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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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?
That's certainly the question this thread begs. Actual measurements of this I'm sure are difficult to set up and attain. Based on the Gary Hall threads, it seems there isn't all that much research on actual drag for normal sized swimmers, let alone the effects of weight on drag versus increased inertia.
I can only answer the glide question partially... with a pushoff and no kicking, i tend to glide far and hold a greater speed over the glide than I can ever remember back in the day. Unfortunately i'm without a solid workout partner to compare to, so there's really no basis for me to say i'm better or worse at gliding than others of the same speed... and being a sprinter there's really no race comparisons I can throw out there that don't also involve massive kicking underwater (something i'm awesome at) to throw off a purely inertia discussion.
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?
That's certainly the question this thread begs. Actual measurements of this I'm sure are difficult to set up and attain. Based on the Gary Hall threads, it seems there isn't all that much research on actual drag for normal sized swimmers, let alone the effects of weight on drag versus increased inertia.
I can only answer the glide question partially... with a pushoff and no kicking, i tend to glide far and hold a greater speed over the glide than I can ever remember back in the day. Unfortunately i'm without a solid workout partner to compare to, so there's really no basis for me to say i'm better or worse at gliding than others of the same speed... and being a sprinter there's really no race comparisons I can throw out there that don't also involve massive kicking underwater (something i'm awesome at) to throw off a purely inertia discussion.
