This has been something I've wondered the last few years. I used to be a college swimmer, fit and trim, but the 10 years since then I've drank my fair share of beer and ate plenty of cheeseburgers. Just curious what peoples' take is on how much the extra baggage really effects swim races.
I don't really fit the swimmer mold anymore. I'm 31, 6'2", and 270lbs with a huge beer gut. I got some strange looks since the meet i was in recently was a USAS meet and I outweighed my competition by 100lbs in many cases. My first race in about 5 years i went 23.4 in the 50y free. I didn't expect to be that fast at this weight but at the same time I almost wonder if the added intertia is helping me more on the start and turns. Followed it up with a low 52 in the 100y free but I had a horrible reaction on the start and incorrect pacing. I think if i raced again today that'd be deep in the 51 range. For reference, typical non-taper times for me in college were in the low-mid 22 range at just a tick over 200lbs but I was obviously a lot stronger, younger, and doing a TON more yards at the time, that's why it makes me wonder just how much the weight is actually holding me back.
How much time do you think I stand to drop if i were 50lbs lighter? Could it be a measurable difference or something just slight? I guess I ask that to see if it'd be worth my while to drop that much weight quickly by dieting in addition to the swimming i'm doing. I don't really like dieting, and i generally eat what I want, when i want. Not gorging myself at every meal doesn't really seem to fit into my lifestyle :blush: Anyone have a similar story? "I dropped XX lbs and went XX seconds faster because of it."
Maybe it's an immeasurable, but I thought I'd ask for opinion anyway. I'm hoping it doesn't turn into a "to diet or not to diet" discussion though.
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I'm just kinda curious if it's really a detriment to speed or if it doesn't matter.
Please keep experimenting and updating us :)
but mass itself is increasing the downward pull of gravity and thus at least increasing it to some extent.
I know this is counter intuitive, but weight and gravity don't matter. You are pushing a heavily laden shopping cart (we must be at Lowes), and it doesn't take much effort to push it down the aisle (if the wheels are round), but starting, stopping and turning require a lot of effort.
You are just trying to over come the water drag, because you are a body in motion, and you will stay in motion as long as you continue to overcome drag. If you miss a flip turn on the other hand... sucks to be fat. ;)
But how will it effect inertia in the water? If it hurts on the walls, extra mass should help prevent deceleration to some degree as well won't it?
Yes, but is it noticeable? Do you make it much further off the wall compared to a 200lb guy before you need to start swimming to maintain speed?
I'm just kinda curious if it's really a detriment to speed or if it doesn't matter.
Please keep experimenting and updating us :)
but mass itself is increasing the downward pull of gravity and thus at least increasing it to some extent.
I know this is counter intuitive, but weight and gravity don't matter. You are pushing a heavily laden shopping cart (we must be at Lowes), and it doesn't take much effort to push it down the aisle (if the wheels are round), but starting, stopping and turning require a lot of effort.
You are just trying to over come the water drag, because you are a body in motion, and you will stay in motion as long as you continue to overcome drag. If you miss a flip turn on the other hand... sucks to be fat. ;)
But how will it effect inertia in the water? If it hurts on the walls, extra mass should help prevent deceleration to some degree as well won't it?
Yes, but is it noticeable? Do you make it much further off the wall compared to a 200lb guy before you need to start swimming to maintain speed?
