Why are female swimmers fat while their male counterparts are ripped?

Sally V wrote:

The average fat of a top male athlete (depending on the sport) might be about 5% (2 for top marathoners). For women it is much higher (maybe closer to 20 per cent).

LOLOLOLOLOLOL ummmmmm, no.

And no.

And no.

That's 0/3. You must be a total idiot.

It seems that none of you are trained in the "system of twos."

Two is the baseline bodyfat, as in for the "rippedest" athlete, which would be a male bodybuilder of course. Think of that as the baseline.

Now, you multiply that by "two" if they person is female.

Multiply by two again (aka "exponential") depending on second-third-fourth tier of athleticism in event.

Examples of tiers:

First: bodybuilding, mixed martial arts, sprinting

Second: distance running, basketball, soccer

Third: swimming, baseball, rugby

Fourth: bowling, baseball, hammer throw

So, by the "twos" you can see that a female hammer thrower is 2x2x2x2x2 = 32% body fat. A male swimmer is 8%. "Et cetera."

You will find this works very well.

Both males and females are somewhat doughy given the hours they work out each day. Swimming is a poor exercise for weight control for some reason.

Seriously mate? wrote:

I think it has to do with . . . staying warmer in the water.

LOL.

Girls are squishy.

Part of it is that your body does not get as hot when swimming because the water is cooling you off.

I would also guess that some of it is swimmers need to be more relaxed than runners to be good. I bet runners naturally tense their muscles more and just look more ripped

At any rate, if you saw these people in person you would say a swimmer looks more normal than a runner albeit they will be very tall

I heard a quote from one of the most famous swimmers recently, like during the last Olympics (a chick, don't like the sports so don't know which one) and she said during training ice cream and pizza were the only things that would help them keep their weight up.

So it's by design to some extent.

whatishouldcareabout wrote:

I heard a quote from one of the most famous swimmers recently, like during the last Olympics (a chick, don't like the sports so don't know which one) and she said during training ice cream and pizza were the only things that would help them keep their weight up.

So it's by design to some extent.

I think you hit the nail on the head. I ran in college and was super lanky but had really ripped abbs and good definition. I hit the weight room pretty hard after to college. To get "strength" you need to eat a ton and take whey protein. This gets you stronger but you get a little flabbier. I probably went from 7% body fat in college to about 10% - 12%. But i was able to put up 225lb or so on the bench. To be strong enough for an event like butterfly or freestyle where you need a lot of upper body strength you need to be able to compete at a high level. I'm sure it is even harder for the women since they have more natural body fat.

Russel Wilson is listed at 5'11" and 210lbs. That is THICK. Richard Sherman is 6'3" 190lbs so that means after a hard workout he might get down to 185lbs or 180lb even. Look how much more defined he is.

I agree female runners seem to be lankier (and overall more petite) than their swimming counterparts. I think much of this has to do with self-selection of exercise preference due to one's overall body type.

That said, female swimmers tend to have better definition in their arms and abdominals. Swimming definitely requires more active engagement of core and upper body muscles than long distance running. Runners have greater tone in their lower body/legs without a doubt.

I've taken up swimming over the last few weeks and seen improvements already in core and arm strength.

I knew some swimmers when I was in college (some were very good i.e. swam in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Trials), and they kind of ate like shit. However, they did swim for like 6-8 hours a day or something, so they needed the calories.

My guess is their body fat needs to be higher... a runner-type body wouldn't exactly be great for swimming as you won't nearly be powerful or strong enough for the water.

shredder wrote:

That said, female swimmers tend to have better definition in their arms and abdominals.

You're dreaming.

Female swimmers don't have any definition at all, certainly not compared to runners.

Fwiw when I was in peak fitness I was 6'3" and 150lbs. Typical skinny runner look, but more muscle definition. I would have bet my BF% would have been around 5%. I participated in a PhD students study on carb intake while running and it required a legit BF test. They kind where you get in the tank of water, not some stupid caliper test. I was just under 9%.

Totally wrong wrote:

shredder wrote:

That said, female swimmers tend to have better definition in their arms and abdominals.

You're dreaming.

Female swimmers don't have any definition at all, certainly not compared to runners.

Runners have atrophied arms whereas swimmers have tone and definition. It's like comparing a female anorexic vs. a fit woman with a healthy BMI.

shredder wrote:

Totally wrong wrote:

You're dreaming.

Female swimmers don't have any definition at all, certainly not compared to runners.

Runners have atrophied arms whereas swimmers have tone and definition. It's like comparing a female anorexic vs. a fit woman with a healthy BMI.

Yes. Seriously, separately Google siblings Laure and Florent Manadou. Both the woman and the man are better than anything running has to offer. Florent is ripped. Laure is too, but not the emaciated runner body.

I used to eat lunch with two all state swimmers in high school. They would often eat two Whoppers, two orders of fries, and a large shake for lunch. As a runner, the thought of eating that quantity of food 3 hours before practice was unthinkable. I'd be puking it up on the first hard interval.

Their response was twofold. Number one, swimming doesn't disrupt your digestion like running. No jostling of the stomach when in the water like you experience when running. You can swim full and swimming also does not suppress your appetite like running.

Number two, if they did get sick, it was standard practice to puke in the pool. The vomit just floated down to eventually get filtered out.

All anecdotal, but perhaps the enforced diet regimen (intentionally staying hungry to avoid workout issues) and appetite suppression effects of running and other sports naturally lead to a leaner frame. As others have pointed out, you also don't get penalized nearly as much in swimming for carrying extra weight.

I have a few thoughts. I skipped reading page 2 because of all the bickering about body fat %. I'm sorry if someone else said this.

1. Does speed vs. gravity in the pool make a difference? The guys are faster and can move their weight fast enough against gravity/water resistance that being stronger and leaner = faster. Where the women aren't fast enough to where gravity/water resistance has some role on being faster. If someone has extra fat then they float better and then their exerted energy is for positive movements forward in the pool and not up and down against gravity. (Does the speed of the stroke in the pool matter for body types? All-Around Swimmer vs. Just a Breaststroker)

2. How do BF% compare male vs. female in swimming as compared to other sports? (Real data - not how people look) The men vs. women at the Track & Field OT there is a difference in BF%. How much is it? How does it compare to swimming? Again just like body types in Track & Field are different depending on the event. How does it compare to the stroke choice in the pool?

3. Does the ability to breathe in the water inhibit the ability to work "hard enough" to burn fat? If you see an overweight person power walking every day, they don't just lose a bunch of weight just because their heart rate is elevated and they are breathing hard. Sometimes they don't lose weight at all. They are just maintaining or not gaining weight. They have to increase the exertion as they lose weight. Maybe the same can be said for swimming. Women's ability to breathe limits their work load/pace to where they are just doing enough work to maintain their fitness. (aka they are power walking) Where men are able to swim fast enough and they are over this hump that is limited by the ability to breathe.

4. Going back to point 1. Would a Caster Semenya type have an even bigger advantage in the pool vs the track when going against women? Because she would be strong/fast enough to swim against gravity/water resistance and be able to swim more like a man than a woman?

Good grief ` wrote:

gerrrronimo wrote:

Even bodybuilders on competition day (after water fasting for a week) are still only 3% bodyfat at a bare minimum.

Bodybuilders are more like 20 percent body fat. Their excess of muscle simply gives a misreading of their body fat percentages.

Numbnuts - you are referring to BMI, not body fat %. 20% bodyfat for bodybuilders is so dumb to say I don't know where to start. Guys in the Olympia are 3%-5%, and it takes A LOT of work and drugs to get that low, and they can't maintain that low for long.

Saying marathoners are at 2% is ludicrous. Your HIGH level athletes are 8% BF at best.

Leveon Bell is 2.9%https://www.instagram.com/p/5sFkNkMtL4/?taken-by=steelerrb26&hl=enBut he is a freak of nature

Arnold Arnoldson wrote:

Good grief ` wrote:

Bodybuilders are more like 20 percent body fat. Their excess of muscle simply gives a misreading of their body fat percentages.

Numbnuts - you are referring to BMI, not body fat %. 20% bodyfat for bodybuilders is so dumb to say I don't know where to start. Guys in the Olympia are 3%-5%, and it takes A LOT of work and drugs to get that low, and they can't maintain that low for long.

Saying marathoners are at 2% is ludicrous. Your HIGH level athletes are 8% BF at best.

sub-elite couch wrote:

It seems that none of you are trained in the "system of twos."

Two is the baseline bodyfat, as in for the "rippedest" athlete, which would be a male bodybuilder of course. Think of that as the baseline.

Now, you multiply that by "two" if they person is female.

Multiply by two again (aka "exponential") depending on second-third-fourth tier of athleticism in event.

Examples of tiers:

First: bodybuilding, mixed martial arts, sprinting

Second: distance running, basketball, soccer

Third: swimming, baseball, rugby

Fourth: bowling, baseball, hammer throw

So, by the "twos" you can see that a female hammer thrower is 2x2x2x2x2 = 32% body fat. A male swimmer is 8%. "Et cetera."

You will find this works very well.

And if it doesn't work just move the event into its most closely matching body fat tier and VWALAH! it works!

LOL