How far makes a good workout?

nettie1

Hi all,
I recently suffered an ankle injury and have been sworn off running or walking. I don't usually swim but that seems to be the only way to maintain fitness. I usually run for about 5 miles in about 50 mins. Any idea what kind of distance swimming would achieve the same result? I'd hate to lose the limited fitness that I'm building up.

swimmer_hoop

The general rule of thumb is a 4:1 rule, i.e. running for 400m would have an equivalent time to swimming 100m. (World records in both events 43.18 against 46.91) As you can see from that comarison, the 4:1 rule is ball park.

So if you are running 5 miles in 50mins you should be looking at doing 2km in the same time in the pool. Hope this helps.

nettie1

Seems like good advice, thanks.

shamrock55

any rule for cycling as regards to running,if i run 5km how much should i cycle to get same workout??

swimmer_hoop

Here is a link to a calorific converter which gives some comparisons.
http://www.active.com/cycling/Articles/Convert_your_cycling_miles_to_running_miles_____and_vice-versa.htm

Also here's a discussion page I came across which also has some good info(I think?)
http://ask.metafilter.com/54308/Cycling-miles-to-running-miles-Whats-the-conversion-ratio

As I'm a swimmer by trade and not a triathlete I don't know much about cycling & running as a cross training idea. These pages were just found after a quick google but I hope it's a good starting point for you.

nettie1

Thanks a million. Did 2km tonight, am delighted!

biomed32

I also swim because of injury and have done so for the last year. What I have discovered is that its not the distance that counts but the intensity. I swim around 5 days a week but of those 5 days, two days would be classed as distance days and the rest would be what I would call technique sort of days. Distances would be 2-2.5km per session.
The rest of the days, I would work on specific aspects. The general plan I follow is as such:

300m- warm up
300m- arms only/ pull buoy
300m- legs only/ fins
100m- anerobic
200m- cool down

hope it helps

nettie1

biomed32 wrote: »

I also swim because of injury and have done so for the last year. What I have discovered is that its not the distance that counts but the intensity. I swim around 5 days a week but of those 5 days, two days would be classed as distance days and the rest would be what I would call technique sort of days. Distances would be 2-2.5km per session.
The general plan I follow is as such:

300m- warm up
300m- arms only/ pull buoy
300m- legs only/ fins
100m- anerobic
200m- cool down

hope it helps

Wow that sounds great, thanks, but I'm a little confused. How far are distance swims and how far are technique swims? What do you mean by "pulling buoy"? Where would you get one? What constitutes anerobic? Is that when you just go hell for leather?
I'm really excited about following a plan; it makes it easier to feel successful. I'm a complete novice and am a bit self conscious at the moment. Thanks

biomed32

nettie1 wrote: »

Wow that sounds great, thanks, but I'm a little confused. How far are distance swims and how far are technique swims? What do you mean by "pulling buoy"? Where would you get one? What constitutes anerobic? Is that when you just go hell for leather?
I'm really excited about following a plan; it makes it easier to feel successful. I'm a complete novice and am a bit self conscious at the moment. Thanks

The planned swims wouldnt be all that in the one go, only if I say went to the aquatic center and had unlimited time for a swim. Distance swims would be anywhere between 2k, 2.25k and 2.5k, it all depends on how im feeling that day so for a 25m pool it would generally be anywhere between 80-100 lenghts. I try to change it up by doing an open water swim with some friends 2-4 times a month or whenever they go.

This is a pull buoy http://http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=48324

Basically it sits between your legs and keep them buoyant as you use only your arms, so I can concentrate on using my arms. You can get it in any good store, even argos I believe. Anerobic is a combination of going hell for leather as you say and basically swimming the length of the pool under the water without coming up for air (I appologise to any proper swimmers here I know this probably isnt something that you would consider a proper workout) I use fins at the moment as my kick is ridicously weak
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=48327. Again you can get these in a good sports shop or online like I did.

I took up swimming two years ago to basically knacker myself out to get some sleep after a personal tragedy and then became a necessity after a bad fall off my bike also. I felt fairly nervous too to begin with as I never had many lessons and it was simply a case of getting in to see if I float and making myself move in the water. I really enjoy it. If your lucky you can find a pool and a time that suits you during the week and get to know the regulars in the pool. Its great for the company and the chat and makes the swim go much better. I swim with a guy with down syndrome on thursdays and he is as good as an elite swimmer and is gas to swim with. Let me know how you get on or if you need anymore information etc
Sinead

Dude111

swimmer_hoop wrote:

The general rule of thumb is a 4:1 rule, i.e. running for 400m would have an equivalent time to swimming 100m.

I couldnt even make it 1/2 way across a large pool like that i dont think! (I get quite tired fast)