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
Parents
Former Member
Very interesting thread!
I agree with many of the insights mentioned here. I used to be running and lifting weights, as a result my body fat was only 7%, with well defined 6 pack abs. I've since switched from running to swimming. I'd think that swimming burns more calorie and is more taxing than running, but the definition on my abs is beginning to fade. I guess our bodies adjust to the sports we do. As swimmers, our bodies can't be too angular and cut, they need to be more round to create less drag. Sort of like F-22 stealth fighter's round shape to avoid rader detection. While F-15 looks mighty good with its chiseled shape, it has too much angular surface areas that reflect radar beams.
Micheal Phelps still has a 6 pack abs probably because he's still so young. Ian Thorpe has never been known to have a chiseled physique. He carries a little extra weight imo. But boy can he glide in the water. He uses the fewest number of strokes to cover the races. He makes swimming look easy.
Now the million dollar question is, how can we avid swimmers to continue enjoying swimming while maintaining a well defined body? :mad: Can we have both?
And the million dollar answer is: Yes, we can have both. Add weight training/ab crunches to your swim training and it should fix this. Swimming by itself probably will not. Plus, adding those two other things or more things will help the swimming.
Very interesting thread!
I agree with many of the insights mentioned here. I used to be running and lifting weights, as a result my body fat was only 7%, with well defined 6 pack abs. I've since switched from running to swimming. I'd think that swimming burns more calorie and is more taxing than running, but the definition on my abs is beginning to fade. I guess our bodies adjust to the sports we do. As swimmers, our bodies can't be too angular and cut, they need to be more round to create less drag. Sort of like F-22 stealth fighter's round shape to avoid rader detection. While F-15 looks mighty good with its chiseled shape, it has too much angular surface areas that reflect radar beams.
Micheal Phelps still has a 6 pack abs probably because he's still so young. Ian Thorpe has never been known to have a chiseled physique. He carries a little extra weight imo. But boy can he glide in the water. He uses the fewest number of strokes to cover the races. He makes swimming look easy.
Now the million dollar question is, how can we avid swimmers to continue enjoying swimming while maintaining a well defined body? :mad: Can we have both?
And the million dollar answer is: Yes, we can have both. Add weight training/ab crunches to your swim training and it should fix this. Swimming by itself probably will not. Plus, adding those two other things or more things will help the swimming.
