Why do Olympic swimmers have so much body fat?

[jjones]

Originally posted by: TallBill
404: the fat not found

 

[Scarpozzi]

Just because they lack definition doesn't mean they're fat. When you consider they don't particularly lift heavy weights to train, it makes sense. Swimmers just swim for hours a day to get faster.

A good comparison here... If you compare the calf muscles of a distance runner to a sprinter and then to a soccer player, you're going to see 3 totally different compositions.

Swimmers are going to be similar when it comes to their abdominal muscles. They won't be ripped because they spend too much time in the pool to worry about the appearance of their abs. If they worked their pecs and did a lot of bench presses, it would screw up their streamlining.

 

[Chryso]

The only chunky girl I saw at the olympics was a diver.

 

[Nik]

chunky girls = big boobs & great head

I'm all for olympic divers!

 

[Row1and]

Originally posted by: gar3555
fat floats...

:thumbsup: that right there pretty much answers the question

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: loki8481

Originally posted by: JujuFish
Michael Phelps after winning 4x100m freestyle relay. Fatty McFatterson.

jesus, I will never see him as attractive again.

I wish I was half that ugly and fat.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Originally posted by: TechBoyJK

Originally posted by: Descartes

Originally posted by: TechBoyJK

Originally posted by: darkswordsman17
I think the OP is confused by the very tight clothing they were wearing. It was really pulling into their skin which made them look kinda fat. That one special suit especially looked bad.

I noticed phelps' lat muscles were bulging out of his suit, almost hanging over like a gut.

but when they interviewed him, he didn't look like he had much body fat at all, so i agree that the suits distort their appearance

Not sure which muscle you're talking about, but it's definitely not his lats.

when you reach behind your armpits and grab that big back muscle, that's not your lat? I saw him from behind as he was getting out the pool, and his lats were bulging out.. the suit was soo tight.

I was a bit baffled as to how he was sure its not the lats when he didn't even know what you were talking about.

 

[nbowman]

Originally posted by: Row1and

Originally posted by: gar3555
fat floats...

:thumbsup: that right there pretty much answers the question

Except there is no evidence for the claim of the OP.
I sincerely doubt that Olympic swimmers have a statistically significantly higher body fat percentage than other Olympic athletes.
Just for a reference point, when I swam in High School and JC, my fat percentage was around 6% and I was hardly the fastest guy on the team. the fastest guy on the team (overall, not in everything) was as slender as I, just with better technique.

 

[uberman]

These are just my observations as a scuba diver. I've been a sport diver and have done some commercial work over my thirty years.

So I go up to Northern California to dive with a friend who is a commercial urchin diver. He works hard underwater and does so several days a week, but he's always worried about gaining weight. He's not skinny, not really fat, but his weight is OK. I'd think he'd be burning so many calories he could eat anything. Apparently that isn't the case.

Maybe it has something to do with working out in water. I've lost more pounds running or walking than swimming.

 

[thomsbrain]

Their bodies aren't much different than any other speed-related athlete. The only difference is more muscle mass in the shoulders and less in the legs, compared to the runners. When you compete at an Olympic level, you don't carry any unnecessary mass, period, and that includes ridiculous pecs or abs that serve no purpose in their particular events. Just because they don't look like a Bow-flex commercial doesn't mean they are carrying extra fat or aren't strong.

 

[Syringer]

This may be why.. http://blogs.wsj.com/health/20...t-dont-try-it-at-home/

A New York Post account of Phelps?s? wait for it? 12,000-calorie-a-day diet, gave us a stomachache. Could one human being really consume that much and still be in Phelps?s shape? And could this possibly be healthy for Phelps, even considering his five-hours-a-day, six-days-a-week exercise regimen?

Here?s Phelps?s typical menu. (No, he doesn?t choose among these options. He eats them all, according to the Post.)

Breakfast: Three fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise. Two cups of coffee. One five-egg omelet. One bowl of grits. Three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar. Three chocolate-chip pancakes.

Lunch: One pound of enriched pasta. Two large ham and cheese sandwiches with mayo on white bread. Energy drinks packing 1,000 calories.

Dinner: One pound of pasta. An entire pizza. More energy drinks.