I have determined that when I swim, based on my heart rate, I am burning an enormous amount of calories. The other day, I wore my HR monitor and based on my average HR, time spent swimming, and my weight, I burned 1053 calories. Now, the next day, I ran for 40 minutes and burned 453 calories.
I have noticed that when I just swim over a number of weeks, my LDL cholesterol readings go up and my body fat goes up as well. When I just run and don't burn as many calories (according to my HR monitor) my LDL drops, my HDLs go up, and my body fat decreases. I've noticed this now over the course of 13 years.
Anybody know of any studies out there that might explain this? Why would an activity such as swimming that obviously burns a bunch of calories cause an increase in body fat?
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Interesting thread. I have been swimming Masters for almost 30 years and I have wondered why with all of my exercise, that I keep the same 176 pounds on this 59 year old 5' 10" body.
I have just begun to use a HR monitor and have read Sally Edwards' book, "The Heart Rate Monitor Guidebook". Regarding burning fat she says:
Fat is burned in every heart zone. The percentage and total amount of fat burned changes depends on many factors principally how fit you are and how hard you are exercising. There is not one fat burning zone, rather, the exercise intensities that burn the most fat is called the fat burning range.
...This illusive zone is really not a zone but a range of heartbeats that gets bigger as you get fitter. The bigger your fat burning range, the more fat calories that you burn with every beat of your heart.
...Oxygen must be available for fat to burn. When there is insufficient oxygen, there is no additional fat burned. The fat burning range is the exercise intensity level when you are aerobic, not anaerobic.
Since so much swimming is done at or near the anaerobic zone, it follows that we won't be burning much fat or at least as much as the output of calories leads you to believe you are burning. So, if you want to burn fat while swimming, swim in the aerobic range not the anaerobic range.
There is really a simple reason why anaerobic training does not burn as much fat as aerobic training. Training at higher intensity levels requires more "fuel" than training at lower intensity levels. Fat is a "slow" source of energy. The body cannot use fat to convert it fast enough to supply the muscles. So the body switches to carbohydrate. For the most intense exercise the body uses glycogen stored in the muscles.
Activities shorter than 30 secs can be satisfied completely from stored glycogen. That's why you can sprint with little or no breathing - oxygen is required to use carbohydrate and fat for energy.
If you want to burn fat through swimming - you should swim more long sets at aerobic pace. Your body will choose the energy source that best meets the requirements. For long duration exercise at a moderate pace fat meets the needs.
Disclaimer - I am not any kind of expert on these topics. But search "energy pathways" and you fill find many good articles on this topic.
Interesting thread. I have been swimming Masters for almost 30 years and I have wondered why with all of my exercise, that I keep the same 176 pounds on this 59 year old 5' 10" body.
I have just begun to use a HR monitor and have read Sally Edwards' book, "The Heart Rate Monitor Guidebook". Regarding burning fat she says:
Fat is burned in every heart zone. The percentage and total amount of fat burned changes depends on many factors principally how fit you are and how hard you are exercising. There is not one fat burning zone, rather, the exercise intensities that burn the most fat is called the fat burning range.
...This illusive zone is really not a zone but a range of heartbeats that gets bigger as you get fitter. The bigger your fat burning range, the more fat calories that you burn with every beat of your heart.
...Oxygen must be available for fat to burn. When there is insufficient oxygen, there is no additional fat burned. The fat burning range is the exercise intensity level when you are aerobic, not anaerobic.
Since so much swimming is done at or near the anaerobic zone, it follows that we won't be burning much fat or at least as much as the output of calories leads you to believe you are burning. So, if you want to burn fat while swimming, swim in the aerobic range not the anaerobic range.
There is really a simple reason why anaerobic training does not burn as much fat as aerobic training. Training at higher intensity levels requires more "fuel" than training at lower intensity levels. Fat is a "slow" source of energy. The body cannot use fat to convert it fast enough to supply the muscles. So the body switches to carbohydrate. For the most intense exercise the body uses glycogen stored in the muscles.
Activities shorter than 30 secs can be satisfied completely from stored glycogen. That's why you can sprint with little or no breathing - oxygen is required to use carbohydrate and fat for energy.
If you want to burn fat through swimming - you should swim more long sets at aerobic pace. Your body will choose the energy source that best meets the requirements. For long duration exercise at a moderate pace fat meets the needs.
Disclaimer - I am not any kind of expert on these topics. But search "energy pathways" and you fill find many good articles on this topic.
