article in USMS Swimmer Magazine: May / June 2005 Issue

Originally posted by SwiminONandON I don't find that surprising at all. The more you workout the more self-confident you are ... there's also an increase in energy level ... I do find it surprising that women who work out 6-7 days a week have a decreased level of percieved sexual attractiveness ... but I credit that to being more obsessive and likely exercising that much due to poor body image rather than exercising that much because of the desire to swim a 200 free in under 2:00 ... I'm actually more interested in how I swim when I'm at the pool than in how I look (but a sub 2-min. 200? in my dreams!). Of course, the benefits to my appearance aren't lost on me, but if I swam for that reason, I'd get so frustrated b/c I recognized at about the age of 30something (I'm a slow learner...) that I'd never be satisfied with the size of my thighs and such, and that life is too short to worry about stuff like that anyway.

Originally posted by SwiminONandON I don't find that surprising at all. The more you workout the more self-confident you are ... there's also an increase in energy level ... I do find it surprising that women who work out 6-7 days a week have a decreased level of percieved sexual attractiveness ... but I credit that to being more obsessive and likely exercising that much due to poor body image rather than exercising that much because of the desire to swim a 200 free in under 2:00 ... I'm actually more interested in how I swim when I'm at the pool than in how I look (but a sub 2-min. 200? in my dreams!). Of course, the benefits to my appearance aren't lost on me, but if I swam for that reason, I'd get so frustrated b/c I recognized at about the age of 30something (I'm a slow learner...) that I'd never be satisfied with the size of my thighs and such, and that life is too short to worry about stuff like that anyway.