Swimming vs. spinning

[carsnoceans]

I am a pretty big guy - 6' and 230lbs+ and in my recent (first) drive trip, I realized my high body mass makes me highly buoyant. Not good. I was wearing a shortie and 14lbs would seem less as the tank would get between 1000-1200psi. So another good reason to shed some weight... among plenty others of course.

Now I have been swimming for last 3 months (3 times/week) and consider myself at mediocre level swimmer (2000-2300yards/ hr) but it seems that I am not losing any weight or inches or even progressing further. So I thinking of bringing some variation in the exercise routine.

It would seem that spinning is good for building swimmer's legs but I am not a fitness expert. Would spinning be advisable or keep on swimming hard? Of course, the only reason I have ONLY been swimming is because I enjoy it a lot! Whereas treadmill/ stepper etc kindda seem like tedious chores.

Appreciate the inputs!

Cheers

 

[Teamcasa]

Keep swimming and your fitness level will improve dramatically. However your buoyancy issues need addressed separately. As a new diver your greatest challenge will be to control you buoyancy control and your trim. (Maintaining good horizontal positioning without flailing your arms.) With practice and good mentorship this will soon become second nature.

 

[Clammy]

More important than any exercise is diet. At it's simplest, to lose weight, it's just calories in minus calories out. Many people will work out and then eat a lot afterwards because they feel that they can or get hungry. However, keep in mind that a single can of soda would take most people a mile of running to burn off.

Swimming makes for a good overall body exercise because you use a lot of muscles that you aren't used to and all at once. Spinning makes for great leg strength is a pretty killer cardio (as well as strengthening the core if you do it right). What you probably want to do is a mix of strength resistance training along with cardio. Lean muscle burns calories even at rest while fat does nothing but store energy and water... and make wetsuits look unflattering. You want to resistance train to build up lean muscle (which for awhile may actually make you look bigger as your muscles swell from constantly working out and as you pack on more muscle), while also working in cardio so that you can work out harder as you develop the cardiovascular system as well as helping to burn more calories and fat.

While you do this, you don't want to starve yourself either :no because lean muscle requires protein to build. Changing your diet to lean proteins with lower fat and sugar intake will probably do more for you than just swimming or spinning alone.

That being said, any change in activity, given all other things remain constant (calorie intake) will make a difference over time given that you are diligent about it. There's no reason for you to not do both (alternating). In this way, you keep your body surprised as well which helps in building muscle and losing fat too.

 

[carsnoceans]

With practice and good mentorship this will soon become second nature.

I got the practice part but where do I find good mentorship? I have "a" dive-buddy (rest all are practically hydrophobic) who certified with me.

 

[Captain Walt]

Well said Clammy. May I ad varying your loud cardio wise such as sets. I am a swimmer as well and will vary the work out with sprint and distance sets. As well as varying the intensity. If you break it up in sets and very the intensity per set, it will benefit you more than just swimming a mile or more every day. And to reiterate from others the plus of adding resistance training. Eat right and very your workout.

As to buoyancy practice and experience is the key. Go to a LDS with a pool if you can't get out in open water.....but OW is were you will gain the experience you will need to learn about your buoyancy.

 

[Teamcasa]

With practice and good mentorship this will soon become second nature.

I got the practice part but where do I find good mentorship? I have "a" dive-buddy (rest all are practically hydrophobic) who certified with me.

Join a local dive club or two. Ask here, there are many good divers willing to spend a dive or two working with new divers.

 

[ACR]

I'd suggest like others here that you add some weight baring exercise to your routine. That's not to say that you need to turn into a competition body builder but an increase in your lean muscle mass will lead to a dramatic increase in your at-rest calorie burn.

Do some lower weight (30%-50% of your max or so), high rep circuit training. The trick with circuit training is minimizing the amount of time between exercises and to keep the heart rate up... Oh and change the routine up from time to time and have fun with it, exercise doesn't have to be a chore

That'll be $200 please

 

[cmburch]

I am the same 6' 230lb. I have been swimming 1.5-2 miles a few days a week at the local Jr college for about 15 years. I also bike 10+miles a few days a week. It is hilly where I live. I find that the biking increases my speed when using the kickboard. I am a cold water diver 48-52F. 9/7/6mm wetsuit. I use about 20lb in addition to BP/wing set-up and steel tank. Swimming has only screwed up my wardrobe. My shoulders are 52 vs 48 20 years ago.

2000-2300yds in an hr is a good workout if it is in sets. But if just continuously cruising, it may not help cardio. I swim with relatively good swimmers so it encourages me to work harder in the swim sets and there is a swim coach.

I also kayak.

If I were to increase biking to 30-40 miles a couple of days a week I would drop 20 lbs in a few months. My ideal weight was about 185lb in my 20s, but since I have gained so much leg and shoulder muscle it would now be about 205lb.

 

[grazie42]

I´d second those suggesting that you vary your swimming routine...
Do sprints, medleys and intervals...use all the different styles...don´t just "grind"...if you want more cardio and strength in your swimming, try doing a few butterfly-laps and if that doesen´t make you breath harder then you´re a far better swimmer than I am...

 

[fisherdvm]

Suggest to me what you mean by "sprints, medleys, and intervals". I think I am just grinding away, and not getting any faster. I do 1/4 mile of crawl, 1/4 breast, then repeat again for 1 mile. Slower than molasses. It is 100% better than 6 months ago, and 400% better than 2 years ago (I just started swimming about 1.5 years ago).

What do you suggest? Sprint for 100 yards, relax for 100, sprint again??