swimming

jamiejamie6661 said:
can swimming replace running as ones base cardio ??

my knee and nakle is bung so i cant really run consistantly
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Absolutely. You don't run in MMA anyway. Cardio is all about conditioning your heart, and swimming will do that, and more. It's so much better than running on so many levels.
 
Evilsteez said:
Freestyle is the quickest of the four strokes, butterfly is undoubtedly the hardest and breaststroke is probably the one which allows you to swim furthest without fatigue.
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Actually, Evilsteez and Muerteverde, this isn't true (not scientifically, anyway). I think for your regular cross-trainer it is, because they don't swim correctly, but in fact, butterfly is the most efficient of all the strokes, and breastroke is the least efficient. However, this is what has been proven physically in labs studying olympic caliber swimmers.

Myself, I could never swim butterfly for more than 8 laps without gassing, but the guys who specialized in that stroke, like my brother, they could just go for days and days without even trying. If you ever see a competitive flyer, watch him flow in practice, and see how many strokes he takes across the pool. My brother, at cruising speed, would get across in 7-8 every time.

Choosing which stroke to swim would probably be best decided on whichever you could maintain constantly without overexerting yourself. If you can swim the breastroke nonstop for 20 minutes without burning out, that's the one for you. If it's freestyle, great, crawl. Some guys love the backstroke; they relax better, and naturally lay their heads back, balancing in the water better than on their stomach, and usually turn from side to side better more smoothly and completely, thereby making their stroke more efficient.

Apart from that, it's just which muscles you want to work. Each stroke is more intensive on certain muscle groups, breastroke being the most unique, but mainly they all hit your shoulders and triceps the hardest.

Careful, though, everyone, because you can injure yourself swimming too. Shoulder and tricep tendinitis are common among swimmers, and the way non-swimmers swim flat in the water, I get really concerned with your shoulders thinking about you guys going after it.

Total Immersion is in my opinion the best source for learning to swim for beginners who have no one to formally train them.
 
I go to the public pool to do laps but I feel mad weird because I think I am splashing around liek crazy and looking teh ghey. haha
 
I've always wondered, is holding your breath good for your lungs, possibly increasing your lung capacity, or is it bad?
 
Yeah, you'll get lung capacity from this. If there's a competitve swimmer at the pool you attend, see if he/she will teach you a flip turn. Our coach wouldn't let us breathe two breaths in and out of a turn (breathing slows you down, and accelerating in and out of turns is crucial- accelerating in because it speeds your turn, and accelerating out because the momentum gained there is greater than any you will achieve with your stroke, and is therefore momentum you will strive to maintain).

This is very challenging to do, especially to beginners who exhale most of their air keeping water out of their nose on the turn. For elite swimmers, learning to flip without exhaling through the nose is not optional. But for you, if you can't do the flip, just try to not breath the last four strokes in and out of the turn (assuming you breathe when you turn). Hold a constant rhythm throughout your stroke: one stroke without a breath, one stroke with a breath, and so on.

You're not free-diving, so just holding your breath isn't your only concern. For a fighter, the breathing patterns you learn in swimming could be very useful (since you have to learn to relax in the water the same way you have to learn to relax in a fight...neither is natural), and using them while you're pushing yourself exercising your muscles will simulate the oxygen deficiency experienced in a fight more than holding your breath alone.
 
There was a interesting thread on Crossfits message board entitled "GotLungs?" that talks about underwater swimming and mentions a workout to try.
 
Madmick said:
Actually, Evilsteez and Muerteverde, this isn't true (not scientifically, anyway). I think for your regular cross-trainer it is, because they don't swim correctly, but in fact, butterfly is the most efficient of all the strokes, and breastroke is the least efficient. However, this is what has been proven physically in labs studying olympic caliber swimmers.

Myself, I could never swim butterfly for more than 8 laps without gassing, but the guys who specialized in that stroke, like my brother, they could just go for days and days without even trying. If you ever see a competitive flyer, watch him flow in practice, and see how many strokes he takes across the pool. My brother, at cruising speed, would get across in 7-8 every time.

Choosing which stroke to swim would probably be best decided on whichever you could maintain constantly without overexerting yourself. If you can swim the breastroke nonstop for 20 minutes without burning out, that's the one for you. If it's freestyle, great, crawl. Some guys love the backstroke; they relax better, and naturally lay their heads back, balancing in the water better than on their stomach, and usually turn from side to side better more smoothly and completely, thereby making their stroke more efficient.

Apart from that, it's just which muscles you want to work. Each stroke is more intensive on certain muscle groups, breastroke being the most unique, but mainly they all hit your shoulders and triceps the hardest.

Careful, though, everyone, because you can injure yourself swimming too. Shoulder and tricep tendinitis are common among swimmers, and the way non-swimmers swim flat in the water, I get really concerned with your shoulders thinking about you guys going after it.

Total Immersion is in my opinion the best source for learning to swim for beginners who have no one to formally train them.
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If butterfly is the most efficient of all strokes, this is certainly news to me. Also note that I disagreed with Evil Steez on some of ihis points on the rankings of the strokes and their uses. I can see what you are saying about breast stroke, compared to an elite level swimmer of one of the other strokes.

You say you could never go more than 8 laps without gassing in butterfly. Same here, but my form is not perfect either. My form is very good on crawl and breast stroke however and, as you so rightly point out, the shoulder problems I have are the only thing that hold me back from being able to swim all day. I have injured shoulder and if I do crawl for to long, it gives me trouble so I switch to breast. Breast then bother my shoulder (or at times the elbow, depending on my lifting routine) but in a diferent way, so I switch to crawl to even it out.

So you may be right about the butterfly at the super elite level, I don't know. I have known some good swimmers and even some that specialized in butterfly, but had never heard that this was the stroke they could maintain for the longest. It certainly isn't for me nor for anyone on a non-elite level, but that as you pointed out is due to imperfect form. With perfect form, perhaps.
 
I don't put my face under while swimming. I just slowly breathe in and out my nostrils.
I just moved to a new place and I swim 5 times a week, sometimes after heavy lifting (those days I feel I swim better). I swim at an outdoor pool in SW Florida so I can still swim 10 months out of the year comfortably. This is my workout until next month.

0.5 laps 30 second rest
1.0 laps 60 second rest
1.5 laps 90 second rest
1.5 laps 60 second rest
1.0 laps 30 second rest
0.5 lap End

6.0 total laps, should I try out for the Olympics?
 
jamiejamie6661 said:
can swimming replace running as ones base cardio ??

my knee and nakle is bung so i cant really run consistantly
Click to expand...

would you replace masturbation with sex? no!
 
I would love to be able to swim.

But I am a person who is unable to float.

(No joke. I sink like a rock)
 
put on a vest like in aqua jogging and stuff like that.....looks stupid but....
 
JamC said:
put on a vest like in aqua jogging and stuff like that.....looks stupid but....
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I have tried vests and such. (nothing too in depth. No pun intended)

Part of my body attempts to sink, while the vest part fights to stay afloat.

So I flounder about until I give up and go to shore.
 
Didn't CW say something about swimming not being good for fat-loss, I think it had something to do with their not being enoug heat?...IDK?
 
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