Comparing the lean, light frames of long-distance elite runners to the sturdy heft of competitive swimmers raises a question: Does swimming help you lose weight as effectively as running? There are certain factors that make running a more reliable weight-loss workout than swimming, and what they are might surprise you.
Calories Burned
Swimming and running are intense types of exercise and burn calories effectively. You use your upper and lower body when running, and swimming uses all your major muscle groups. If you weigh 155 lbs., you burn 563 calories running for one hour at a 12-minute-mile pace and you burn 774 calories per hour running at a 9-minute-mile pace. Swimming freestyle slowly burns 493 calories per hour and swimming fast burns 704 calories per hour.
Gravity and Impact
Running is a high-impact exercise, and you feel the effect of gravity on your joints and bones every time you land on the pavement. You build strength and lean muscle mass running, and in time, you replace fat with muscle. Because the energy demands of muscle tissue are higher than the energy needs of fat tissue, your metabolism increases and you burn more calories even when you are at rest. In contrast, swimming is a low-impact form of exercise. Swimming protects your joints against injury while it builds your overall strength and endurance. You do not experience much of a boost in lean muscle mass or bone strength from swimming, and your metabolism does not go up much either.
Land Versus Water
Running can be more effective for weight loss in part because air insulates your body better than water and allows your body temperature to increase. The boost in temperature also causes a metabolism boost, which can last for 18 hours, according to the Merck Manuals. Long after you finish your workout, you continue burning calories at a higher rate. In contrast, you do not benefit from the same long-term calorie-burning boost from swimming. Because water effectively dissipates the heat you generate swimming, you remain cool and your metabolism stays lower.
Appetite Levels
The increased body temperature that boosts your metabolism after running also suppresses your appetite, according to "Swimmer" magazine. In contrast, swimming is notorious for causing you to feel feel hungry as soon as you get out of the pool. Alicia Kendig, MS, RD, advances a theory that the cooling effect of water on skin does not suppress swimmers' appetite as much as exercises that cause athletes' bodies to heat up.
Member Comments