I am currently really into my swimming, and hence have been watching alot of vids on line for inspiration/motiavtion etc etc.

I have just watched a fascinating little home made documentary, about a guy whos ambition has been to be the first person to swim the Pentland Firth.

Now this guy is obviously very very fit, and trains alot so Im wondering why he is so large. Just genuine curiosity really, not trying to spark an argument. Maybe the sports scientists amongst us can answer this!

Defo worth a watch though, even if swimming is not your thing 🙂

If you’re fit, but eat more calories than you burn, or eat excess fatty foods, you’ll still get fat. Probably no more complex than that?

And if you’re going to swin accross the Pentland Firth a bit of fat can be handy, to stop you freezing to death on the journey.

I reckon the short answer is he eats a fair bit and to do what he does having less body fat would not be advantageous so I doubt he pursues that aspect of ‘fitness’.

I’d say there are many types of fitness and he is fit for purpose.

Water supports your weight therefore being chubby is less of a disadvantage.

Bouyancy. Fat floats.

I see what you are saying, but surely, the amount of training that I assume he does, burns off a vast amount of calories.

A bit like me then, I’m a right fat biffer but am reasonably happy with my fitness & rarely feel under real duress while riding. A guy I worked with was a porky pig but ran marathons without dying.
Plus, gravity sucks so I descend quite quickly!

He’ll be very calorie efficient at swimming. If he and I swam for a kilometre at the same pace I would expect his calorie expenditure to be significantly lower than mine because I am a shite swimmer and expend a lot of energy through inefficiency. He would be like a seal through the water.

Then all he needs to do is stop of at the chippy on the way home from the baths and it’s hey-ho belly a go-go.

I’ve just read ”Why We Get Fat” by Gary Taubes.

Now I’ve always been a great believer in the calories in/calories out argument and as an absolute it must be true (you cannae change the laws of physics!), but there’s a theory that it’s how your body processes these calories that’s important – does it use them to increase fat store or make them available for use? For some people carbs seem to be really bad, and we surely haven’t evolved to eat the huge amount of refined carbs/sugars that we do.

I’ve always poo-pooed Atkins type diets but it was a very interesting read, especially the bits about how carbs elevate insulin and triglyceride levels and the damaging effects that has.

Go to your recycling place and get ten, two litre lemonade bottles. Fill them with water and carry or strap them to yourself everywhere you go, everything you do. Hard work? You bet, I wouldn’t want to do that, but fat people carry that much extra around all the time, of course they’re fit! 😆