rather OT: lower back muscle exercise

Back muscles is supported by the stomach muscles, and swimming is definitely
working that.

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Quoted message said:

I understand that swimming doesn't exercise lower back muscles too much
(most strokes, anyway) so I'm doing some lower back muscle workouts. It
just occurred to me that straining your back muscles can hurt you a lot
in later life--should I be worried, as a young healthy (if flabby)
male? I don't use weights, I just do "supermans".

Sebastien

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Quoted message said:

I understand that swimming doesn't exercise lower back muscles too much
(most strokes, anyway) so I'm doing some lower back muscle workouts. It
just occurred to me that straining your back muscles can hurt you a lot
in later life--should I be worried, as a young healthy (if flabby)
male? I don't use weights, I just do "supermans".

Sebastien

I suppose it depends on your style. Larry's current line (the part that
I'm actually inclined to agree with) is that a certain degree of lower
back tone helps keep your [censored] high in the air and your legs
streamlined.

Certainly a good dolphin kick uses both the belly and the lower back,
working alternately, and so would benefit from lower back conditioning.
A flutter kick - to the extent that it uses similar body pumping -
should also benefit.

"Supermans" - if they're what I think they are - should be very good.

Ross

supermans are, I assume, laying face down and arching your back while
pointing your toes back and your arms forward.

This excercise is all you need to get some muscle tone in your lower
back. If you arch your back for swimming, you'll bring your legs up to
the surface. If you swim with a low back arch, you'll continue to
strengthen your lower back, while swimming with better form. another
good lower back excersise is just kicking with your arms extended in
front of you with or withou a kickboard. the kickboard will aid in
arching your back though.

Andres

Yes that's what I mean with supermans, gave me minor back pain and got
me worried but now it seems fine after a week. I prefer breaststroke
though, at a nice slow pace. Which brings me to another question,
swimming is supposed to burn glucose rather than fats, because it uses
energy quickly (usu. slow exercise use fat). Is that still the case if
you swim slowly and carefully? Well maybe it ought be a topic for
another post...

Seb

Burning fat instead of glycogen depends on the intensity of the
excercise. If you swim at an aerobic pace, you will be burning mostly
fat. If you swim at a more intense pace, you will burn glycogen. If you
are swimming at an intense pace for more than an hour, you should drink
gatorade to replace the glycogen. Otherwise, you will bonk. While
swimming slowly burns fat, swimming faster burns more calories than
swimming slowly.

Andres

Quoted message said:

Yes that's what I mean with supermans, gave me minor back pain and got
me worried but now it seems fine after a week. I prefer breaststroke
though, at a nice slow pace. Which brings me to another question,
swimming is supposed to burn glucose rather than fats, because it uses
energy quickly (usu. slow exercise use fat). Is that still the case if
you swim slowly and carefully? Well maybe it ought be a topic for
another post...

Seb

Well I'm aware of the fact that even if you burn only sugars, it will
help you lose fat--when you run out of sugars then your body raids the
fat reserves and converts that to glucose. But burning sugars too
quickly makes you tired and hungry and the last thing I need a visit to
Col. Sanders/Ronald McDonald on the way home from the municipal pool.
Yes I also react with amusement/horror at the myth that eating sugar
doesn't make you 'fat' and only eating fat does (or is it just wishful
thinking by sweet-toothed dieters?). If I'm correct animal bodies can
convert between the two forms of energy as needed. Or is it not so
simple?

Seb

It's more complex than that. In the past Larry has made some
interesting posts about how upper body muscles are not as good as
lower body muscles at burning fat. Also I've posted some references
for research that shows that intense exercise causes an "afterburn"
effect, causing you to burn extra fat for up to 24 hours after
exercise.

Quoted message said:

Yes that's what I mean with supermans, gave me minor back pain and got
me worried but now it seems fine after a week. I prefer breaststroke
though, at a nice slow pace. Which brings me to another question,
swimming is supposed to burn glucose rather than fats, because it uses
energy quickly (usu. slow exercise use fat). Is that still the case if
you swim slowly and carefully? Well maybe it ought be a topic for
another post...

Seb