New York Times magazine article on the best exercise
"Let’s consider the butterfly. One of the most taxing movements in sports, the butterfly requires greater energy than bicycling at 14 miles per hour, running a 10-minute mile, playing competitive basketball or carrying furniture upstairs. It burns more calories, demands larger doses of oxygen and elicits more fatigue than those other activities, meaning that over time it should increase a swimmer’s endurance and contribute to weight control.
So is the butterfly the best single exercise that there is? Well, no. The butterfly “would probably get my vote for the worst” exercise, said Greg Whyte, a professor of sport and exercise science at Liverpool John Moores University in England and a past Olympian in the modern pentathlon, known for his swimming. The butterfly, he said, is “miserable, isolating, painful.” It requires a coach, a pool and ideally supplemental weight and flexibility training to reduce the high risk of injury."
Burpees-- yes, most boot camp or Tony Horton-esque training includes them. We did them when I was in the Army.
Butterfly--yes, the toughest exercise I can imagine. After 12+ years of masters swimming, I can possibly do a 50 fly on a good day, with tons of rest, I've slept well, ate properly, etc. Basically once a year if I'm lucky. I'd rather run a marathon than swim butterfly, and I've done 2 marathons.
That said, the comparisons in the story are rather weak. Running a 10 min mile? The average marathon finish in the US last year was about that (just a little slower, 4:30 and that average includes all the walkers). And biking at 14 mph... I'm no bike expert by far, but I can usually avg 18 or so with my hybrid bike.
Burpees-- yes, most boot camp or Tony Horton-esque training includes them. We did them when I was in the Army.
Butterfly--yes, the toughest exercise I can imagine. After 12+ years of masters swimming, I can possibly do a 50 fly on a good day, with tons of rest, I've slept well, ate properly, etc. Basically once a year if I'm lucky. I'd rather run a marathon than swim butterfly, and I've done 2 marathons.
That said, the comparisons in the story are rather weak. Running a 10 min mile? The average marathon finish in the US last year was about that (just a little slower, 4:30 and that average includes all the walkers). And biking at 14 mph... I'm no bike expert by far, but I can usually avg 18 or so with my hybrid bike.
