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.
Parents
Former Member
I think this is a great thread and I've been wanting to chime in for a long time with my own data, but my data is even more incomplete and misleading. I lost about 15 pounds since November but rarely weighed myself before then, as for the last 20+ years I operated under the mistaken belief that I could eat and drink whatever I wanted because I had athletic things going.
My times this season were consistently about 2 seconds faster (same meets year over year) in the 100 free and a few tenths faster in the 50. But the one fastest time (outlier/miracle) I put up last season in the 100 did not improve at all.
But I do not have the talent/speed or background that you have so I have likely made technique improvements in the couple years I came back to swimming. If I did have the weight data to plot with my times it would probably be a perfect correlation, but it would be like a comparison of my times vs. the weather in Norway.
At the same time I made huge improvements in long distance races and cardio ability.
While it now feels so much better and I am a better swimmer overall, I might have to concur that the effect of weight on pure speed in a sprint is likely minimal to non-existent. (In the 50 free I am battling like hell to end up shaving a total one second and I know my technique has improved at the same time). There are likely side benefits of flexibility, etc. but if your stroke is already functioning at the highest level despite the weight, then I'm not sure the resistance factor adds up to much.
I kind of hope that is wrong because I wish another 15-20 pounds of weight loss alone would give me the 2%/2 second improvement I need to finally break 1:00 in the 100 free. But for me I've got to lose that weight anyway as in my 40s it has caught up to me health-wise. But I know you don't want to hear about that.
I think this is a great thread and I've been wanting to chime in for a long time with my own data, but my data is even more incomplete and misleading. I lost about 15 pounds since November but rarely weighed myself before then, as for the last 20+ years I operated under the mistaken belief that I could eat and drink whatever I wanted because I had athletic things going.
My times this season were consistently about 2 seconds faster (same meets year over year) in the 100 free and a few tenths faster in the 50. But the one fastest time (outlier/miracle) I put up last season in the 100 did not improve at all.
But I do not have the talent/speed or background that you have so I have likely made technique improvements in the couple years I came back to swimming. If I did have the weight data to plot with my times it would probably be a perfect correlation, but it would be like a comparison of my times vs. the weather in Norway.
At the same time I made huge improvements in long distance races and cardio ability.
While it now feels so much better and I am a better swimmer overall, I might have to concur that the effect of weight on pure speed in a sprint is likely minimal to non-existent. (In the 50 free I am battling like hell to end up shaving a total one second and I know my technique has improved at the same time). There are likely side benefits of flexibility, etc. but if your stroke is already functioning at the highest level despite the weight, then I'm not sure the resistance factor adds up to much.
I kind of hope that is wrong because I wish another 15-20 pounds of weight loss alone would give me the 2%/2 second improvement I need to finally break 1:00 in the 100 free. But for me I've got to lose that weight anyway as in my 40s it has caught up to me health-wise. But I know you don't want to hear about that.
