Who have actually acquired wide shoulders due to swimming?

RE: Who have actually acquired wide shoulders due to swimming?

orca1946 — Sat, 01 Feb 2014 12:35:28 GMT

Wide muscles ??? Bones do not get wider!!

RE: Who have actually acquired wide shoulders due to swimming?

swoomer — Sat, 01 Feb 2014 11:05:36 GMT

Wide muscles ??? Bones do not get wider!! Completely agree! I was born with wide (and painful) shoulders, according to my mother. When I took a 40 year break from swimming I lost my bulk and had the shape of a pear. Since re-entering the aquatic world, I've resumed my hulky appearance. Shoulders are a genetic but muscles on top of those shoulders make us look big.

RE: Who have actually acquired wide shoulders due to swimming?

__steve__ — Sat, 01 Feb 2014 02:41:26 GMT

The only thing I've acquired from swimming was fitness, a means for competition, and floppy feet.

RE: Who have actually acquired wide shoulders due to swimming?

Former Member — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 17:59:27 GMT

Finding suits are the worst! I learned to swim at 27, went from XL tops since I was 16 to XXL in one year of strictly freestyle and have been XXL for the past 21 years. Suits are impossible with a 50 jacket and a 36 waist. I think the 50 jackets come with 48 waists, to have them tailored would basically be rebuilding the pants from scratch. Thank god for Ralph Lauren suit seperates.

RE: Who have actually acquired wide shoulders due to swimming?

Karpjf — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 09:52:56 GMT

I swim 1-2 times/week (90 minutes/workout) and lift weights about 1x/week. None of my shirts or sweaters fit anymore. It's kind of fun, but getting expensive. It makes my waist look smaller!

RE: Who have actually acquired wide shoulders due to swimming?

habu987 — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 03:48:57 GMT

When I was a kid, I was just tiny. Through high school, I started developing quite a bit more muscle, but I was still on the scrawny side at 5'9" and 130 pounds. Proportionally speaking, though, my shoulders were pretty wide. Fast forward to today, I'm about 70 heavier and much, much more muscle bound than I was then. 'Course, I'm carrying about 15 pounds of padding, too, but I'm significantly bulkier than back then. After 2.5 years of swimming (took about 7 years off after swimming from 5-18), my shoulders are again proportionally wide. My lats, triceps, and back muscles see the biggest gains from swimming. Buying suits is a pain in the rear! I usually have to shop in the big and tall section, then get approximately 12 feet of fabric around the middle taken in.

RE: Who have actually acquired wide shoulders due to swimming?

Former Member — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:50:32 GMT

I have been re-learning freestyle swimming over the past 4.5 years, beginning at age 44, after a 32 year hiatus. In the past 2 years, once I got beyond the basics, I have added over 3 inches to my chest and almost 5 inches to my over shoulder measurement -- and 3 inches to my waist, at least 1 of which is thicker back muscles, I swear. RadSwim

RE: Who have actually acquired wide shoulders due to swimming?

sydned — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 11:02:25 GMT

My body has changed dramatically since I started swimming seriously nearly 10 years ago. I often wish my coaches had done before and after photos. I had been a runner and cyclist before, and never saw the kind of changes I've seen with swimming. Of course, other parts of my body have shrunken, which makes it nearly impossible to find women's shirts that fit correctly. My husband and I joke that I now have bigger pecs than he does.

RE: Who have actually acquired wide shoulders due to swimming?

gobears — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 10:15:07 GMT

Excellent question, David. Thank you for being the first to ever ask it! Though an atheist by nature, I think this is one of the few questions where the best answer is probably "God." Followed very closely by "the world of my imagination." But, really, aren't these the same answer? On that note, I need to get something for dinner. But first, I must figure out how to evacuate my office door without getting my shoulders and massive manhood caught in the opening, necessitating yet another call to paramedics wielding the jaws of life. Well, maybe not the jaws of life. But the jaws of ongoing magnificence. Hmm...if I go through the door sideways, my shoulders will just squeeze through. But that leaves the problem of my manhood... It is not at all easy being the kind of guy that men want to be like and CreamPuffs want to be with. Thanks again, David, for an excellent, thought- and reverie-provoking question! LOL :applaud:

RE: Who have actually acquired wide shoulders due to swimming?

Former Member — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 07:22:15 GMT

Why don't swimmers develop the slippery shape of seals and sea lions, with tapered ends and big bellies? :rolleyes:

RE: Who have actually acquired wide shoulders due to swimming?

beluga — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 07:21:54 GMT

Why don't swimmers develop the slippery shape of seals and sea lions, with tapered ends and big bellies? :rolleyes: The big belly part was easy ... the rest :dunno:

RE: Who have actually acquired wide shoulders due to swimming?

jim thornton — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 06:09:19 GMT

This one is for Mr. Thornton, Jim, where DO your massively manly shoulders and other aspects of that impressive physique come from? I figured someone needed to ask. Excellent question, David. Thank you for being the first to ever ask it! Though an atheist by nature, I think this is one of the few questions where the best answer is probably "God." Followed very closely by "the world of my imagination." But, really, aren't these the same answer? On that note, I need to get something for dinner. But first, I must figure out how to evacuate my office door without getting my shoulders and massive manhood caught in the opening, necessitating yet another call to paramedics wielding the jaws of life. Well, maybe not the jaws of life. But the jaws of ongoing magnificence. Hmm...if I go through the door sideways, my shoulders will just squeeze through. But that leaves the problem of my manhood... It is not at all easy being the kind of guy that men want to be like and CreamPuffs want to be with. Thanks again, David, for an excellent, thought- and reverie-provoking question!

RE: Who have actually acquired wide shoulders due to swimming?

Former Member — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:05:57 GMT

My shoulders/lats have definitely gotten wider, more muscular since I started swimming again as an adult. My husband says I scare him when I stretch and he sees all the muscles :D

RE: Who have actually acquired wide shoulders due to swimming?

Former Member — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:38:41 GMT

In high school, I ran cross country and I swam. There was definitely a noticable difference in my shoulders after swimming, they would shrink back to normal size when I started running again after swimming was over. My friends always made fun of me, but secretly I know they were jealous. :)

RE: Who have actually acquired wide shoulders due to swimming?

Former Member — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:44:41 GMT

Someone of the opposite sex who usually doesn't bother to acknowledge my existence told me I was broad last week. Based on this scientific research, it takes 13 months to become broad.

RE: Who have actually acquired wide shoulders due to swimming?

DPC — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 08:58:21 GMT

This one is for Mr. Thornton, Jim, where DO your massively manly shoulders and other aspects of that impressive physique come from? I figured someone needed to ask.

RE: Who have actually acquired wide shoulders due to swimming?

Former Member — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 07:30:56 GMT

I can't really say that I have tremendous shoulders. I'm not as tall as many male swimmers. I'm 5'9 1/2'' and a quite lean built. I only started swimming in my early Twenties. I have wider shoulders than I had without swimming but compared to some swimmers I look like a squirt:bitching: Am I doing something wrong or do those swimmers that look totally like swimmers just swim a lot more(I train about 3000-4000 yards 4-5 times a week). I used to train every day in the lane next to National swimmers. I hated standing next to them in the shower. I felt like cheetah next to Tarzan:D

RE: Who have actually acquired wide shoulders due to swimming?

Former Member — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 05:03:28 GMT

I can tell you this: I began my 2nd swim career at 37 after letting myself go a bit for 15 years. After a year and 8 months (building up to pretty hard-core) the muscles that developed most dramatically are in this order: Triceps Shoulders Lats Core/(the V-thing my wife likes) waist shrunk too And chest - though differently than you might think...it shrunk - lost man-boobs and it got firm Legs dropped weight, but nothing too drastic. I do no training other than swimming. So this is 100% swim related, along with good dietary habits. Like someone said, my frame is no bigger, but the shoulder muscles at the tops of my arms are well defined as they taper down to my arm. Kind of roundish muscles. I do feel broader than I did a couple of years ago. At least in the right places. Hope that helps. Blue

RE: Who have actually acquired wide shoulders due to swimming?

Former Member — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:45:07 GMT

I have naturally wide, broad shoulders... so wide as a matter of fact that a couple times people asked if I was a swimmer before I began swimming six months ago (despite being way overweight too). So I guess they're just going to get even wider. As for the thick necks... I read one person somewhere say it's from all those fast-twitch muscles built in during all those years of turning the head real quick to the side for a breath. I don't know how true that is.

RE: Who have actually acquired wide shoulders due to swimming?

Former Member — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:09:08 GMT

Watched it and sorry but I have no idea what you are talking about. These guys look 100x better than your average young/ middle aged man. I'm not saying they don't look good, but just wondering whether swimming has to do with the thick neck (doesn't his neck look almost wider than his head?). I remember seeing some other swimmers on TV during the Olympics that also had this peculiar feature.

RE: Who have actually acquired wide shoulders due to swimming?

Former Member — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 09:29:54 GMT

Here is a video that shows the thick necks: YouTube - Aaron Peirsol 200m Backstroke Watch at about 0:15 :) Watched it and sorry but I have no idea what you are talking about. These guys look 100x better than your average young/ middle aged man.

RE: Who have actually acquired wide shoulders due to swimming?

swimmj — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:57:33 GMT

I have naturally wide shoulders - and narrower hips, simply due to bone structure. I do notice when I swim, I carry more muscle in my upper body - lats, arms, and lots of smaller back muscles. The effect of having more muscle on my upper body makes me look even wider in the shoulders. I swam in college and needed a size 6 skirt and a size 14 jacket for an interview suit in the early 80's. Due to size inflation, I fit more easily into tops now, but sometimes can't find skirts, pants or shorts that are small enough. And I have tops that fit in the shoulders and are enormous around the waist. So, jackets are hard unless they are custom made. --mj

RE: Who have actually acquired wide shoulders due to swimming?

Former Member — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:38:42 GMT

Here is a video that shows the thick necks: YouTube - Aaron Peirsol 200m Backstroke Watch at about 0:15 :)

RE: Who have actually acquired wide shoulders due to swimming?

gigi — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:00:59 GMT

I've pondered this one myself and I'm not really sure what to make of it. In some ways I think of it as a chicken/egg problem. Are lots of swimmers predisposed to be big shouldered to begin with? Is seeing a team full of swimmers with wide shoulders & tiny waists similar to looking at a team of basketball players and marvelling at how playing hoops made them tall? I don't think swimming will change the geometry of your frame but will tend to make areas more or less muscular or tapered. But won't any sport that builds muscle make certain areas a bit bigger? That said, when I got married right in the middle of college I had to buy a size 12 wedding gown (and this is a 1980 12 not a 2009 12 - those who know fashion sizing know there is a difference - a big one) to fit my shoulders and have the lower half tapered to fit my barely size 8 lower half. Before that day I had never worn a dress with sleeves beacuse I could never find one that fit. Did swimming do that? I don't know, but I'm pretty sure that not swimming as much as I did then has caused my bottom half to now match my top half! I think too that skinny waist + developed lats + well-developed shoulders = an illusion that makes the shoulders seem much bigger proportionally than they really are. I think it's the lats that give that big V look. I'm just remembering some tidbits from a life-drawing class that focused on body types that vary from "classic" proportions.

RE: Who have actually acquired wide shoulders due to swimming?

jgale — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 05:55:18 GMT

I am an ex-marathoner (almost 28 years of distance running) who took up swimming five years ago. I am more oriented towards distance events than sprinting. I consistently swim five to six days per week and do all four strokes with my best strokes being freestyle and fly. My backstroke is getting decent and my *** stroke is horrible. My body has changed since taking up swimming. I have put on upper body mass that I never had as a distance runner. I can't say my shoulders are "bigger" but I have packed on some muscle in the upper body.