I'm a rookie in the pool, and am surprised that keeping one's weight down appears to be less important than I thought. After decades of running with the knowledge that every pound over my running weight added 20 secs to my p/m pace, am I ok being a little chunky? I do aspire to be competitive in my age class. Thanks, Steve
I'm a rookie in the pool, and am surprised that keeping one's weight down appears to be less important than I thought. After decades of running with the knowledge that every pound over my running weight added 20 secs to my p/m pace, am I ok being a little chunky? I do aspire to be competitive in my age class. Thanks, Steve
Fortunately, fat floats but you still have to lug it around. Slimmer's mo' betta.
Some research I did on marathon swimming/swimmers (the marathon swimmers here should feel free to correct me) seems to suggest that higher body fat is an advantage, especially in cold water. Witness swimmers such as Lynne Cox who has mentioned in her book that her body type is ideally suited to cold water swimming. And in an article I read about Alison Streeter, record holder for the most the English Channel crossings, Streeter said, "you can't be a skinny minny." Both of these women are strong swimmers and have done some pretty fast swims.
So if you're considering long-distance open water swims, especially cold-water swims, you might want that body fat.
Also noticed that among the fastest people in my masters' swim groups seem to be heavier-set.
But there were pretty lean people who are also among the fastest in my masters' group, so I guess it also comes down to other factors--like swim caps, ;) talent, and training.
If you want to swim faster, lugging less lard can definitely help.
Lug Less Lard
Though there are some chunky swimmers who are deceptively fast.
Not sure how much of a difference weight loss will make for a chunky swimmer,
but it can be significant. There's no hard & fast formula saying:
if you lose X pounds
you'll swim Y 10ths of a second faster
As you lose weight, you have less mass to drag through the water
you reduce your cross sectional proportions
Elite swimmers tend to be lean. Look at great IMer & WR holder in the 200 bk, like Kirsty Coventry
back start
Leaner swimmers don't need as much force to slice through the water.
Swimming technique, strength & conditioning play an important part to swimming faster faster & some swimmers despite having a little junk in their trunks can manage to swim fast.
ande
I have been humbled on more than one occasion by people that did not fit the "swimmers physique." I have since stopped looking at anyone in the lanes next to me and tried to concentrate on my own race.
169lbs
6% body fat
Strength from weight training
6'1"
I look fast... but I'm slow because I'm still learning basics.
But I have never seen a fat world class swimmer though, so weight/shape must play an important part. Nevertheless, I get lapped by chubby swimmers all the time - lol
Lower body fat is generally correlated with faster swimming. That's the gist of the research I've read, but there's not much research. Also, the studies are all correlational. Swimmers who have less fat tend to be faster. What this doesn't necessarily mean is that any individual will swim faster from making an effort to lose body fat. If you go on a diet or a cardio bender to lose weight, you'll lose not only fat but muscle.
In swimming, body weight is supported and not a huge issue (I'd be more concerned about body shape as it affects drag), but muscle is a huge issue because it's what you use to swim. If the benefit from lost fat doesn't overcome the detriment from lost muscle, you'll swim slower by losing weight, even when the ratio might lead to faster running. It's just due to the differences between the two sports in how weight affects performance. In studies of elite athletes across sports, swimmers and other weight-supported athletes (like kayakers) tend to have slightly higher body fat than runners.
This is such a good post for masters swimmers - thank you Jazz!
And readers, please decide if you are trying to swim faster times or if you are trying to last longer swimming in the cold open water.
Alison Streeter and Lynne Cox are not "fast" swimmers. But they can stand the cold water for long periods of time. The very fast open water swimmers are more lean in shape than either Alison or Lynne.
The King of The Channel, Kevin Murphy, is currently recovering from bypass surgery... so who is to say this is all healthy.
My "big masters swimmers" who swim pretty fast in workout and faster in a tight tech-suit, would definitely swim fastest without dragging along a large belly and or behind.
Personally? I plan to loose a little jiggle to balance out the loss of my beautiful B70. Or heck maybe even before.
am I ok being a little chunky? I do aspire to be competitive in my age class. Thanks, Steve
Yes, you can be competitive and "chunky". Skill is more important than weight. Fat old swimmers swim faster than fit young swimmers all the time because they are technically better swimmers.
Personally? I plan to loose a little jiggle to balance out the loss of my beautiful B70. Or heck maybe even before.
I call shenanigans on this statement. having met you, there's nothing there to lose, you look perfect.
In swimming, body weight is supported and not a huge issue
The body floats but swimming is like climbing a horizontal ladder. Extra weight is a HUGE issue. You must pull harder due to the extra mass. Pulling harder can create more slip for a fixed hand/forearm size.
Lower body fat is generally correlated with faster swimming. That's the gist of the research I've read, but there's not much research. Also, the studies are all correlational. Swimmers who have less fat tend to be faster. What this doesn't necessarily mean is that any individual will swim faster from making an effort to lose body fat. If you go on a diet or a cardio bender to lose weight, you'll lose not only fat but muscle.
In swimming, body weight is supported and not a huge issue (I'd be more concerned about body shape as it affects drag), but muscle is a huge issue because it's what you use to swim. If the benefit from lost fat doesn't overcome the detriment from lost muscle, you'll swim slower by losing weight, even when the ratio might lead to faster running. It's just due to the differences between the two sports in how weight affects performance. In studies of elite athletes across sports, swimmers and other weight-supported athletes (like kayakers) tend to have slightly higher body fat than runners.
