You don't have to break a sweat for it to qualify, that's just the bit that makes you look exercisey :)

I don't feel the sweat when I swim, or get very out of breath. Next time I'm going to stop in the middle and take my pulse to see........

My aquarobics instructor used to tell me how red my face was.
Nice, thanks.
But then she always praised how hard I was working, so I would put up with any amount of ridicule...

Not everyone sweats from exercise. My 16yr old looks completely unruffled after an hour of Zumba, whereas I am a sweaty, hot mess with a bright red face. She says she feels hot and her heart is pounding, but not a drop of sweat. /jealous.

As long as your heart rate is up and stays up for a bit, it's cardio.

rawwwrrrrr ;)

On the more serious side.

My son used to sweat something awful. To the point literally NEEDING to shower at least 2x a day.
His feet stunk so bad we had to leave his shoes outside.
Since his accident, he had not sweat at all for over 2 years - ZERO.
After joining a gym and spending an hour lifting weights, boxing & 20 mins on an elliptical ... still nothing for over a month.
We were specifically trying to increase his cardio exercises and bolster the oxygen flow to his brain.
Something about helping the brain reconnect.
Anyway, he came home Tuesday a sweaty mess after his workout. We were all shocked.
Of course, he remembers none of it a few hours later. So we start again.
Can't wait to hear the "professional" explanation for this.

Ask the others in the pool how the water tastes.;)

It's salty....... :eek:

That's fascinating, classic. Everything is controlled by the brain one way or another...

I voted never, although I suspect that a lot of my around-the-house physical activity would count as elevating my heart rate. But cardio and I have a longstanding feud, wherein certain activities cause my throat to constrict almost immediately. Someone once referred to it as "exercise asthma." I can swim, and I do the elliptical, because those are smooth motions, but running, aerobics, or any kind of fast-moving sports are completely impossible.

I do not do the gym, but I played hockey until I got a steel plate and 7 screws put in my ankle last year. I saw a story on the news once about a guy who was needing to lose weight so he started mowing lawns for the elderly and disabled for free, so not only did he lose the weight it was a damn nice thing for him to do.

ha! I mow my neighbor's lawns at the slightest chance -I pretend it's because I'm nice and I know they are out of town/sick/whatever, but really I like mowing lawns and it's a great workout (and I know they both hate it). Same with shovelling snow. Ok I admit this to them too, but they think I'm just being coy. :D No snow to shovel this winter.... ;(

...maybe that's why i suddenly have excess pounds? Maybe it's not middle-aged-spread after all? We usually have to shovel at least once a week for thre months and have three or four storms that require several hours work. This year, I've shoveled twice in the entire season, no more than 2 inches.

I learned:

1) It's very hard to take your pulse when you are wet
2) It's really hard to see the second hand of the clock with my goggles on
3) I have a good recovery rate

I'm guestimating my heartrate immediately after swimming is 110-130 maybe it could be higher -I counted 100 (50 in 30 seconds), but I had to stop, remove my goggles, dry my wrist and fingers...... and while I was discovering this I realized the rate is rapidly reducing -I was counting high 20 beats in the first 15 seconds and low 20s in the second 15. Meh, it's definitely cardio enough.

do you take a raidal pulse? or a brachial or carotid pulse? The last two are almost certainly easier to take while in the pool (I've done it countless times).

depends on your body :). I'm really not all that bothered, I was just curious.