Female Bodies

[120408]

Why do female water polo players develop such muscular bodies? If the optimal swim training is sprinting and playing a water polo game is like swimming a lot of 25 meter sprints, you would think that they would develop long lean muscles like sprinters have. Is there any way to train to keep your body on the leaner side? I know many female players who quit because they do not want to develop the muscle mass that seems so prevalent?

[MichaelReid]

I am not really sure how to respond to this. Your body changes in response to your training, nutrition, genetics, ect ....

I also see all kinds of body types in female Water Polo athletes and I am not quite sure what exactly you are referring to.

for example, what does "leaner" mean? Are you talking about body fat % or muscle mass or something else.

Please anyone else want to comment.

[catelli]

I know many female water polo players that have lean muscles and many who are more muscular. I think it mostly has to do with genetics, eating habits, and training intensity. I know many larger water polo players whos eating habits are terrible, and are lazy. There are also many that eat well and work hard, and for the most part tend to be leaner. I notice a lot of goalies tend to be a lot thinner than field players, I wonder if this had to do with genetics, or how their training program differs from field players.

[Missy]

I used to be a runner and my body was really skinny. Since I started playing water polo, it's changed and I have a lot of new muscle in my arms, shoulders and torso. My legs are defined differently but they have about the same amount of muscularity as they did before. Water polo requires a lot of strength. You're going to get muscles. A lot of water polo girls eat way too much to burn so they get kind of chunky. They are really strong in the water and can exert a lot more leverage with their body than I ever could but it's not necessary for the game. You can be muscular and look good or you can be muscular under a lot of fat or you can be the skinny, quick girl that never absorbs or creates any contact.

[Tim Whitwham]

The way I understand it the amount of muscle mass a female can create depends upon the amount of testosterone in the body:females having a lot less of it than men. Athletes who train hard and have and balance calorie intake to output will develop good muscle tone not necessarily huge muscle mass. A shapely body on any human looks good.