Body Fat % and Endurance

RAlexRAlex Member
edited May 2013 in General Discussion
I've competed in a lot of endurance open water races. I've noticed a lot of people who finish before or with me are frequently -uhm, let's say husky? I know some energy comes from burning stored fat - so I was curious if I bulked up a little, would it be beneficial? I'm not a stick but a pretty healthy 5'-10, 165lb with 15% BMI.

Comments

  • loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member
    While we don't want to stifle new discussions, it's worth pointing out again to new members that there is a search bar. Typing "fat" into it will return a number of results and different versions of this oft-discussed topic.

    loneswimmer.com

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited May 2013
    You may be focusing on the wrong issue. The main reason people beat other people in a swim race is that they are better swimmers.

    As to whether bulking up would help you, it depends what you're trying to achieve. Bulking up doesn't make you a better swimmer, though it may increase your cold tolerance.
    miklcct
  • caburkecaburke Charter Member
    I’m one of those “husky” swimmers and I don’t recommend it.
  • IronMikeIronMike Northern VirginiaCharter Member
    edited May 2013
    In my book (my book is above NIH levels for BMI, btw, at 180-ish pounds for 68 inches), putting on bulk to improve swimming makes about as much sense as wearing a wetsuit to improve your swimming. :-q

    We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams

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