swimming for cardio

[mattjf]

Hey all,

Had a quick question. I am trying to stay off my legs today because of a big race this weekend I'm doing. Anyway, I still want to do cardio, so I'm considering swimming. Should I just do a moderate pace and swim long distances without rest, or should I do more of 25m to 50m sprints with rest between? Mix it up some? Any advice would be appreciated.

-Matt

[2Scoops]

You've already run that race presumably, but I'd like to comment on this. I've found with some teams I've been involved with that swimming the week of an event can lead to DOMS right when you don't want it.

If you swim a lot then fine but if you're only doing it because you want to stay off your legs then it could be trouble. As to the type (moderate pace Vs. intermittant sprints) I don't think either would have much physiological benefit for the weekend but psychologically speaking, some people feel better if any exercise has been done. But back to my original point, I would expect multiple sprints to be more likely to give you DOMS - if unaccustomed to swimming.

[MAURER]

what are DOMS?

[gabriel147]

yeah...what is that?

[nate]

Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness

[MAURER]

so thats just when you feel sore the next day after strenuous excersize?

[Gokorda]

pretty much, yeah.

and to answer the question: I'm not much of an expert on cardio in general, but I've been swimming for quite some time now... I find that the best cardio workout is a mix of both.. the one I did this morning went something like this:

500M warmup, easy swim for first 400, moderate for last 100
5X25M sprint, 5-10 seconds of rest between each
200M light swim
5X25M sprint, 5-10 seconds of rest between each
200M light swim
5X50M sprint, 5-10 seconds of rest between each
200M light swim
5X50M sprint, 5-10 seconds of rest between each
200M light swim
Pyramid, moderate pace, 5 seconds of rest between each
(pyramid is 25M then 50M then 75M then 100M then back down to 25 again)
then another 500M light swim to cool down. (I only did 200 of this, I started late and had to get to class)
but providing you are a decent swimmer, I find the above to be a great endurance/cardio workout. it's low impact and keeps your heart rate up.

Hope it helps

[zppz]

Originally Posted by Gokorda

the one I did this morning went something like this:

just wondering how long that took you..? i started swimming for cardio a few weeks ago and i can only manage to do 1km in about 30 minutes (with rests of course) but it seems like you are doing 3 times that distance so I was thinking you're either really fast or you spend a long time in there.

[Piper]

omg Gokorda.. how long does that take you? :O

[Gokorda]

It depends how I feel that day, but I normally have just over an hour in the mornings before class starts. and I hate going to class with the stench of chlorine, so I take a nice long shower..

I swim for about 40-45 minutes.. Normally I finish early, after 35 minutes or so, then work on starts and turns, but days like the one i described, I started late and didn't finish.