Dawny Swim Tip 2 - Can Swimming Make You A Better Runner?

Balmain Sports Medicine

Can Swimming Make You a Better Runner?

Swimming is Australia’s leading sport with over six million Australians participating in swimming either regularly or occasionally in the last three month. Of course swimming isn’t just for recreation alone and doesn’t need to be done as a stand-alone sport. In fact, runners looking to boost strength and lung capacity will find swimming is an excellent form of cross training.

Runners benefit from swimming because it is an effective cardiovascular exercise that is not weight bearing.

Runners are constantly loading lower extremity joints and spine, and swimming offers the ability to maintain fitness level in a setting where joints are relatively unloaded, allowing joints to rest.

What else can you expect to get out of the sport and how to do approach it as a runner?

The benefits of swimming

Swimming is a great cardiovascular workout with a very low risk of injury. Thanks to its low impact, it is a great form of cross-training for runners; you won’t have to worry about hurting your legs and suffering a setback in training.

What are the four main benefits athletes will get from time in the pool?

• It improves your cardiovascular fitness with minimal stress on the body so that you can become a fitter runner without actually running more kms.
• It helps recover the body from runs as the movement and cold water facilitates blood flow and recovery.
• It can increase oxygen and lung capacity, especially if doing swim sets where you limit your breathing.
• It works and strengthens different muscle groups that are not used in running.

Swimming works your entire body, and internally, your heart and lungs will get a nice boost as you make your way up and down the length of the pool.

What muscles can you specifically expect to get a workout? Depending on the stroke, swimming engages upper and lower extremities. Most swimmers perform freestyle, which engages the deltoid, latissimus dorsi, pectoralis major and rotator cuff. Core muscles are also engaged. Runners tend to ignore their upper extremities in most workouts, which are needed for proper posture and to gain power.

How to add swimming to your training

To get the most out of your workout, there are some considerations that should be made before jumping in the water. Since you can expect to work your whole body, runners need to be careful integrating it into training. You don’t want to overwork your legs and tire them out before a hard workout or run.

You may want to implement it first into your program as a recovery tool. Swims on your recovery days or after hard or long runs help accelerate muscle recovery, or replace that second run on your double run day with a swim instead.

Just as many runners use a coach to learn proper run mechanics and posture, learning the correct way to swim may include some training. Though most learn how to swim as a child, as swimming is the most popular recreational activity for children, you often don’t learn multiple strokes and spend time playing games and doing other water activities (unless you are swimming competitively, that is). Making sure you understand the proper fundamentals is an important part of the sport.

The best advantages of swimming are dependent on good stroke mechanics, so if you are not an experienced swimmer, taking an adult swim class / masterclass, will allow you to really maximize the benefits of your efforts. You may also be inspired to try a triathlon if you haven’t ever tried that before!

Try these workouts

The team from Balmain Sports Medicine will again be on deck on the day of the swim, but if you are feeling a bit sore make sure you get in touch with them office@balmainsportsmed.com.au 

 < Back to Dawny Swim Home Page 

Thank you to our Dawny Swim sponsors