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.
good job
I bet you would be faster if you were leaner
I wrote about this SFF tip in Lug Less Lard
here's a few height weight proportions of world class swimmers I googled
michael phelps
6'4" 195
size 14 feet
arm span is 6' 7"
Ryan Lochte
6'2" 185 to 190
Jason Lezak's
6' 4" 205 lbs
Grant Hackett
6 ft 6 in 210 lb
Natalie Coughlin
5' 8" Weight: 137 pound
Dara Torres
5 feet 11 1/2 149 pounds
Dana Vollmer
6 ft 0 150 pounds
Each swimmer has weight range that will allow them their ideal performance.
Most masters fall on the too heavy side a few are too thin and could benefit from more muscle.
Update:
Ok so the weight is down a bit under 260 now, but I don't have the greatest results to report. The meet I was at yesterday was considerably slower. In my eyes, its a disappointment. I do have an excuse however (as usual). My celebratory procedures for NFL divisional winners the night before a meet should probably be amended. About a second slow per 50 from my target time (probably about 0.07 seconds per 50 per beer if you're into actual stats :chug:).
50y free 23.9
100y free 53.0
Also did my first butterfly race since 1999
50 fly 26.3 - My main mistake was the surprise I received when there was someone next to me doing SDK's. Usually no one is near when it comes to that. I ended up staying under too long and swimming his race rather than my own. Had I stuck to the plan I'd have been under 26 easily.
On the bright side, I changed over to a track start and it seems that the reaction times will no longer be a problem. Very positive results on that.
The other intangible would be that I wore an older stretched out speedo jammer rather than my aquablade. Perhaps that could be a backup excuse :) Unsure as to how much I should weight either cause.
I'll have more results to report in about two weeks... and that's only pro-bowl weekend so theres no reason to be "weighted down" that weekend ;)
good job
I bet you would be faster if you were leaner
I wrote about this SFF tip in Lug Less Lard
here's a few height weight proportions of world class swimmers I googled
michael phelps
6'4" 195
size 14 feet
arm span is 6' 7"
Ryan Lochte
6'2" 185 to 190
Jason Lezak's
6' 4" 205 lbs
Grant Hackett
6 ft 6 in 210 lb
Natalie Coughlin
5' 8" Weight: 137 pound
Dara Torres
5 feet 11 1/2 149 pounds
Dana Vollmer
6 ft 0 150 pounds
Each swimmer has weight range that will allow them their ideal performance.
Most masters fall on the too heavy side a few are too thin and could benefit from more muscle.
Update:
Ok so the weight is down a bit under 260 now, but I don't have the greatest results to report. The meet I was at yesterday was considerably slower. In my eyes, its a disappointment. I do have an excuse however (as usual). My celebratory procedures for NFL divisional winners the night before a meet should probably be amended. About a second slow per 50 from my target time (probably about 0.07 seconds per 50 per beer if you're into actual stats :chug:).
50y free 23.9
100y free 53.0
Also did my first butterfly race since 1999
50 fly 26.3 - My main mistake was the surprise I received when there was someone next to me doing SDK's. Usually no one is near when it comes to that. I ended up staying under too long and swimming his race rather than my own. Had I stuck to the plan I'd have been under 26 easily.
On the bright side, I changed over to a track start and it seems that the reaction times will no longer be a problem. Very positive results on that.
The other intangible would be that I wore an older stretched out speedo jammer rather than my aquablade. Perhaps that could be a backup excuse :) Unsure as to how much I should weight either cause.
I'll have more results to report in about two weeks... and that's only pro-bowl weekend so theres no reason to be "weighted down" that weekend ;)
