Running or Swimming?

cerebis

Whats better for losing a belly....?? (not about diet!)

Running or swimming ?

daveirl

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copacetic

running would burn more calories with the same time put in and unless you are a great swimmer you could likely run for much longer than you can swim. On the other hand you are much more likely to injure yourself running and swimming is a great all over workout. How about doing both??

Ph3n0m

sorry to hijack - but again what about


rowing vs running vs swimming - which is the better?

copacetic

i'd say it is running then rowing then swimming but ropwing to swimming is about the same. the reason running is best for calorie burn is that you are bearing your whole weight while you do it.

as daveirl says, all this depends on speed, intensity etc. but I think it is widely agreed that as a standalone activity running burns calories better than anything except cross country skiing (weight bearing but uses upper body a lot too)

all this is relative though, pick the one you like and do it. it'll make feck all difference which one is best if it's the one you can't stand to do for long enough to make a difference.

There is loads on the web on all this, I like:
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,5033,s6-51-0-0-385-2-6X13-3,00.html

copacetic

but to thrown another spanner in the works i mostly run or cycle. when training hard the weight comes off via running, but if I need to kickstart it I go for a long spin on the bike. Although typically you need to go twice as long on the bike to burn the same calories as a run it is a fair bit easier on the body. eg you could do a six hour bike ride and be fine the next day but a 3 hour run will take you a few days to recover from..

t-ha

Ph3n0m wrote:

rowing vs running vs swimming - which is the better?

daveirl wrote:

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Just pick one you like & do it - you'll get out of it exactly what you put in. You know the way we like to bang on about exercising at varying intensities sometimes - well you'll notice that we tend to refer to %VO2max or so many heart beats per minute. Those parameters are independant of the actual activity, i.e. you can swim at 65%VO2max, you can run at 65%VO2max and you can row at 65%VO2max.

Ph3n0m

t-ha wrote:

Just pick one you like & do it - you'll get out of it exactly what you put in. You know the way we like to bang on about exercising at varying intensities sometimes - well you'll notice that we tend to refer to %VO2max or so many heart beats per minute. Those parameters are independant of the actual activity, i.e. you can swim at 65%VO2max, you can run at 65%VO2max and you can row at 65%VO2max.

I will admit, I am hooked on rowing - tried one of the machines in the gym and literally spent ages, completely lost track of time, ended up doing 30 minutes, and the old legs were like jelly Plus it was the first time in ages I bounded out of the gym feeling very refreshed

oxygen_old

I find swimming a bit boring, but then again rowing hardly floats my boat either.
Think I will stop posting in the fitness threads

Pherekydes

cerebis wrote:

Whats better for losing a belly....?? (not about diet!)

Running or swimming ?

Have a look at the Pros. Which sport has the skinniest athletes?

Running
Cycling
Rowing
Swimming

In that order. Note that swimming is not weight bearing, so while you won't get stress fractures and other such injuries, your bone density will suffer as you get older. This applies more so to women.

daveirl

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abetarrush

ditto


Back to Cerebis, why did you "not about diet!" ?

Is your diet sorted, or do you not want to change it?

If you dont wanna change it, then theres not much hope for ye losin ur belly

Note: You cant lose fat in a particular place [unless u get Lipo...]

Your fat% is like a layer around your hole body. You will always get an overall reduction

cerebis

tbh my diet is not that bad at all....

and I'm really skinny everywhere but my belly! I've started running and also playin for a footie team...now I just have to start doin push-ups and sit-ups and maybe go to the gym...I have a couple of dumbells in the house, is there any good exercises I could do using them ?

Battlejuice

cerebis wrote:

and I'm really skinny everywhere but my belly! I've started running and also playin for a footie team...now I just have to start doin push-ups and sit-ups and maybe go to the gym...I have a couple of dumbells in the house, is there any good exercises I could do using them ?

This might sound strange but when you're running/cycling/swimming try focusing on crunching the stomach muscles a little (eg: while running, focus on tensing the stomach muscles for 30 seconds then rest the abs for a minute or so then tense again).
I had major issues losing the paunch and couldn't hack sit-ups or any of those crunch exercises. An instructor recommended this method of just tensing the stomach a little and it's really worked for me while doing other exercises.

Ph3n0m

Battlejuice wrote:

This might sound strange but when you're running/cycling/swimming try focusing on crunching the stomach muscles a little (eg: while running, focus on tensing the stomach muscles for 30 seconds then rest the abs for a minute or so then tense again).
I had major issues losing the paunch and couldn't hack sit-ups or any of those crunch exercises. An instructor recommended this method of just tensing the stomach a little and it's really worked for me while doing other exercises.

Ah you mean stomach vaccum? I currently do this every day (well I try to) and it does work

http://www.bodybuildingforyou.com/articles-submit/karen-sessions/stomach-vacuum.html

justsomebloke

Ph3n0m wrote:

Ah you mean stomach vaccum? I currently do this every day (well I try to) and it does work

http://www.bodybuildingforyou.com/articles-submit/karen-sessions/stomach-vacuum.html

hey just on a side note, when working these muscles like other muscles you shouldn't be doing it every day.

mloc

swimming seems to be vastly overrated as a fat burning excerise. Unless you are training regularly with very high intensity, you will find it hard to burn up useful amounts of fat.

An unfortuntate side effect of swimming regularly is that the body develops and maintains a certain level of body fat in order to support boyancy. That's why you never really see ripped swimmers.

Personally I'd go with running as its easy to take up, you don't need a pool and to burn the same amount of calories requires a less ideal state of intensity.

copacetic

mloc wrote:

An unfortuntate side effect of swimming regularly is that the body develops and maintains a certain level of body fat in order to support boyancy. That's why you never really see ripped swimmers.

have you got a reference to back this up?

daveirl

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racso1975

I think as was posted above swimming can lead to a ripped body e.g. Ian Thorpe but diet is a crucial factor also. I do 40 lengths front crawl everyday and try to just do my arms and dont kick. This has lead to a significant increase in my upper body but i know i'll never be ripped due to my diet but it does mean that my waistline does not look so big anymore.

Water aerobics will burn a huge amount of calories if that is what you are looking for as it is harder to move in the water.

I aspire to run some stage soon but the thoughts of it kill me i cycle to and from work circa 10 miles each way but i really really really hate running and i think that is why part of me wants to do it so badly.

Anyhow best of luck to you which ever you chose but choose the one you like as you will be more likely to keep doing it.

bounty

yea racso1975, swimming will increase your upper body, i swam for years, and ive been told my shoulders are broad, try doing butterfly instead of front crawl for best results

mloc

daveirl wrote:

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yep. im still trying to find the original research papers, it's on wikipedia but that doesnt prove much (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swimming). I'll get back to you! I know it sounds a bit crazy, but the basic tenet behind it is that due to the effort of boyancy and the increased thermal conductivity of water against the skin, the body acts to insulate itself by maintaining higher cutaneous body fat.

copacetic

mloc wrote:

yep. im still trying to find the original research papers, it's on wikipedia but that doesnt prove much (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swimming). I'll get back to you! I know it sounds a bit crazy, but the basic tenet behind it is that due to the effort of boyancy and the increased thermal conductivity of water against the skin, the body acts to insulate itself by maintaining higher cutaneous body fat.

interesting enough. but have got to figure they are looking at people who already have body fat in 5-8% range if looking at proper swimmers and this is as low as most people would want to go anyway?

t-ha

mloc wrote:

...and the increased thermal conductivity of water against the skin, the body acts to insulate itself by maintaining higher cutaneous body fat.

You mean more heat is lost to the surrounding water than there would be with air, so there's less blood-flow through your sub-cutaneous bodyfat, so less of it can be burned for energy? 'tis possible I guess :rolleyes:

I would have thought that swimmers might have higher levels of bodyfat than (for example) track sprinters because it's beneficial to them bouyancy wise, or rather, it doesn't bring as much beneft to them to spend their time bringing it down any further. In other words, the body doesn't "decide" to hold more bodyfat for bouyancy, the swimmer does?

poobum

well...that is a load of crap...im a swimming teacher...and dude...most swimmers arent ripped because they have no need to be! there are none of the benefits that say a sprinter have for low bf% so they have no pressure for it! i know quite a few ripped swimmers! who have represented ireland at various levels!
i was a swimmer for years like...about 8 then i went into lifegaurding and teaching and have never heard before of what you are suggesting! are you sure it was proven? and not just some weird theory? there is no reason like you are suggesting for them maintaining bf that iv seen i have yet to see a conclusive study saying they cant be ripped, that bf is great or them! i could understand the insulation for say a long distance swimmer...but what about 100m or 200m swimmers? they hardly have a need for it!

Doomspell

I'd say swimming. But only because thats what i do! I live 2 seconds away from a small beach so I go swimming nearly everyday. It has made my body long and slim. I wouldn't say that running is not as good or anything because I don't run. Because if I run then it builds up the wrong muscles in my legs, which prevents me from being able to strech, do splits and what not.