First, a confession: my interest in swimming began after I read about Michael Phelps’ diet. The decorated Olympic swimmer, I found out, consumes a whopping 12,000 calories a day, involving the chomping down of pizzas, pasta and eight-egg omelettes. If Phelpsy can eat all that and look completely ripped, maybe it’s time the rest of us headed to the pool, hey? Unfortunately, it’s not quite as simple as that. Swimming is, however, a great cross-training tool for runners. To find out more, I ventured to Nuffield Health pool in east London to get a swimming masterclass from Swim For Tri’s Keeley Bullock.
Lungs
“Water is 200 times denser than air, so swimming through it is like a weights workout for the lungs,” says Keeley. “The fitter you are in the water, the fitter you’ll be on the land. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work the other way round.” To push your lungs to the max, try swimming a few lengths breathing on every fifth or seventh stroke.
Legs
While swimming is chiefly an upper-body workout, there are plenty of ways to get your legs working too. Grab hold of a float and try to swim 10 lengths using legs only. “Make sure you kick with a straight leg, rather than bending the knee,” advises Keeley. “And make sure it’s a shallow kick, as a deeper kick will create a lot of drag.”
Weight loss
Bad news, fellas: a 30-minute swim twice a week will not justify Michael Phelps-sized eating. “It’s not the best exercise for losing weight,” says Keeley. “It can be done, but you have to be working hard and getting in a lot of lengths. It’s better to view it as an exercise for getting toned.”
Arms
About 70% of a swimmer’s effort comes from the upper body, an area criminally ignored by the majority of runners, so it’s a great way to build a powerful chest and arms. “Swimming tones you up and creates lean muscle,” says Keeley. “It won’t make you big and bulky and in that sense it’s the perfect complementary exercise for runners.”
Relaxation
Like distance running, efficient swimming requires relaxation, focus and a calm mind. “You can reach a trance-like state, where swimming can feel very meditative,” says Keeley. “It’s also a low-impact activity, unlike running, so your joints will thank you for it.”
TRY THIS
Warm-up:
■ 200m front crawl
■ 50m kicking (with float)
■ 50m arms only (with float)
Main set:
‘Pyramid of pain’ – complete all lengths at 80% intensity
■ 25m, 5secs rest
■ 50m, 10secs rest
■ 75m, 15secs rest
■ 100m, 20secs rest
■ 150m, 25secs rest
■ 100m, 20secs rest
■ 75m, 15secs rest
■ 50m, 10secs rest
■ 25m
Warm-down:
■ 100m backstroke
