GoSwim GoldLight Sprinters VS. Heavy Sprinters
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Hello, I am a college swimmer. Some of my best times are 20.44 and 44.7 in for 50 and 100 yard freestyle. My coach this season stressed me a lot to lose weight so I could be lighter and have less weight to pull through the water.
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What struck in your post me was that your last meal was at 6pm; That means you're going about 11-12 hrs. without eating anything. Maybe try eating something, even a spoonful of Nutella, before going to sleep. That way you are still burning calories while you sleep, but not muscle :) |
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Hi Curiousswimmer - There are a few things missing in your post - what is your daily swim volume? What is your lifting routine? Those kinds of things. Every one has a different physiology. There are swimmers on our team - close to your speed who are 5'10" and 6'6" and both weigh between 170 - 190. 10% body fat is actually pretty high for a well conditioned swimmer. It all depends on your bone and muscle structure. You need to find a weight that you feel comfortable at. Without much more info, it is hard to go further than this. I agree with black&blue that a last meal at 6 pm is pretty early for in-season training. |
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Monday: AM swim 1.5hrs, PM: 2 hrs
I did loose muscle but this was the only way for me to drop down to 180 pounds from 200 pounds. I dropped a lot time this year but the dieting sucks. blakc n blue is probably right with eating a small snack before bedtime but thats what my coach wants. The idea is to lose the weight and maybe even muscle but maintain the same strength i had before hand, if not even try to become stronger. |
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I don't see the logic in losing weight in order to go faster. Less weight means less inertia. It's easier to throw a rock through the air than to throw a piece of paper of the same size and shape. A heavy swimmer can go much farther with a push off from the wall than a lighter one. Concerning drag, mass increases more rapidly than frontal area, so there is always and advantage in gaining muscle mass. But, as you noted, all these arguments have as many counterexamples as you want: Thorpe vs VDH, Bernard vs Sullivan, and so on. |
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It comes down to strength vs body weight. If you have the strength to pull a 200 lb body through the water, then lost 20 lbs but still kept all of your strength, then you will be able to pull that 180 lb body through the water with much more ease, allowing you to last longer, or to pull with more power. In my opinion it is beneficial for swimmers to be lean because it is less weight for them to carry through the water. But, I am ok with them putting on muscle (in fact I expect that to happen) as long as they gain the strength to go with that muscle. I am, however, against putting on fat, but I feel like that's kind of obvious. As windrath stated, 10% for a swimmer at your level is slightly on the high side. I would maybe suggest trying to decrease your body fat %, not necessarily decreasing your body weight. As you mentioned, you lost weight, but in the process lost muscle. That muscle is very important, especially as a sprinter. We are always trying to increase strength, not lose it. Try and keep the muscle, but lose the fat. Talk with your coach about this and get back to us. I would like to know how it plays out. Good luck. |
CuriousSwimmer
JZ
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CuriousSwimmer
Canada
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black&blue
California
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Windrath
Red Wing, MN
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JZ
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Dustin Myers
Austin Tx / Shreveport LA
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