New member swim for general fitness question.

Your question is a bit unclear (to me anyway). Do you want to begin swimming for general fitness? Or do you specifically want to just kick, in the pool, to develope you legs? If you want to be a swimmer...you can do that numerous times per week. Type of workout depends on if you want to train to swim short, fast distances, with the various strokes...or if you want to swim longer distances. Or do you just want to get in the pool and do some kicking to supplement you weight workouts? Dan

Yeah, I can sympathize. Another long time runner here, 40+ years and close to 500 road races, then arthritis in the spine forced me out of it a couple years ago. Swimming is the only major exercise I could do without pain. Let me begin by saying something I am sure many here will take the wrong way. Nothing is better than a 10 mile run, nothing, but you don't have that choice any more. You can swim every day if you please, but pool availability schedules will most likely limit you to 5. You won't get a leg workout the way you think, but breaststroke is probably best for range of motion. Dolphin kick I don't know. With spinal issues, I don't dare. Flutter kick can be a major problem for long time runners/cyclists. I can take a kick board and flail away for all I'm worth and not move an inch forward. My kick leaves me dead in the water. Yours may too. Here's why. Check out some swimmers photos online and see how flat they can make their foot relative to the lower leg. By that I mean they can bend the foot down so that it is no longer an L shape coming off the lower leg. The top of the foot can be parallel to the shin. That's how they get power in the kick. As a runner, your ankles, feet and all their constituent parts have solidified into the L shape. Your tendons simply can't stretch that far. I can't go down more than 45 degrees, let alone flat. Does that mean you should not kick? Not at all. With the foot at 45 deg. relative to the leg, the downward motion and upward motion cancel each other out and it becomes a neutral motion, hence staying dead in the water while flailing away. BUT, kicking keeps your whole body in the correct position in order to glide through the water more smoothly, otherwise the legs sink and create a ton of drag. So whether it is productive or not, do kicking drills. Cramps. After decades of running you may forget how badly you once had calf cramps and shin splints after longer distance runs. They're back, especially at 3AM when you are fast asleep. They'll go away in time. Look for some local swim clinics held by a professional coach who can analyze your stroke mechanics and recommend a course of action to correct it. You will have so many faults in your technique, you'll wonder how you even stay afloat. You'll have to apologize repeatedly about your weak kick, but you not only learn a lot, you will feel more comfortable in the water and be far more efficient at it. Join a triathlon club if you want to do longer swims. They usually have weekly open water group swims which are supported by lifeguards in kayaks. I joined a local tri club because it was cheaper as a member than paying weekly as a non-member. Then, well, I knuckled under and actually did a sprint tri last June. I had to walk the 5K of course, and come in dead-ass last, but it was fun. Join a masters team for pool workouts. Those are usually coached, maybe not by a pro swim coach but someone who's been in the game a long time and knows his/her stuff. Plus there's the comraderie and encouragement of the group. Check your local YMCA or town fitness center for a masters team practice schedule. USMS has a "places to swim" list on this web page to help.

Hi fitspeech, are you interested in transitioning to swimming as your life sport, or simply getting in a leg workout? If you're interested in swimming as a sport or for fitness, it is great to hear that you want to focus on developing your kick. Your first step will be to make sure that you have proper kicking technique. This is especially important since you mentioned that you have trouble with your knees from running. Consult with a coach who specializes in technique. You will want to also be sure to maintain a balance between your upper and lower body. Here's more on why it's important to get your stroke technique analyzed overall: www.swimspire.com/.../ Good luck!

Thanks for the responses and info. I mainly want to use swimming as a type of cardio to replace running. What I'm thinking of doing is using a kickboard for lsd (long slow distance) and to also help me get my breathing squared away and to be flatter in the water. Since I quit running my stamina has really dropped off. Also, any recommendations as to what type of suit to wear. I'm in reasonably good physical shape so I wouldn't be opposed to briefs.

No, a kick board isn't for LSD workouts. It's merely a tool for drills to teach your legs and feet what to do when you are really working out. Do 100 yds or so every workout with the board, then get busy actually swimming. The best swimmers derive 10%, maybe 15%, of their propulsion from the kick, the greater portion is in the pull. If you want long aerobic distance, it can be continuous as in scores of laps, or open water 1-2 miles with a Tri Club, or what is touted here most often, many sets of intervals with short rests. Also the breathing you will use while holding on the a kick board is not normal swim stroke breathing, which changes of course depending on the stroke used. While the mile time is the most common measure in running, swim meets prefer to see 1650 times as a test distance because it is the closest you can get to 1500 meters (1508) using a yardage pool. You can go 1750 and be just 10 yards short of a mile to give yourself a good measuring stick, but meet directors tend to turn their noses up at that. Suit type, briefs, square leg briefs, jammers, no difference.