Equivelant swimming distance for running substitute

James Falkner · 11-22-2005, 07:03 PM

All,

I am recovering from a mild achilles tendinosis case, and so I've had to cut back on my running. I would like to do some swimming to keep the load off my foot (in addition to the foot-friendly CF workouts, of course!). I would like to lose as little running capability as possible during recovery by using swimming workouts as a sub (I realize it's not a perfect substitute, and that I will still have to rebuild running capability somewhat). But I'm just curious how far one would have to swim to approximately equal the difficulty of a medium-paced 4- or 5-mile run. Is there a single, golden ratio of running/swimming or does it vary significantly depending on how far one runs? What's the curve look like? I've googled around without much success, but I did find one site that said the ratio was 1/4. That is, a four mile run is the "same" as a one mile swim (crawl-style).

11-22-2005, 07:13 PM

I would agree with the 1 to 4 ratio, in terms of intensity. However, I've noticed that swimming workouts tend to be much longer than running workouts, perhaps because it is easier to recover from swimming than running.

Matt Gagliardi · 11-22-2005, 07:42 PM

I'd tend to agree that if you're keeping a roughly equivalent level of intensity you're probably looking at about a 1:4 ratio.

Jesse Woody · 11-22-2005, 07:43 PM

You can also do water-running, which has been shown to work well as far as retaining running-specific fitness with zero impact. Unfortunately it can be quite boring, so that's the biggest obstacle to overcome.

Fiona Muxlow · 11-23-2005, 04:26 AM

I would go for deep-water running over swimming to keep your running fitness.
They use it all the time here (I work part time as a lifeguard at an army base) to keep the fitness up of guy/girls who have had leg or back injuries and other wise can't run.

11-23-2005, 11:45 AM

From what I've been told, generally your 500 meter swim time is comparable to your 1 mile run time.
Deep water running is great, but I find it truly mind numbing.

11-22-2005, 07:13 PM	#2
Russ Greene Profile: Posts: n/a	I would agree with the 1 to 4 ratio, in terms of intensity. However, I've noticed that swimming workouts tend to be much longer than running workouts, perhaps because it is easier to recover from swimming than running.
Russ Greene Profile: Posts: n/a

11-23-2005, 11:45 AM	#6
Sebastian Montgomery Profile: Posts: n/a	From what I've been told, generally your 500 meter swim time is comparable to your 1 mile run time. Deep water running is great, but I find it truly mind numbing.
Sebastian Montgomery Profile: Posts: n/a

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11-22-2005, 07:03 PM	#1
James Falkner Member Profile: Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Orlando FL Posts: 608	All, I am recovering from a mild achilles tendinosis case, and so I've had to cut back on my running. I would like to do some swimming to keep the load off my foot (in addition to the foot-friendly CF workouts, of course!). I would like to lose as little running capability as possible during recovery by using swimming workouts as a sub (I realize it's not a perfect substitute, and that I will still have to rebuild running capability somewhat). But I'm just curious how far one would have to swim to approximately equal the difficulty of a medium-paced 4- or 5-mile run. Is there a single, golden ratio of running/swimming or does it vary significantly depending on how far one runs? What's the curve look like? I've googled around without much success, but I did find one site that said the ratio was 1/4. That is, a four mile run is the "same" as a one mile swim (crawl-style).

11-22-2005, 07:42 PM	#3
Matt Gagliardi Member Profile: Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Memphis TN Posts: 946	I'd tend to agree that if you're keeping a roughly equivalent level of intensity you're probably looking at about a 1:4 ratio.

11-22-2005, 07:43 PM	#4
Jesse Woody Affiliate Profile: Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Orange Virginia Posts: 914	You can also do water-running, which has been shown to work well as far as retaining running-specific fitness with zero impact. Unfortunately it can be quite boring, so that's the biggest obstacle to overcome.

11-23-2005, 04:26 AM	#5
Fiona Muxlow Affiliate Profile: Join Date: May 2005 Location: Townsville QLD Posts: 516	I would go for deep-water running over swimming to keep your running fitness. They use it all the time here (I work part time as a lifeguard at an army base) to keep the fitness up of guy/girls who have had leg or back injuries and other wise can't run.