Cross training? Let's talk about swimming.
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Cross training? Let's talk about swimming.
Varying the sports you practise, the types of training you do and the physical and biochemical stimuli you subject your body to is a sensible choice from several points of view, both for those who play sport for well-being and for those who train competitively. When we talk about this subject we are talking about cross training and swimming is certainly one of the best means of training, maintenance, recovery and unloading there is.
Swimming is a natural movement that humans develop innately from life in the womb and which, when included in a well-calibrated, well-reasoned weekly training programme with the right technical care, can be a valuable ally in a great many physiological conditions and at many points in the season.
Looking at the athletic movement as a whole, the ‘water medium’ variable makes it possible to handle good workloads, especially aerobic ones, while minimising the gravitational forces that act on the body in normal conditions. Fitness programmes aimed at improving well-being, as well as training programmes for specialist athletes, benefit from muscular work against the resistance of the water and from the chance to build worthwhile volumes in relation to the time available.
The fundamental principle behind the usefulness of training in water lies in the possibility of conditioning the main athletic qualities while exploiting the lower stress impact of the effort madein this medium, where the body's effective weight is lower than on land. In this way the stress on all the muscle-tendon structures usually loaded by impacts with the ground, on the bike or elsewhere is minimised, while the activity of the heart, breathing and the muscles in general remains high. Metabolically, energy expenditure can range from a minimum of 400 kcal per hour of activity up to a maximum of 800, but in this case there are a great many variables to consider, since factors such as the athlete's weight, the duration of the effort, the distance covered and the technique used, meaning the fluidity of the stroke, all have an influence.
Depending on the sport practised, the needs of the moment and previous experience in the water, you can use more or fewer pool training sessions, with a wider or narrower variety of training stimuli.
For example, a non-competitive athlete who is simply looking to improve their well-being will benefit from just one swimming session a week, or at most two, of free swimming lasting at least 40-50 minutes in total, instead of or in addition to one of their weekly workouts. In this case it would still be advisable to start the session with a warm-up, followed by a longer or shorter stretch of free swimming without breaks. One or two sessions in the water a week can also be used by competitive athletes, who instead look to the pool session for the muscular unloading they need within a week packed with other types of work. The approach to the session is similar to the previous one, with the option of using variations on the basic theme, such as hand paddles or a kickboard, when you want to work parts of the body that are usually not very active in your competitive sport. If you want to increase the training component in one of the two sessions, you could structure it with a warm-up of at least 400 m, followed by a main set of 400 or 500 m in which you alternate lengths with controlled breathing, for example one breath every 3 or every 4 strokes, with lengths of free breathing. This is followed by a fully aerobic section and a final cool-down at an easy pace. All of this is meant to be swum freestyle.
Increasing the number of pool sessions in place of standard workouts in order to improve athletic condition should be done carefully within a structured training plan. The risk is that, for the same number of sessions and the same time available, training time is used less efficiently. Put simply, you cannot do the same amount of work in an hour of swimming as in an hour of running and also get the same athletic benefits for running as a sport. So even if you want to increase your swimming sessions during the week, there will be some out-of-water sessions that pool sessions can hardly replace. In any case, it will still be possible to add very demanding water sessions by working on volume and intensity. One example could include, after the usual warm-up, a purely technical phase and a phase of efforts above and below threshold: repeated lengths at medium intensity with medium recoveries (20”) and lengths at high intensity with longer recoveries (30”), for at least 1000–1500 m of total work. Always finish with a good number of cool-down lengths.
Using the pool as a rehabilitation or recovery tool is a separate matter. In this case water sessions can even be done every day, swimming or performing specific rehabilitation exercises set by specialist professionals. The muscle tone of specific areas and of the body as a whole will benefit enormously.
Watch the video:
Read all the other articles on our blog and our social channels.
Varying the sports you practise, the types of training you do and the physical and biochemical stimuli you subject your body to is a sensible choice from several points of view, both for those who play sport for well-being and for those who train competitively. When we talk about this subject we are talking about cross training and swimming is certainly one of the best means of training, maintenance, recovery and unloading there is.
Swimming is a natural movement that humans develop innately from life in the womb and which, when included in a well-calibrated, well-reasoned weekly training programme with the right technical care, can be a valuable ally in a great many physiological conditions and at many points in the season.
Looking at the athletic movement as a whole, the ‘water medium’ variable makes it possible to handle good workloads, especially aerobic ones, while minimising the gravitational forces that act on the body in normal conditions. Fitness programmes aimed at improving well-being, as well as training programmes for specialist athletes, benefit from muscular work against the resistance of the water and from the chance to build worthwhile volumes in relation to the time available.
The fundamental principle behind the usefulness of training in water lies in the possibility of conditioning the main athletic qualities while exploiting the lower stress impact of the effort madein this medium, where the body's effective weight is lower than on land. In this way the stress on all the muscle-tendon structures usually loaded by impacts with the ground, on the bike or elsewhere is minimised, while the activity of the heart, breathing and the muscles in general remains high. Metabolically, energy expenditure can range from a minimum of 400 kcal per hour of activity up to a maximum of 800, but in this case there are a great many variables to consider, since factors such as the athlete's weight, the duration of the effort, the distance covered and the technique used, meaning the fluidity of the stroke, all have an influence.
Depending on the sport practised, the needs of the moment and previous experience in the water, you can use more or fewer pool training sessions, with a wider or narrower variety of training stimuli.
For example, a non-competitive athlete who is simply looking to improve their well-being will benefit from just one swimming session a week, or at most two, of free swimming lasting at least 40-50 minutes in total, instead of or in addition to one of their weekly workouts. In this case it would still be advisable to start the session with a warm-up, followed by a longer or shorter stretch of free swimming without breaks. One or two sessions in the water a week can also be used by competitive athletes, who instead look to the pool session for the muscular unloading they need within a week packed with other types of work. The approach to the session is similar to the previous one, with the option of using variations on the basic theme, such as hand paddles or a kickboard, when you want to work parts of the body that are usually not very active in your competitive sport. If you want to increase the training component in one of the two sessions, you could structure it with a warm-up of at least 400 m, followed by a main set of 400 or 500 m in which you alternate lengths with controlled breathing, for example one breath every 3 or every 4 strokes, with lengths of free breathing. This is followed by a fully aerobic section and a final cool-down at an easy pace. All of this is meant to be swum freestyle.
Increasing the number of pool sessions in place of standard workouts in order to improve athletic condition should be done carefully within a structured training plan. The risk is that, for the same number of sessions and the same time available, training time is used less efficiently. Put simply, you cannot do the same amount of work in an hour of swimming as in an hour of running and also get the same athletic benefits for running as a sport. So even if you want to increase your swimming sessions during the week, there will be some out-of-water sessions that pool sessions can hardly replace. In any case, it will still be possible to add very demanding water sessions by working on volume and intensity. One example could include, after the usual warm-up, a purely technical phase and a phase of efforts above and below threshold: repeated lengths at medium intensity with medium recoveries (20”) and lengths at high intensity with longer recoveries (30”), for at least 1000–1500 m of total work. Always finish with a good number of cool-down lengths.
Using the pool as a rehabilitation or recovery tool is a separate matter. In this case water sessions can even be done every day, swimming or performing specific rehabilitation exercises set by specialist professionals. The muscle tone of specific areas and of the body as a whole will benefit enormously.
Watch the video:
- Cross training? Let's talk about swimming.
Read all the other articles on our blog and our social channels.
- Focus Running
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