why aren't swimmers more cut?

[Whoever]

When I watched the olympics swimmers, they had some decent muscle, but none of them had really visible abs... swimming burns a lot of calories and its good cardio, so shouldnt' the swimmers be more cut?

[abarlament]

Evidently they don't need to be, because those were the elite swimmers of the world.

[Whoever]

yea, thats what I don't understand...if they cut away their fat, wouldn't they be stronger for their weight and therefore be faster?

[vendall]

I doubt that the amount of fat they need to lose to be cut will make much difference in terms of speed. Their main priority is strength, endurance, and getting enough energy. That also means they eat huge amounts of carbohydrates to fuel their workouts and races. Having a low body fat percentage is not part of that equation.

Alex.

[CF-OC_gal]

I'm not a swimmer but I do know that fat floats therefore a low bodyfat may be an advantage. There may also be an element of aerodynamics involved. A smoother body would have less resistance when moving in the water I would think. There must be a delicate balance of strength, body weight and bodyfat that work in a swimmer's favour.

[LP44]

I think this is one of the reasons people do HIIT and Guerilla cardio. Swimmers, cyclists and runners rarely look ripped when compared to say sprinters or gymnasts. Maybe in part because they catabolize muscle when they do aerobic activity for an extended period of time? Not exactly sure...

[killerduck]

also, if they are really cut and bumpy it will increase their resistance to the water.

[River]

Have u never thought that elite swimmers are only white?
There's a simply reason: black athletes have a lower fat % (see sprinters that are almost always black). Fat helps to float! Probably the best for swimm is about 8/12% of it, as swimmers are!

And then, another theory said than if u stay in a cold place (like pool) u'll get fat underskin to fight the low temperature... probably they have very few fat into theirs muscles while the most past of it is just under the skin, enought to hide muscles

[mikey mike]

Originally Posted by River

Have u never thought that elite swimmers are only white?
There's a simply reason: black athletes have a lower fat % (see sprinters that are almost always black).

Are you serious? Sprinters are cut because they eat properly, train hard, and lift a lot. Swimmers don't hit the weights nearly as hard as sprinters. Theres is a little genetics involved, but its not a major contributor in the equation.

[beefcurry1]

i have heard that the reason swimmers arent grossly cut is because being in the water, which in most cases is cold, causes the body to hold more fat. could be right, could be wrong.

[pbody]

Originally Posted by River

Have u never thought that elite swimmers are only white?
There's a simply reason: black athletes have a lower fat % (see sprinters that are almost always black). Fat helps to float! Probably the best for swimm is about 8/12% of it, as swimmers are!

I'll give you a simpler reason-swimming is not a popular sport in all cultures. There's a reason that there aren't any black speed skaters and it little, if anything at all, to do with genetics.

I couldn't find any data of BF% of olympic swimmers, but I'd wager it's still far below average. One thing they do have working against them (in terms of getting abs to pop out) is their body shape. They typically have longer limbs and torsos than your average person.

[killerduck]

i heard somewhere that blacks have a heavier bone structure. If this is true then obviously they wont be as good at swimming.

[bluefish]

as a swimmer....we do do weights work, but being huge and bulky is not advantageous...you need some fat to contribute to your flotation and therefore make you more hydrodynamic. check out the builds of some of the worlds top 50m and 100m swimmers: alex popov, jason lezak, gary hall junior, inge de bruijn, lisbeth lenton, (breaststokers) zoe baker + brooke hanson....they are VERY ripped! because their events demand explosive muscular power. any event that goes longer than 100m is definitely primarily an aerobic exercise, and therefore is dependent upon good aerobic fitness and muscular endurance ...hence these swimmers when doing their weights, would be looking for muscular endurance, which means higher reps/lower weights -> less ripped bodies.