We hear this all time and experience ourselves. We can work just as hard and sometimes even longer on dry land and you just don’t get as fatigued as you do when you swim.
So why is this?
Wanting to know the answer ourselves. We found several reasons, however we are convinced that it is the water 💦 temperatures affect on our physiological systems that make us feel exhausted 💤 after a good swim workout.
In a cooler water your body is transferring your own body heat to the cooler water, this is basic physics. If the water is cold enough, your own body temperature may lower, causing your body to expend more energy (on top of your full body swim workout) to warm yourself up. This causes the more then usual fatigue as compared to other full body dry land workouts. Once you complete your workout your body needs to continue to work to and warm up to reach your normal body temperature - ultimately making you even more exhausted.
Warm showers after swimming can help your body warm up without expending more energy, so this could help you with your sleepiness.