Forums >Cross Training>Is swimming good for running?
http://www.therunnersguide.com/swimming/
http://www.marathontraining.com/marathon/m_crosst.html
I look my best blurry!
I started swimming Jan 15th and try to get to the pool 4-5 times a week. A couple weeks ago I started having a problem with one of my knees. I thought it was an MCL strain, so I ice it daily and stopped running for a week but continued to swim. The MCL was feeling better, but now I have a pain in the back of the knee. It feels like I hyper extended it nad when I run or walk, I have to stop short of extending my leg straight because it is painful. When I sleep, I have a tendency to straighten my legs by contracting my quads and the pain at the back of knee starts screaming at me.
If I skip my friday swim (I only swim on my lunchbreak) my knee feels fine by monday morning. I get in a swim and run on Monday and tuesday and by wednesday, I'm taking a pain releiver for my knee pain.
I think that this injury happened because of my swimming.
The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff
2014 Goals:
Stay healthy
Enjoy life
I started swimming Jan 15th and try to get to the pool 4-5 times a week. A couple weeks ago I started having a problem with one of my knees. I thought it was an MCL strain, so I ice it daily and stopped running for a week but continued to swim. The MCL was feeling better, but now I have a pain in the back of the knee. It feels like I hyper extended it nad when I run or walk, I have to stop short of extending my leg straight because it is painful. When I sleep, I have a tendency to straighten my legs by contracting my quads and the pain at the back of knee starts screaming at me. If I skip my friday swim (I only swim on my lunchbreak) my knee feels fine by monday morning. I get in a swim and run on Monday and tuesday and by wednesday, I'm taking a pain releiver for my knee pain. I think that this injury happened because of my swimming.
After the first 2 weeks I developed a patellar tendonitis bilaterally. I had to modify my form. No problem anymore. You shouldn't fully extend your knees when water running. Are you doing that? I am thinking about going to PT where they have an underwater treadmill. Interesting, huh?
I'm not running in the pool, I'm swimming. Actually more like surviving as I'm not much of a swimmer.
Running on a an underwater treadmill does sound interesting. Apparently Carrie Tollefson was using one during her pregancy and was very impressed with it.
I'm not running in the pool, I'm swimming. Actually more like surviving as I'm not much of a swimmer. Running on a an underwater treadmill does sound interesting. Apparently Carrie Tollefson was using one during her pregancy and was very impressed with it.
Oops! Well maybe you should try running in water! I have a bad shoulder, therefore I am not much of a swimmer either.
Thanks!
If it is additive, as Mikey says, it is beneficial. If it is subtracting from time devoted to running, it is most likely a negative. For injury-prone runners, it is adding. For people like me, I originally planned on being an ironman triathlete but found I could handle incredible volumes of running without breaking down. I kept getting faster running with more volume and cross-training only inhibited that. If you get injured multiple times when you hit 60 mpw but have TIME to train more, by all means, run 50 mpw to remain uninjured and swim/cycle additional time.
If it is additive, as Mikey says, it is beneficial. If it is subtracting from time devoted to running, it is most likely a negative.
For injury-prone runners, it is adding. For people like me, I originally planned on being an ironman triathlete but found I could handle incredible volumes of running without breaking down. I kept getting faster running with more volume and cross-training only inhibited that. If you get injured multiple times when you hit 60 mpw but have TIME to train more, by all means, run 50 mpw to remain uninjured and swim/cycle additional time.
People go on about injurys a lot but people dont get injured. I get sore knees with some exercises at times(not an injury though) and once recently when sprinting only felt a small tweak of the quads/inside leg muscle, but that could only be classed as an injury if I wanted to be a sprinter, no effect on my general pace. I run about 8 miles on a good week, and it dosent injury me why would doing more injure any one?
Go run 100 next week and find out.
I logged a recent run as skuba divin'.
Does that help?
I think it's physically impossible for someone running 8 miles a week to run 100 in a week, no matter how long it takes. Jayskydee, please go out and prove me wrong.
Maybe add a few kg's or stones in a back pack first, then try for 100 miles
censored due to spam content
I believe it greatly improves your overall fitness. I love to swim in the morning following a good 20 miler or a hard set of intervals. It seems to help with my recovery.....gets the blood flowing without adding to the damage from the previous workout. http://www.brothergame.com/World-of-Warcraft-US.cdkey
I believe it greatly improves your overall fitness. I love to swim in the morning following a good 20 miler or a hard set of intervals. It seems to help with my recovery.....gets the blood flowing without adding to the damage from the previous workout.
http://www.brothergame.com/World-of-Warcraft-US.cdkey
My recovery would stop immediately after my heart stopped from drowning. There's a reason that in a triathlon, the swim is first, not last.
The question is "compared to what?". Compared with going for a run... not really - but then you can only run so much in the week. Compared to doing nothing probably a bit.
It's pretty much like all forms of cross-training. Mostly they're better for your running than doing nothing, but not as good as running. But if you run too much you'll end up over-trained, under-recovered and/or injured...