Debunking 3 Common Myths About Swimming

When you think of a sport that someone can choose to pursue, you might not immediately think about “swimming.” You might think about more popular sports like football, golf, or basketball. But swimming is still widely popular from a high school and collegiate basis to a more professional level. The less people know about swimming, however, the more myths about swimming seem to succeed. So let’s take a look at some of the common swimming myths and debunk them.

The most popular myth about swimming is perhaps the “eating before swimming” myth. Throughout your own lifetime, you might have noticed that the time has changed – don’t eat two hours before swimming, an hour before swimming, or a half an hour. If the myth was true, why does it keep changing? As it turns out, eating supplies us with energy! What a novel concept, huh? Many swimmers are lean and don’t have a lot of body fat to burn away, which means that they need to stay fueled for a swim by eating. Many people who overeat and then swim are feeling the effects of overeating before exercise; otherwise, you shouldn’t feel bad about having a snack and then going for a dip.

“You need to have a natural swimming body to be good at it.” Nothing could be farther than the truth. Sure, if you want to try out for the Olympics, it will help to have a physique like Michael Phelps’s. But if you want to lose weight, swimming can help you achieve the body you’re after. Why would you avoid swimming because your body isn’t “right” for it? Who cares what people typically associate with swimming – go swimming because it’s good for you, not because you don’t think you look good doing it. At the very least, don’t feel that you can’t swim quickly or with endurance because of your body’s shape.

“Swimming is an aerobic/anaerobic exercise.” Swimming is whatever exercise you make it – you can choose how difficult you make it and what kind of impact it will have on your heart rate. Anyone who thinks swimming is strictly aerobic or anaerobic doesn’t realize that swimming can be modified to accommodate either need – at the very least, be sure you recognize that swimming has a high degree of variability.

Photo Credits: coda

Originally posted 2009-07-20 05:52:18.

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Posted by Bike Swim Run on January 12, 2010 in Swimming. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.