There seems to be as many opinions and misinformation floating around about personal weight that I thought we might share and perhaps open our minds a bit. Here are the questions that I feel will provide useful info:
Age
Sex
Height
Present weight range (many people vary 3-4 lbs over a day)
Ideal weight range for optimum health (your opinion)
Ideal weight range for optimum swimming performance
What steps are you taking, or will you be taking, to lose or
gain the weight difference between present & optimum.
I'll start
54
M
6'1"
220-224
190-194
182-188
Drastically cut down drinking & desserts; resume active training
54
M
6' 2"
172
I took up swimming to loose weight almost 7 years ago. I lost 25# and it has stabilized at around 172 so I guess that is my "ideal" weight. When I was a runner some 20+ years ago my weight was around 150. In retrospect, that was probably too thin. During that period, I was either in really great shape, sick, or recovering from being sick. Mostly the last two.
My weight does go up to around 180 between Thanksgiving and New years. Our pool is closed during that time and I don't workout (unless you count eating big meals as a workout), just do yoga for an hour every other day. But once I get back in the water I drop back to around 172 within a few weeks.
Former Member
Thanks Peter and Sprinter Girl,
I just get so much grief here on the island over my physical appearance I am burned out on it. There is so much more to people than appearance, but society still has problems with it. But it sure is fun to win or place 2nd or 3rd in a triathlon swim and then sit on the beach with a rum and coke and wait for all those "skinnys" to come in. I call it prairie justice.
Thanks for your encouraging words---LUV you !!!:groovy:
Former Member
48
M
6'4"
192
186
200?
I just can't seem to get stronger from weights, swimming, and scarfing, just skinnier or not quite as skinny, and always about the same speed. Another 10 lbs of lat muscle would really come in handy. Lots of guys beat me who are quite overweight, and probably train less. But the girls who also beat me are commonly slender little things, so weight might not be the primary determining factor. FWIW I'd rather be getting passed by a skinny girl than by a fat old man, as their wake is less.
Former Member
52
F
5' 9"
134
128-138
150 for English Channel attempt
I need to gain about 20 pounds I have read to have a chance at swimming the English channel . My husband says who needs to swim any English Channel. He's right. He's a runner not a swimmer. I am a swimmer not a runner. Actually I do swim a mile time to time . A half mile or there bouts is my normal work out. Really I don't know how far I can actually swim..probably 3 miles . I eat lots of veggies, salads, whole grain breads,not too much but enough meat (chicken /turkey without skin/fish/lean beef), lots of water! Our dinner table looks fancy french with the water bottles and glasses,(dinner should be relaxing) I follow Jack LaLanes advise about no white flour and sugar most6 of the time. (except at holidays)! Hey I heard somewhere Jack was going to swim the Santa Catalina channel for his birthday 26 miles across the sea!
Former Member
Donna: this is a thread where no one expresses concern about personal stats, it is here as an informational service and personal record for we swimmers who are a wonderful myriad of heights, weights, colours...
Former Member
turn 25 this month.
5'5 and half
120 lbs
I like my weight but I'd like to add some more muscle. I would be happy at 125 - 130 if it was all muscle weight. Need to keep on my gym routine. :)
Former Member
37
M
5'7" (thereabouts maybe 5"8" in the morning :D )
188-190
175-177
Low enough so i have no "overhan" when i slip into my speedos! :D )
1 mile Breastroke 3x a week for now. Eating less goodstuff and drinking less beer, baileys, rum, er... etc...
Former Member
40 yr old
5'10
currently at 170
-last year my fighting weight in the pool was around 160, however, this year I think I have added a little more muscle. I imagine my race meet weight will be around 165.
25
F
5'11"
154-157
145-159 (145lbs for a 5'11" athlete is WAY too low in my opinion! i mean, at 155 i'm still pretty darn skinny!)
154-157
QUOTE]
I just thought it was intersting another female almost as tall with very similar opinions.
26
F
6'0"
168-172
145-175 (This is technically the low and High for my height but they hate it when you are on the high side so it's really 145-165.)
154-157
145lbs for a 5"11-6' athlete IS way too skinny. In high school I was between 135 & 145. Skin, bones, and muscule. Right now I'm just getting back into swimming so I've been happily loosing weight every week. I agree with swimmieAvsFan that hovering around 155 is pretty optimal. I was at that weight swimming in college and I felt much stronger than I did in High School. It is also seriously skinny still - but with boobs and a butt.
Right now I still feel like I have dead weight on me.
Shorter stature tends to be a handicap in sprinting. Elite swimmers are virtually all "athletically lean."
Aside from the "Mighty Mite" George mentioned above, I was jolly happy to read the other day that Whitney Myers was 5'5", only 3/4 of an inch taller than me. I'd still rather be as tall as Mollie or Lindsay though.
But I'm curious, how do we define "athletically lean?"
