Swimming without other exercise?

It's nice to hear so many opinions--thanks for your replies! I'm surprised so many people say swimming made them gain weight. How could that be? Maybe it was something else like eating habits that was the culprit? Actually I'm not using swimming to lose weight (I'm not overweight), but I want to have a more balanced and good-looking body shape and flexibility, and, of course, the health benefits from swimming. I especially like the body of a swimmer that is long and lean, unlike, say, a stocky weight lifter with thick arms and legs :rolleyes:. Thanks for suggesting weight bearing exercises as a complement to swimming, which I agree is very important. I don't do such exercises on purpose, but I often walk out of necessity, perhaps that's not enough for lack of intensity...

I'm surprised so many people say swimming made them gain weight.How could that be? Well, as one fast swimmer was widely quoted this spring as saying, some master’s swimmers swim too fast when they’re supposed to swim slow and too slow when they’re supposed to swim fast. Different people seem to take different meanings from that statement. As I understood it, especially when I reflected on my own training tendencies, some people are perhaps doing too much sprinting and too much work beyond their anaerobic or lactate thresholds, and perhaps not enough “basic endurance” work at the middle of their aerobic ranges. At the “basic endurance” levels, your “work” is mostly fueled by the burning of fat rather than the depletion of muscle glycogen. You might be reaching this “basic endurance” range if your pulse is above 120 and perhaps in the 140s, if you had a heart rate of about 150 or so when you attained your lactate threshold in a T-30 swim. If you swim at this level for extended periods and regularly, you improve your cardio-vascular conditioning, touch off a cascade of hormonal reactions that aid in healing as well as conditioning and strengthening – and you’ll burn plenty of fat. This is why even sprinters (especially master's swimmers, who need more time to recover than your average 15-year-old), also, should spend several days a week on this kind of aerobic training rather than trying, every day, to fully engage the fast-twitch muscle fibers and the anaerobic energy systems. Now, I’m hardly an expert, and I started master's swimming less than a year ago. My view is based on what I understood from this book: www.amazon.com/.../ref=pd_bbs_sr_1 Maglischo also touches on the question of whether non-swimming work is better. The answer, after weighing all of the evidence, is: nope.

When did this post all become about weight-loss? I reread ddl's post, and besides talking about physique and health, there was no mention of having to lose weight. That being said, Vivebene beat me to the point I was going to make. Walking is just as good for your bones as running. Weight lifting is good for muscle strength and endurance (depending upon how you lift, of course). But I cannot believe that swimming alone can't be good for you. I've met too many people who only swim and they look great and seem to be in good health. Of course, they are active individuals, and are the types who park in the back of the lot, walk their dog daily, and climb stairs vs. use elevators. So maybe it's just a matter of being active? I heard a long time ago that if you walk 10,000 steps per day, you will maintain your weight (to bring this back to weight!). Again, maybe it should just be about being active?! Oh, and I would remind everyone out there that beer is all natural: water, grain, hops, yeast. So drink beer! Cheers,

I would add some weight lifting and some aerobic stuff like the bike, treadmill, etc. Just swimming is fine but it has to be intense to lose the weight. I would add other forms of exercise to confuse the body!

Just to clarify, weight training is not the same thing as weight-bearing and can result in orthopedic problems of its own. Weight-bearing (from an online source): "Weight-bearing exercises, which have been shown to increase bone density, include walking, running, hiking, dancing, gymnastics, and soccer. If you have osteoporosis, walk 30 to 40 minutes four to five times each week. Make it an aerobic activity—using a treadmill, stepper, or stairs—but avoid risky activities that could cause falls. If you have osteopenia or normal bone density, any weight-bearing aerobic activity is fine. Do it 30 to 40 minutes four to five times each week." What orthopedic problems? Weight training is the best exercise for bone and muscle strength. It's easy to see why. The whole point of weight training is to carry as much weight as possible; it's the quintessential weight-bearing exercise. Running can have higher forces due to impact, but that same heavy repetitive impact causes other problems. Also, none of the activities you listed involve the upper body. I'm not an expert on this, but I would think that upper body bone density is desirable for preventing fractures.

This is an interesting topic to me. I spent about 8 years doing nothing but swimming. During this time everything other than my swimming went to pot, agility, speed, coordination, etc. I also got fat, but hard to pin that on swimming versus the lard diet I was on at the time. I think doing a single sport in general is pretty pointless, not to mention boring.

This is an interesting topic to me. I spent about 8 years doing nothing but swimming. During this time everything other than my swimming went to pot, agility, speed, coordination, etc. I also got fat, but hard to pin that on swimming versus the lard diet I was on at the time. I think doing a single sport in general is pretty pointless, not to mention boring. Totally agree. Swimming makes me fat, no question. I've spoken to many other women who feel the same. I'm much bigger now as a swimmer than a runner. If all I did was swim and taper for meets, I'd truly be a tank (although perhaps I'd be a better swimmer). Cross training is the ticket to good health, endorphins and staying fresh. I prefer running, biking, weights, drylands, etc. Has to be weight bearing, and I like being outside. I'm in a snit this week not cross training as I rest my legs for Geek 9:27. Oh, I'm trying yoga this season too. Against my will ... I am required to take my daughter.

For me it was swimming that started melting off the pounds. Every day this year I've walked or ridden my bike to work and as the year progressed I rode my bike more and and more each week. I lost nothing. Since I started swimming again I dropped around 20 pounds, fast. I think it's definitely important to cross train and I still do a lot of biking, but it was the swimming that actually triggered some weight loss for me.

I defer to Jack LaLanne, fit as a fiddle in his 90s. He says the key is to change exercise regimens every month. It shocks the system and keeps things interesting.

I can say that swimming has done it for me...40lbs GONE! Of course that was with me adding intensity and duration over the course of a few months...now I am starting to do interval training three days a week which adds in the variation to keep my body guessing as they are different every time. I have about 15 lbs to go for my goal...and I would like to go down another 10 after that and I plan to do it all in the pool. My biggest issue is that I have had knee surgery for miniscus and I still have a partially torn ACL...so running makes me nervous.