to lose. Can anyone recommend any good workouts that can get rid of this?
Visceral fat, which collects around the internal organs and underneathe the muscles, is arguably A) easier to lose--it's sometimes called labile fat, B) less healthy for your heart and longevity (apple vs. pear considerations--probably has to do with the fact that because it is easier to mobilize, it can get into the blood stream and from there into artery walls, and C) more likely to be a problem in men vs. women (think of all those rail-thin guys you've seen who would have great bodies were it not for the enormous beer guts they sprout).
Subcutaneous fat, which classically collects around the hips and thighs and is a prime target for liposuctionists everywhere, is arguably A) harder to lose--it's sometimes called stabile fat--possibly because its blood supply and overall temperature tends to be lower than that seen in visceral fat, which (see above) resides closer to ones core, B) less of a health threat (again, pears don't seem to have the same heart attack risks as apples) and C) is more likely to be a probem in women vs. men (think of those women who diet to the point of becoming skeletons above the waist but still have robustly sturdy earth mother nether regions).
The sad gender fact about fat is that men do tend to have an easier time losing it through exercise than women, possibly because men's "labile" fat is designed as an easily portable food source, and women's "stabile" fat is designed as a last-gap anti-starvation device for developing embryos. Fat men, however, are much more likely to suffer premature cardiovascular demise than fat women. So in the final analysis the question becomes this, in my mind: look better or live longer? Pick one.
Visceral fat, which collects around the internal organs and underneathe the muscles, is arguably A) easier to lose--it's sometimes called labile fat, B) less healthy for your heart and longevity (apple vs. pear considerations--probably has to do with the fact that because it is easier to mobilize, it can get into the blood stream and from there into artery walls, and C) more likely to be a problem in men vs. women (think of all those rail-thin guys you've seen who would have great bodies were it not for the enormous beer guts they sprout).
Subcutaneous fat, which classically collects around the hips and thighs and is a prime target for liposuctionists everywhere, is arguably A) harder to lose--it's sometimes called stabile fat--possibly because its blood supply and overall temperature tends to be lower than that seen in visceral fat, which (see above) resides closer to ones core, B) less of a health threat (again, pears don't seem to have the same heart attack risks as apples) and C) is more likely to be a probem in women vs. men (think of those women who diet to the point of becoming skeletons above the waist but still have robustly sturdy earth mother nether regions).
The sad gender fact about fat is that men do tend to have an easier time losing it through exercise than women, possibly because men's "labile" fat is designed as an easily portable food source, and women's "stabile" fat is designed as a last-gap anti-starvation device for developing embryos. Fat men, however, are much more likely to suffer premature cardiovascular demise than fat women. So in the final analysis the question becomes this, in my mind: look better or live longer? Pick one.
