The doc wanted to see me this week in order to refill a medication prescription. Just after 8 holiday parties, I went in and was weighed as usual. Oh boy.
I know I gain during the winter and loose it in the more active summer, but did I need to be weighed right after Christmas? My weight increased so that now for the first time in my life I am considered overweight (but no obese:D), according to the BMI calculation.
I have begun watching calories & keeping track of calories in a written log, (which I understand is good for achieving results.) As part of my 'recovery', I am also discovering how to burn calories.
So how many calories does each stroke burn? From the internet, in a one hour swim (assume that means swimming continuously) for my weight / age:
..backstroke 651
..breaststroke 931
..butterfly 1024
..freestyle fast 931
..freestyle moderate 651
(Note to self: 1 pound of body fat = 3500 calories)
Breaststroke, no question. My HR monitor tells me so. :agree:
That's going to be very specific to the person. Breaststroke is tiring to me because I use muscles I don't use in the other strokes, and my kick is so poor...but it doesn't get me out of breath or raise my HR as much as the other strokes.
The kick is (ahem) the kicker. If I grab a kickboard and blast away, I will quickly get out of breath with either flutter or dolphin kick. But I can't "blast away" with frog kick: turnover is too slow and my knees simply won't take it. My muscles get tired and I can't go any faster, but my breathing stays pretty steady. This is a problem with me, not an indictment of the stroke.
(But it's a terrible stroke that should be banned.)
For me, fly gets the HR up the fastest. But I would tend to think that the constant start/stop nature of the short-axis strokes might make them more "energy hogs" than the long-axis strokes, similar to how gas mileage suffers in the city compared to the highway.
Breaststroke, no question. My HR monitor tells me so. :agree:
That's going to be very specific to the person. Breaststroke is tiring to me because I use muscles I don't use in the other strokes, and my kick is so poor...but it doesn't get me out of breath or raise my HR as much as the other strokes.
The kick is (ahem) the kicker. If I grab a kickboard and blast away, I will quickly get out of breath with either flutter or dolphin kick. But I can't "blast away" with frog kick: turnover is too slow and my knees simply won't take it. My muscles get tired and I can't go any faster, but my breathing stays pretty steady. This is a problem with me, not an indictment of the stroke.
(But it's a terrible stroke that should be banned.)
For me, fly gets the HR up the fastest. But I would tend to think that the constant start/stop nature of the short-axis strokes might make them more "energy hogs" than the long-axis strokes, similar to how gas mileage suffers in the city compared to the highway.
