hey there! I used to compete when I was younger but I have gained weight since then and would love to use swimming to slim down. Swimming is my cardio of choice. My goal is to participate in a Swim a Thon in April 2005. I haven't been on a team or trained lately (since I was 11)....so I am not familiar on how to do intervals with the clock and all that stuff. Anyway...can you guys help me out? Thanks.
Parents
Former Member
I started back swimming about 3 months ago after a 15 year layoff. I've lost about 15 lbs, mainly due to swimming. I had been running about 20 miles/week until injuries in May of 2003 forced me off the roads. I gained about 20 lbs by Labor Day 2004.
I started swimming at 1000 yds and added 100 yds per workout til I got to 2500. Then I began interval training, getting a lot of the workouts from Kipp. I now do about 10 - 12,000 yds per week in 4 workouts ranging from 2500 to 4000 yds.
I wanted to know how many calories I was burning, so I could make changes to diet and continue to lose weight. The 2 variables are size and speed. Most references to swimming for calorie use *underestimate* the amount of calories burned during workout swimming--you burn more swimming 100yds in 1:30 than in swimming 100yds in 3:00. A good rule of thumb I use is 20 calories/minute for swimming at a good workout pace (between 1:20 and 1:50 per 100yds). So if you swim 1700 yds (1 mile) in 30 minutes, this burns 600 calories. If you don't increase your food consumption, you will lose a pound for every 6 miles you swim.
Some data from the web:
www.fitresource.com/.../CalBurn.htmwww.nutristrategy.com/activitylist4.htmhome.judson.edu/.../fitness7.html
I started back swimming about 3 months ago after a 15 year layoff. I've lost about 15 lbs, mainly due to swimming. I had been running about 20 miles/week until injuries in May of 2003 forced me off the roads. I gained about 20 lbs by Labor Day 2004.
I started swimming at 1000 yds and added 100 yds per workout til I got to 2500. Then I began interval training, getting a lot of the workouts from Kipp. I now do about 10 - 12,000 yds per week in 4 workouts ranging from 2500 to 4000 yds.
I wanted to know how many calories I was burning, so I could make changes to diet and continue to lose weight. The 2 variables are size and speed. Most references to swimming for calorie use *underestimate* the amount of calories burned during workout swimming--you burn more swimming 100yds in 1:30 than in swimming 100yds in 3:00. A good rule of thumb I use is 20 calories/minute for swimming at a good workout pace (between 1:20 and 1:50 per 100yds). So if you swim 1700 yds (1 mile) in 30 minutes, this burns 600 calories. If you don't increase your food consumption, you will lose a pound for every 6 miles you swim.
Some data from the web:
www.fitresource.com/.../CalBurn.htmwww.nutristrategy.com/activitylist4.htmhome.judson.edu/.../fitness7.html
