Swimmers?

[amp713]

Anyone here use swimming as a main cardio workout? I have titanium in my leg and so running doesnt happen, walking doesnt get a heart beat up, and mountain biking isnt working. I either get really bored and quit or more often i get bored and try to do stupid stuff that almost gets me hurt. So Ive started swimming, plenty of lakes around me! I can drive to one from work in about 10 minutes, we are allowed to use the work truck for an hour of personal use each night so I drive to the lake, change, swim around and then drive home. Ive also noticed that i feel a lot of muscles being worked i wouldnt normally seem to work so Im really liking this new routine! Wish i would have started way earlier in the year though! Question for anyone who does swim, is there better styles to work certain muscles? If that makes sense..... Im not much of a swimmer yet but curious if i should be working on a certain style for a better full body work out?

 

[RosinBag]

I swim some. The real swimmers I know are all in excellent shape. It must be pretty good for you.

 

[Becca]

I too swim some, although I am not an expert by any means. As you know AMP, I too am "titanium powered" with a rod in my tibia, and I too have found low impact high intensity work outs a challenge to find. I am active enough backpacking in the summer and fall, but turn to swimming a lot during the winter months when I can't get outside as easily. I don't have a specific routine, but in addition to traditional strokes using my whole body, I do try to swim some sets of laps using my Arms only (no kicking) and then do some arms free ( usually with a kick board).

Something else that has really helped me keep the intensity up is having upbeat music to listen to while I swim. Several ways to do this, I had an iPod nano around already so I invested in an inexpensive waterproof armband and headphones and use that with hour long playlists of fast tunes to help keep me moving.

 

[DWinVA]

Swimming is a tough workout. I was in marathon running shape when I started swimming and thought I was going to drown before I completed one lap. You're only breathing half the time so it's great for the lungs. Thirty minutes is all I ever works up to. Good luck.

God Bless.

 

[JWP58]

Swimming is just like any other cardiovascular workout. You can lower the intensity and extend the duration for a more aerobic effect, or you can up the intensity and lower the duration, for a anaerobic high intensity workout.

I always felt the breast stroke (no pun intended hehe) was one of the more physically tougher (besides the butterfly, because I cant do that for crap). I figure as long as you're in the water working, you're getting something out of it. Swimming is an awesome total body workout, with zero impact. Rowing is another option, but I think swimming is better.

 

[amp713]

I figured becca would chime in! And ive just been parking the work truck mildly close and turning music on so i can hear something. Ive been going about 30 minutes a day and its spend moving at a mildly fast pace the whole time! Def feel wore down as i get done! Is the butterfly the fancy one where they like explode out of the water with both arms??? Ive been warming up with just floating on my back and swimming out with legs only until i start to feel a burn then i get after it!

 

[les welch]

I've swam up about 65 miles this year, not a lot, but its ramping to about 5 miles a week right now. Some steady, some drills, some intervals. Work on your form/technique and become as efficient as you can, it will pay dividends.

 

[les welch]

Also should have said biking. I used to be a big runner 50-60+ a week.....multiple knee surgeries later it doesn't agree with me anymore. Biking on the other hand is amazing. I'll click of about 3500 miles this year, NO pain.

 

[ARod2000]

I bike & swim regularly and did my first sprint triathlons in the last year. Four total. Yay me. The run part is killing me because of bad knees but cycling definitely makes my knees better. On the swim, my $0.02 is to check your heart rate. Reason being it can be difficult to get your heart rate high while swimming (for some people) and that is partly due to the lesser affect of gravity (one being horizontal and two being the buoyancy of water decreasing gravity's effects). Something to consider. If you're not getting the high intensity anaerobic workout that JWP58 mentioned above then make sure you're getting it somewhere.

 

[beachbunny]

i swim all the time.
breaststroke,freestyle.
when I really attack the water,digging hard with hands,kicking like a boat prop and really throwing water,that definitely gets the heart going.skip breathing really helps and also making full exhalations to really force air in and out.
breaststroke underwater.
sorry about the tit. in the leg,have you tried "running " in about chest ,shoulder deep water. pretty low impact.
man all this swim talk,time to go for the morning swim.
good luck!

 

[muleymemories]

I too started swimming this last year a find it to be one of the best overall workouts on the market. It actually worked into several triathlons this summer and made the running a biking that much easier. Nothing will build the lungs like swimming. I usually stick to freestyle and mix it up with intervals and long distance days. I'm kinda into now and hope to do my first half Ironman this summer!

 

[Vids]

Swimming is an awesome workout, I do it at least once a week and get somewhere between 50-100 miles in per year. Swimming and running are my two favorite aerobic workouts. I mainly do front crawl, but will mix in butterfly, backstroke and breaststroke at times. Butterfly will kick your a$$ but it's great!!

My best guess is that butterfly and crawl work the same shoulder muscles, backstroke will work your lats and biceps more, and breaststroke will work your legs the most. Personally I would mix it up a bit if you want to hit all the muscles. It's also good to mix in some shorter sprints in addition to longer endurance work. Sprints will really get your lungs burning.