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Pool running - give me the scoop! (Read 1741 times)

    I've seen some previous threads on this, but not exactly what I needed. I want to do some pool running to give a chance for a couple nagging injuries to heal. But I have no idea how! How much of your body is in the water? Can you simply run touching the bottom of the pool if it isn't necessary to have no impact? Or do you run without touching the bottom? Do you need a flotation device to do that? Where do you get one that is good for pool running? And I've read Pfitzinger's 9 week plan - he mentions heart rates. Can you wear a heart rate monitor in the water? Or just certain brands will work? Thanks in advance for the info.
      in a perfect world, I'd love to try a water treadmill. Tongue I'm nursing some pains/injuries and have been running in the pool out of pure desperation. It's our own pool so it doesn't give me a lot of space to actually move. I wear an old pair of running shoes. The first day I wore a full wetsuit because I'm a wimp but since then I HTFU and just wear my tri suit. I tried running the around the shallow section and criss crossing to change direction. I tried running back and forth across. I finally found the best I could hope for...running in shoulder deep water, in place, really concentrating on bringing my legs up and down and pumping my arms for good measure. It was better for my calf because running in more shallow water still irritated my injuries. It's alright, but not nearly as satisfying as road running. If I could get to a big pool and swim laps, that would be a better alternative but I can't. I'm too cheap to pay $10/swim. If you can buy an aqua jogger, you won't need shoes because you float but I could never get into the whole *I'm floating pretending to run* thing. It's supposed to be good though. I'm happy to report, there was no possible way to heel strike whilst running in the pool. LMAO Big grin Not that I was tyring, I just noticed.

      Jennifer mm#1231

        oh, forgot, the HRM. I have a garmin and I don't think it would survive being submersed in water. Confused

        Jennifer mm#1231

          here's a link with pool running tips I used a HR monitor - I found it was hard to keep my HR up without it as a guide. Hr's are about 10 beats less than for land running. I used a Polar in the pool for many months without ever having a problem with it. I do advise getting the rubber chest strap instead of the fabric strap that comes with the unit. HTH Smile MTA: personally, I found it harder to run in shallow water - even with shoes I would slip, and I found it difficult to maintain good form. You should try both ways and see what works best for your circumstances. Good luck and wishing you a speedy recovery

          Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away...(unkown)




          Go With The Flow
          Thyroid Support Group

            Thanks. So far so good. I tried it for the first time in my in-laws pool which only goes to about 5 ft max depth, so it wasn't optimal. because I was hitting the bottom with my feet. But not bad. I got one of those aqua-joggers, so I'll try it in the deep end of my local pool next. My first impression is that this will be a great way to keep in shape while I can't run, and I may keep one or two of these workouts per week as cross training, even after I'm back to running full time, because it seems like a great way to get in some extra work without the impact.
              My first impression is that this will be a great way to keep in shape while I can't run, and I may keep one or two of these workouts per week as cross training, even after I'm back to running full time, because it seems like a great way to get in some extra work without the impact.
              This is my feeling too - the water resistance does a great job with an overall body workout - I especially noticed a big increase in the tone of my arm muscles - a definite bonus! Thanks for bringing this up - I've been meaning to get back to the pool 1x/week - hopefully this will motivate me to finally get back to it!

              Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away...(unkown)




              Go With The Flow
              Thyroid Support Group

              Hannibal Granite


                When I think pool running I automatically think of Aqua Jogging. Basically you have a flotation device that keeps you upright and you are up to your shoulders/neck in water feet not touching the ground. You are going through the running motion with absolutely zero impact. This is a great way to stay in shape when injured, I have seen people come back to running after being in the pool for 2-3 months rehabbing from an injury (stess fractures mostly) and within a week or two are running as fast or faster than they were before getting hurt. The reason it can be such a good workout is that because there is no impact you can go hard almost every day in the pool, your muscles get strong from all the extra resistance your cardiovascular system gets strong (going 'hard' in the pool still won't get your heart rate as high as running, so you're still working aerobically most of the time) and your injuries get better. The biggest thing to be careful about is returning to land running. You might feel very fit and want to increase speed and or distance right away, but you still have to give your body a chance to get used to the pounding again.

                "You NEED to do this" - Shara

                  Good points HB. I have done it a few times at the University pool a couple of years ago. They had floatation belts you could use. It's a good workout, you get hot even if you're in the pool which I thought was quite weird. But its boring as hell! Much worse than on a TM, in my opinion. - R