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Im currently injured and want to still be able to keep the weight down and fitness up, I currently cant run 100% and was wandering what would happen if i started going swimming alot. Would i lose fat from swmming and tone up, or would i bulk up, ie fat turning into muscle and be left afterwards quite well, static. I mean i already weigh alot, not due to fat but i dont really want to put on more weight from more muscle.

why cant you run?

thought about cycling? I likes it I do, and burns fat quite well.

Ankle injury, ive posted something about it a while ago. really annoying it is.

One legged fartlek runs it is...or is it hops???

Royal marines on one leg around the world.............GO!

I know fark all about swimming mate so wouldnt be able to offer much gen advice, most swimmers Ive seen though are toned as oppossed to arnie look-a-likeys. Not that I oggle many swimmers you understand....why I got arrested I'll never know...or a life time ban from the pool

lol thanks alot, its just since ive been injured i have put on a little bit of weight and if i start swimming alot i cant be bothered with that turning into muscle and be as fast as a tiger tank stuck in a hedge when going round the endurance course lol

Mate you aint going to get any fitter with an injury and maintaining the fitness you had prior will be tough enough.

First things first..rehab get the ankle sorted then get back to beasting yourself.

See a physio and get fixed,,then get fit.

Its just that my ankle only hurts when i run on it, so i thought swimming would be a good idea cause of no impact, just cant be assed with gaining more weight because of muscle, if that is what happens from swimming

You can do what I'm doing at the moment Dalo, got a groin injury which means I can't run either. Just swim front crawl without using your legs. Do this by swimming with a grab stroke instead of a racing stroke.

ie

Grab stroke = reach as far forward with your arm and that side of your body, grab the water with palm down and pull through.

Racing stroke = standard stroke, slip hand into water sideways then pull in an S-shape until arm is passing waist.

The grab stroke means that you roll slightly from one side of the body to the other as each arm reaches out. Move your legs with the roll of your body but don't use them to kick. It is best to breath every three strokes with this style, so you breath on either side of the body thus working with the roll.

You will have to push yourself swimming to maintain your running aerobic fitness, but at the very least this should maintain / improve your upper body strength. Also I have never known swimmers to seriously gain weight from their actual swimming, it just tones what muscle they have (front crawl much better than pressups for training the upper body for repeated muscle activity if you ask me). Muscle gain for swimmers is mainly gained by weights or circuits in my experience (spent most of my life on swimming teams).

PS If you really want to go hardcore, swim in the Aberdeen briney!

Thanks for the reply mate, so swimming does tone then, thats good to hear thanks.

Hey swimming is the sport that exercises all of your muscles and it is the only one that can do that. I found that when I joined a competitive swimming club 5 months ago it helped a lot I have lost weight (not saying I was a fatty to begin with but ya know) and my muscles have built up to (I saw results after like a month). It doesn’t put any pressure on your joints unless you are using them vigorously so I shouldn’t see it being a problem with an ankle injury. Plus if you train for an hour at about 60% then you will develop slow twitch muscle fibres as well as fast ones so this means that you would still be able to do that endurance course.

Just thought of something else, try buying some hand fins from a swimming shop. The fins are wetsuit-style gloves shaped like a frog foot, with webbing between the fingers. They should help you to swim without kicking and also help your upper body strength, as the webbing increases resistance as you pull through the water. I swear by the things.

what actually is the best exercise for burning fat?

Someone said walking's actually better than running for burning fat, but don't quote me on that.

Zak

MCD EASTERBROOK wrote:what actually is the best exercise for burning fat?

There is no top one in my opinion just make sure your getting your heart rate into its target zone i.e work your balls off at what your doing.

Diet is more important for fat burning obviously with cardio as well.

Humph