I run and swim for fitness, competing in both sports. I'm a better swimmer than runner, so have been focussing more on running lately (especially as our small pool does not offer many masters or lengths only times). Many people have told me that running has a negative effect on swimming for various reasons:
1. running makes your ankles inflexible
2. running makes you lose muscle mass
3. running emphasizes quad muscles too much, which will throw swimming strokes off
Is there any truth to the above? Can running complement swimming?
Any thoughts or info on running and swimming would be appreciated.
Parents
Former Member
More than anything, the training mentality of running is different than swimming. At least for me. As a runner, I know with certainty that more miles and more speed work will make me faster. As a fitness swimmer who is addicted to the clock on my Ironman watch (got that from running), I can see that more laps and harder intervals does not make me faster. More fit, which is good, but I struggle for anything more than modest improvements in time. It's when I slow down, lengthen my stroke and focus on body position that I can improve a bit more in the pool.
As far as the physical stuff goes, I've come to buy into the ankle thing, because from experience I know that my kick inthe pool is worthless and weak.
Good Luck
More than anything, the training mentality of running is different than swimming. At least for me. As a runner, I know with certainty that more miles and more speed work will make me faster. As a fitness swimmer who is addicted to the clock on my Ironman watch (got that from running), I can see that more laps and harder intervals does not make me faster. More fit, which is good, but I struggle for anything more than modest improvements in time. It's when I slow down, lengthen my stroke and focus on body position that I can improve a bit more in the pool.
As far as the physical stuff goes, I've come to buy into the ankle thing, because from experience I know that my kick inthe pool is worthless and weak.
Good Luck
