Calling all USMS members. Your response to this post will be used to create an article in Swimmer magazine about cross training. What types of training do you most commonly do outside of the pool? How often? What cross training works the best, and what types are the least helpful for swimming? :bliss:
As to the "Val Method" of cross-training, yes I don't do any of those activities listed, but could you consider some things I do in the pool as cross-training? For example, almost daily we pull about 1500 with paddles and a tube around our ankles. We also do vertical kicking with our arms over our heads. Cross-training? I never thought I needed to run to be a good swimmer. Besides, I hate to run.
Denke M. Nutritional and health benefits of beer ...
And so it becomes part of the folklore in masters swimming ... Harperfish wrote (Jan/Feb 2013 Swimmer, p. 35),
And now for something completely different! Commenter Ellen Wilson expanded an esoteric thread on the health benefits of beer, and she posted several scientific (!) studies in its defense (fnally, a true incentive to go online). On this method, USMS offers no comment.
To be sure, it is more accurately a true incentive to drink beer, but we won't quibble.
Well done, ekw! The next time we order beer, if anyone dares look at us sideways, we can cite the cross-training article in our flagship publication, which cites a thoroughly researched internet reference, which cites scholarly, peer reviewed publications, which nobody has actually read.
Cheers! :chug:
And so it becomes part of the folklore in masters swimming ... Harperfish wrote (Jan/Feb 2013 Swimmer, p. 35),
To be sure, it is more accurately a true incentive to drink beer, but we won't quibble.
Well done, ekw! The next time we order beer, if anyone dares look at us sideways, we can cite the cross-training article in our flagship publication, which cites a thoroughly researched internet reference, which cites scholarly, peer reviewed publications, which nobody has actually read.
Cheers! :chug:
I think we should toast ekw in Auburn! :D :cheerleader: :chug:
And so it becomes part of the folklore in masters swimming ... Harperfish wrote (Jan/Feb 2013 Swimmer, p. 35),
To be sure, it is more accurately a true incentive to drink beer, but we won't quibble.
Well done, ekw! The next time we order beer, if anyone dares look at us sideways, we can cite the cross-training article in our flagship publication, which cites a thoroughly researched internet reference, which cites scholarly, peer reviewed publications, which nobody has actually read.
Cheers! :chug:
I've written (allegedly) scholarly, peer-reviewed articles and I can't honestly say I've read even the ones I've written!
But the big question is... does this publication go on my CV?
There's something to be said about health benefits outside of the pool regardless of what kind of effect they might offer towards swimming performance.
Research has shown that impact sports are ideal for developing bone density which is something that swimming really lacks. That said, any kind of weight bearing activity whether it be running, tennis or lifting should really be encouraged.
An interesting study was done at Texas A&M University regarding bone mineral density in college athletes and the swimmers ranked the lowest!
www.swimmingscience.net/.../bone-mineral-density-in-swimmers.html
This is really worrisome. Do you happen to know if using a Bowflex rather than actual weights, would count as "weight bearing" exercise?
This is really worrisome. Do you happen to know if using a Bowflex rather than actual weights, would count as "weight bearing" exercise?
I am not a medical professional, nor even a medical librarian, but I thought this was an interesting question and did some quick searches. The only answer I could find specifically regarding Bowflex is from a June 2002 issue of Shape Magazine (so not scholarly, but the answers are from experts, with affiliations given - and obviously not very recent) - here's the relevant passage:
Q: Will home-gym equipment such as Bowflex help prevent osteoporosis as well as using free weights or gym machines does?
A: It is not the type of equipment that will determine whether a workout ultimately has the necessary bone-strengthening benefits, but rather the angle of the exercises you perform and the amount of resistance you work against. To achieve significant increases in bone mineral density at the hip and spine — where fractures most frequently occur later in life — you need to supplement machine exercises with squats, preferably performed with free weights, says Victoria Jaque, Ph.D., director of the clinical exercise physiology lab at the University of Southern California. Some home machines such as Bowflex allow you to perform squats against resistance, but the bone-density benefits of this type of equipment have not been tested.
Leg presses, which you can perform on home or gym weight machines, work the same muscle groups (the thighs and buttocks) as squats do, but since they are performed in a seated or reclining position, they do not place enough stress on the hip or spine — where it's needed most — to improve bone health.
“We often have women in our resistance-training studies perform squats to better load the hip,” Jaque says. “We also suggest this in combination with impact activities such as jumping.” Jaque recommends supplementing your strength workout with a set of 50 jumps two or three times a week. Jumping up and down will provide stress at the hip. (A 1998 British study published in the Journal of Bone Mineral Research found that jumping 50 times six days a week for five months increased bone density in the femur by 2.8 percent for premenopausal women. However, postmenopausal women did not benefit from jumping.)
When you perform squats and other strength exercises, be sure to use enough weight that your muscles fatigue at no more than eight repetitions. If you use less resistance, you are not likely to gain significant bone mineral density. Even if you perform eight repetitions to fatigue, it typically takes women nine to 12 months of consistent training to increase their bone mineral density by 1.5 percent.
Some researchers recommend lifting even heavier weights periodically. “You need to be down in the three- to five-repetition range once a week or once every 10 days,” says William Kraemer, Ph.D., a kinesiology professor at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. Kraemer's recent research, not yet published, suggests that by alternating these heavy workouts with more moderate and light lifting sessions, women ages 20–35 can achieve bone-mineral-density gains of 3 percent over six to 12 months.
The 8-minute WORKOUT. (2002). Shape, 21(11), 110.
If you expand the search to a more general resistance training, which is what I am guessing Bowflex would be categorized as, you find a lot more stuff. It seems like the earlier women start doing this, the better, and that generally men have a better increase in BMD from such exercise - in fact at least one review article (Martyn-St James, M., & Carroll, S. (2006). Progressive High-Intensity Resistance Training and Bone Mineral Density Changes Among Premenopausal Women: Evidence of Discordant Site-Specific Skeletal Effects. Sports Medicine, 36(8), 683-704.) cites conflicting evidence regarding the benefits for women.
:dunno:
Wow - that was awesome! Thanks for doing the research!
So, basically, I'm really glad I play tennis on the side. I was watching Dr.Oz the other day (at work, no less, in the patient lobby!) and they were showing some interesting squats that didn't look too hard, so maybe I should add that in, as well.
I was thinking about this this morning as I was swimming along, and I starting thinking - you know, water resistance, Bowflex resistance - resistance can NOT be the same as weight bearing. However, the benefits of resistance is usually less injury, and of course, it does build strength. I heard this morning that (of course) bicycling is also not weight bearing, which I hadn't thought of - so the triathletes - those animals - have definitely got it going on, at least in this arena.
Very interesting thread on alternative exercise. I'm considering yoga because when I took a class this weekend, my Achilles and the back of my legs were really stiff all the way up from my calves to my hamstrings. I'm also taking a class that builds you up to a 5k, though I probably will not do it running, more like fast walking. Thanks, Swimosaur. This is a great thread with lots of information. Especially about the many benefits of drinking beer.
