benefits and cons of swimming as cardio workout, towards someone who wants to bulk vrs get lean/toned.

I would assume that swimming is not ideal for bulking.


but what about for those who want to cut off that extra fat around their body? Do you think swimming would be more effective than jogging? (of course with weightlifting involved in both, because no weightlifting= bad for any goals)

Right now i'm swimming 25 laps a day+other random stuff in the pool, messing around, each lap i would guess to be about 50-75 meters.

I'm not so sure what my post is about, but throw in your thoughts on swimming!

If you wanna lose weight focus on your diet,cardio and exercise can only help you. It will take several months if you wanna lose alot of fat just through dieting,but once you start to notice it,it doesn't slow down. It's been 4 hard months of eating super healthy w/o a single 'cheat' meal and it's paying off,I now have veins starting to pop out in my shoulders and chest when I work out and am sub 9% bodyfat.

This guy at work is trying to get as lean as possible for summer and damn is his hard work paying off. He's eating fruits,salads and chicken only(been eating this way for a year now) and doing two-a-days at the gym,swimming in the morning and running at night and damn it's paying off,he's cut like a mofo. He isn't focused on gaining any muscle though,so that's something to consider.

Kev07 said:

benefits and cons of swimming as cardio workout, towards someone who wants to bulk vrs get lean/toned.

I would assume that swimming is not ideal for bulking.


but what about for those who want to cut off that extra fat around their body? Do you think swimming would be more effective than jogging? (of course with weightlifting involved in both, because no weightlifting= bad for any goals)

Right now i'm swimming 25 laps a day+other random stuff in the pool, messing around, each lap i would guess to be about 50-75 meters.

I'm not so sure what my post is about, but throw in your thoughts on swimming!

Click to expand...

Swimming, as any other physical activity, burns calories. Depending on your total calorie intake vs. calorie expenditure, you might lose weight.

If you want a metabolic shift (less fat, more muscles, same weight), weightlifting is the better alternative.

Of course, your diet counts when it comes down to fat.

-Mehdi.

My new regime for getting cut involves cross training to the max. I'm constantly fooling my body.

I've been lifting for 13 years now and this is really shocking it into new growth and dropping some stubborn fat.

A quick sample of a current week.

Lifting 3 days a week, full body workouts. One day a 5 rep per set workout (only 1-3 sets per bodypart). Another day a 10 rep workout (using different equipment, or free weights than the 5 rep and the same # of sets per body part. The third day is a 15 rep day using yet again something different equipment wise.

I do track my weights though so I can get an idea of what I should be lifting and upping it from time to time.

Then I do HIIT cardio on the treadmill 2-3 days a week, followed by a longer run or race on the weekend.

One day a week I also try to get some swimming in. I might use the rowing machine.

I'll start playing tennis again here soon.

The obvious note is, it may be tough to gain alot of new mass but i'm more focused on getting cut.

I'm eating healthy for other reasons too, one mainly to lose weight but also completely get over the heartburn i've had off and on for a while. Eating small frequent meals helps, stops the stomach growling and acid production. Going off coffee was the other big step.

If you want to swim that's great, just don't overdo it.