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

Body fat measurements from anything other than a dexascan are pretty BS. They make too many assumption to be accurate for individuals.

When you do a decade, most of those 6-8 guys turn into 12+ guys

One of the fastest male free sprinters in the world is pretty lean. Cam McEvoy. He is 1.85m and 70kgs or so. So about equivalent to elite triathlete height/weight ratios who can run sub 30 in a 10km at the end of an olympic distance triathlon. So not all swimmers are really big.

Something else to consider- technical swimsuits make everyone look fatter than they actually are. Most swimmers go for the smallest possible size they can get into. The 2008 suits with zippers are now illegal. Some women's suits take 20 minutes to put on (with help from talcum powder and friends).

joedirt wrote:

Plus, the longest women's Olympic swim race is 800 meters (and takes about 8:00), which is not exactly a long distance event.

jjjjjj wrote:

None of them are fat but the women are not like distance runners.

Good analysis wrote:

I agree with this, except the last statement, as some of them are extremely fat.

One of the 2nd placers in the women's breaststroke is an example.

a few thoughts:

1) like previously mentioned, competition suits are usually several sizes smaller than the swimmer's average suit size, which causes the flesh/skin/fat/muscles to bulge out - does not mean they're fat.

For instance, see Natalie Coughlin

in suit (her arm/back area):

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/50/a6/f1/50a6f19106f5bc32af568dea5b4e3ee8.jpg

though she's clearly lean/ripped:

http://blog.asianinny.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/NatalieCoughlin_3.jpg

http://static.grindtv.com/images/1/00/41/26/46/412646.jpg

So basically, when you see the female swimmer in bodysuits, they make them look way chunkier than they are. Unlike runners, actually having developed back/shoulder/arm muscles adds to this effect.

In relation to the men, a similar effect is visible from back when full-body suits were legal - see phelps in beijing:

http://cdn03.cdn.justjared.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/phelps-beijing/michael-phelps-beijing-olympics-05.jpg

Kneeskins are less dramatic in this respect.

2) the physical demands of swimming are more accommodating to diverse body types than running. I knew several high-level female swimmers who would be considered traditionally 'fat' in high school. I don't know anything about buoyancy effects, but swimmers do not have to deal with the same impact concerns as runners, so weight is less relevant to both speed and durability. I'm a biker/swimmer but hip injuries flare up every time I try to get into running seriously. In terms of the gender breakdown, these were the athletic people with large frames who may not have been able to perform as well in other sports - so maybe the heavier boys went into football, but the girls didn't have that option and went into swimming. There are not a lot of other sports where this body type can be successful at a high level because of the speed/injury considerations previously mentioned.

The swimmer the prior poster was talking about is molly hannis:

http://media.jrn.com/images/hannis_22620385_ver1.0_640_480.jpg

She's going to the Olympics. She's extremely fit.

3) Men have lower body fat on average than women. I

Yup... wrote:

Cold pools over time can possibly lose a person's definition. The body adapts to being immersed in cold.

I'm swimming now, but luckily the pool's almost luke-warm- otherwise, I won't. I refuse to jump into "ice water". Winter brings along enough cold.

How stupid are visitors to this site?

This guy plumbs new depths?

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.

This actually works pretty well when you do it.

A lot of people are talking about the benefit of "buoyancy". Utter nonsense.

There's no "dead man's float" event in swimming.The enemy in swimming is drag, not gravity. The buoyancy benefits of a few extra percentage body fat are insignificant when it comes to positioning your body. At the same time, the penalty for being a few pounds heavier is minimal. Good female swimmers are bulkier and carry a lot more muscle than comparably accomplished runners. Man are larger and more naturally lean than women, so they'll look more ripped in comparison, but it's no different than the comparison in other power sports.

Here's the fastest male sprinter in the US (Nathan Adrian):

http://www.nathanadrian.com/uploads/5/7/7/1/5771501/4492324_orig.jpg

Here's our fastest female sprinter (Abbey Weitzeil)

http://image.dailynews.com/storyimage/LA/20160629/SPORTS/160629404/AR/0/AR-160629404.jpg&maxh=400&maxw=667

The differences in their builds are just the differences between men and women.

When my body fat dipped under 8% in university I was constantly breaking down and getting sick. Coach and nutritionist had me get up to 10% and I was more resilient and recovered better. I swam 100-200 fly, 200-1500 free

Longest race is the 10k Open Water and yes some of the swimmers are doing pool events and the 10k.

Keep in mind wrote:

The primary muscles used in running are the legs and gluts, whereas in swimming it's the arms and lats.

Not necessarily. You can't see it when you watch good swimmers because they make it look so easy. The power in swimming comes from the core and the kick. Notice the that in the fly, the arms are pretty relaxed and going along for the ride. Sure, they are pulling, but if you don't learn to swim as a kid, you tend to overemphasize the upper body because using your core and legs as your source of power swim is so much harder.

Perhaps the difference between female and male swimmers just reflects what naturally happens to you when you train a ton and don't worry about what you eat.

This of course raises the question why top female distance runners are just as skinny as top male distance runners. A plausible suggestion is that, because weight matters in running, top female runners do what's necessary to stay lean, even if that means that their diets are more highly restricted than their male counterparts.

You could probably see the same dynamic play out in a lot of different contexts: Give a group of men and women a heavy exercise regimen (doesn't matter what it is), and tell them not to worry about what they eat. The men will probably get fairly cut, and the women won't.

moanswers wrote:

The power in swimming comes from the core and the kick.

No, it does not.

Total Nonsense wrote:

moanswers wrote:

The power in swimming comes from the core and the kick.

No, it does not.

It depends on the stroke.

On the subject of exceptions, look up Breeja Larson...definitely more lean than most of the female swimmers. Most do have that extra cushion, though. "Fat" is a silly word for it, because they ain't that.

A breast stroker wrote:

Total Nonsense wrote:

No, it does not.

It depends on the stroke.

Even in freestyle, where propulsion is primarily generated by the upper body, kicking is what differentiates the best swimmers. The pulling motion significantly adds to your frontal drag, while kicking does not. Once you're good enough, incremental improvements to kicking power add more to your speed than incremental improvements to your pull.

Here's a good discussion:

Here's an article that talks about two of the biggest factors in college recruiting, both of which are kicking related:

I have to admit, the thought crossed my mind while watching the swimming trials that the women were larger than I would have expected. But they look great in the photos linked above. Seems like it has a lot to do with their competition swimsuits, which are wildly unflattering.

Very good question! One that I have pondered too.

Obviously the male swimmers are not as lean as the runners. Now, the divers on the other hand...

Also females are not able to build the muscle mass of their male swimmers...so I think they tend to store more fat.

Some people believe that swimming causes more upper body beef as well...but I don't necessarly believe this. I think swimming will tone your entire body if you do it regularly,,,,,but the optimal swimming build is NOT the same as runners.