Does swimming help you loose weight and get in shape.

I don't know...for me swimming alone just doesn't cut it. I was chatting with my coach last week about this very topic. He told me that since I've been swimming for a while (about 10 years of masters), and already in one of the faster lanes, doing distance sets, that at this point it would be difficult to get in better shape from swimming, without doing doubles or something drastic. I didn't swim competitively outside of masters. When I graduated from high school I weighed about 145. Went through Army basic training, and jumped to 165 (all upper body, went from M shirt to XL). Stayed pretty much there the whole time I was in the army. Got out of the army, and back in college, up a little (other than when I did a semester abroad, I lose weight when I travel). Has been as high as 195-200, as low as 170-175 over the past 10 years since I've been in the working world. About 2 years ago, I added in weight training, and about a year ago added in running/jogging 2-3 times a week. The running has kept my weight at a pretty steady 175-180. I have a very large variance between high/low for the day anyway, 5-8 pounds. What I do notice, along with weight and body fat (have a scale that supposedly measures it), is that I feel healthier and don't really get sick, or not as much as others. So if you haven't done any exercise, yes swimming is a great place to start. However, after a few years, your weight will plateau and you'll need to get creative if you want to keep progressing.

Sounds familiar...My racing weight was 165 in college ('78-'82.) I ballooned to 216 in September 2006 when I decided I needed to lose some serious weight -- plus my cholesterol was way out of whack.:doh: So I started to swim again mid September. I started with about 1K a day 4 days a week then got up to 4-5K 5 or 6 days a week in a couple of months. Counted calories and carbs too. My weight went down to 173...and well...I caught the swimming bug again and started swimming Masters in February. My weight mostly has been from 180 since. And my cholesterol was down 40 points -- and I'm getting retested next week.:party2: My motto...more calories out than in. No magic pills to help, either. Mark Racing weight was 177 in college in '84 Got up to 210 after 20 year layoff Started light weight training to get in general shape then slowly swimming - working up from 400 yards 1st day to 4000 at 9 months. In the first roughly 4 months I lost 25-29 lbs. Prior to this all I did was sit behind a desk with zero exercise. I was just trying to get into shape and not lose weight. I actually dramatically increased my food intake (especially after morning workout eating at least twice as much when I started doing "hard" workouts. I would say yes to your question "Does swimming help you loose weight and get in shape." BTW in HS I was eating an average of 7000 calories a day ( didn't include all the oreos and other great junk food) and could not gain weight.

I realized that at some point, air had calories. It comes with the beautiful wonders of aging. Remember getting old isn't for wimps, but it beats the alternative.:joker:

My metabolism doesn't slow down I don't get fatigued either...

You shoulda used a winky thing. You're not even in your 40s yet. Just wait, Stud. Oooh why are we going to Vegas to celebrate? :thhbbb: I don't ever turn 40.

Sorry. I hate the very mention of the word Vegas. I can't imagine why anyone would want to vacation there. Just my view of course. Have fun being 39 forever. :thhbbb: I've been to Vegas. Hated it. I guess the only reason to go is (as the commercial says) what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.:censor: That whole Family Friendly Vegas thing died a quick death.

Swimming is like any activity. It burns calories, tones muscle groups, and can help maintain weight. There is truth to the aging points as well, as the body does tend toward it's ultimate end if left to it's own. My swimming helps with overall weight and health maintenance, and it is my preferred sport over my lifetime. I liked the comment on "mixing it up" and have heard that using different activities helps keep the muscles "confused" enough that you never end up in a total rut, and you are then constantly retoning other muscle types/groups. Anyone else have this experience that could add to this discussion?

Hi! My experience has been that swimming alone - without dieting and trying to up my metabolism - helped my fitness but I didn't really lose weight. I swam 1 to 2 times a week for 9 months and then I started swimming 5 days a week around 2 Km, but I didn't really lose any weight. The change occurred for me (from 236 last January to 209 now) when I was swimming 6 days a week, I started dieting and improved my metabolism. To top this off I joined a master's group as well and love it! I'm still losing weight and increasing my fitness, but the controlling diet and not splurging (ever!) seems to be most important for me. But I must say that without the swimming I'd never have made the improvements made to date. Though just like others have written, other activities help too; I've started jogging (I can't call what I do running either) 4 km 4 days a week and that helps too. In the end, swim! It will get you at least part of the way you want to go fitness wise but don't forget the rest. Cheers!

Dieted for 1 and a half years, and swam and lost 70 lbs. Quit dieting, had to stop swimming for 2 months, gained 20lbs back. Now back swimming 5 days a week, 2000 yards a day, have lost about a pound a week for four weeks. Not dieting, but watching amounts, etc. I think to REALLY loose weight MUST diet and exercise. But to do it exercise alone it is a real slow process, and still must burn more than you eat... Remember, long term process, couple of pounds a week is good. This "loose 15 pounds in a week " crap is just that, crap, generally represents a water loss only (al la cabbage soup) which you simply regain when you stop injesting the dietretic.

You've got it. The body does certainly "get used to" certain fatigue. It's really easy for me to do a series of sets and normal exercises and I just don't make ANY improvement. I'm not the one with expert advice but I agree with you. Mixing up jogging, exercises and swimming for me is helping a lot. Glad to hear that there are a lot of others like me out there too! - Thomas