I'm sure many of you are already aware of this article on about.com It reviews a couple of studies that try to explain why swimmers tend to have more body fat than other athletes.
Thought if you weren't aware of the article you might find it interesting.
swimming.about.com/.../offsite.htm
Lainey
Originally posted by knelson
It's kind of strange they don't mention that swimmers don't need to be thinner. It seems obvious to me that runners and cyclists want to be as light (and for cyclists, the bike too) as possible because they're fighting gravity, whereas this isn't true of swimmers.
They did mention it, towards the end:
A final idea that needs to be explored is whether a selection process is at hand. Elite swimmers may be predisposed to have higher body fat levels because it is a help, or at least less of a disadvantage, to their swimming. ... Higher body fat levels are a greater disadvantage to weight-bearing sports like running.
This study examined college athletes who were at equilibrium, energy intake matched energy expended. What might be of interest are athletes who are not at their "optimal" weight or body fat. Include people who are underweight and trying to put on some pounds (muscle), and those who are trying to loose fat. Or maybe take those athletes (after their sport season is over), and cross-train them. See if their bodies try to adapt to a new body fat level, or if it stays the same.
Originally posted by knelson
It's kind of strange they don't mention that swimmers don't need to be thinner. It seems obvious to me that runners and cyclists want to be as light (and for cyclists, the bike too) as possible because they're fighting gravity, whereas this isn't true of swimmers.
They did mention it, towards the end:
A final idea that needs to be explored is whether a selection process is at hand. Elite swimmers may be predisposed to have higher body fat levels because it is a help, or at least less of a disadvantage, to their swimming. ... Higher body fat levels are a greater disadvantage to weight-bearing sports like running.
This study examined college athletes who were at equilibrium, energy intake matched energy expended. What might be of interest are athletes who are not at their "optimal" weight or body fat. Include people who are underweight and trying to put on some pounds (muscle), and those who are trying to loose fat. Or maybe take those athletes (after their sport season is over), and cross-train them. See if their bodies try to adapt to a new body fat level, or if it stays the same.
