Swimming to Running, what is equivalent??

Really no exact distance of run to swim equivalency. From an aerobic point for me pretty much minute to minute the same since I do intervals while swimming for example 6x250 on 4:00 is 24:00 (1500)... I have to work at a good effort to make the interval and would say it's at least aerobically the same as 24:00 min of running~3miles.

it depends on how used you are to swimming and . The more of a novice the less it will take to equivalent 4 miles of running. but a total novice that has terrible form just wont be able to get that aerobic benefit in any comparable way

for a swimmer with good technique (that is they can side breathe, do flip turns, and effectively swim for ~1.5k-2k+ yards straight without worrying about not being able to stop then time is a good basis where if you do 100-500 yard reps with 15-30 seconds rest relative to the interval length you should have a 1:1 time ratio from running to swimming for aerobic benefit

In terms of calories burned I think about 1 mile freestyle = 3 or 4 miles running, but it obviously depends how efficient you are at swimming.

I am not a particularly efficient swimmer and I run 80-100 miles per week when training for something. For me I would say that swimming a 'fast' mile feels about how I would feel after running ten miles at a decent effort.

it's different for everybody. I'm a sh*t runner [20 flat 5k], but am an ex-swimmer, so 2 miles in a pool in an hour doing sets at 1:30/100y pace is like a LSR pace of 9:00/mile for me, who knows what it is for you. This is ~125 HR for me coming in around 1:18-1:20

check your heart rate maybe?

swimmer124 wrote:

it depends on how used you are to swimming and . The more of a novice the less it will take to equivalent 4 miles of running. but a total novice that has terrible form just wont be able to get that aerobic benefit in any comparable way

for a swimmer with good technique (that is they can side breathe, do flip turns, and effectively swim for ~1.5k-2k+ yards straight without worrying about not being able to stop then time is a good basis where if you do 100-500 yard reps with 15-30 seconds rest relative to the interval length you should have a 1:1 time ratio from running to swimming for aerobic benefit

I am relatively new to swimming, but I don't think my form is absolutely terrible. I'm sure it isn't great, but not awful.

So, if an easy run of say 4 miles might take about a half hour, then a half hour of swimming once I get somewhat more experienced would be probably "equivalent" to four miles?

It's almost impossible to make a true comparison unless you quote your running and swimming capabilities.

I'm a former D1 5/10k runner but a mile swim at 2:00/100y pace knocks me on my butt because I'm incredibly inefficient in the water.

Makes for a great workout, but my lousy mile swim tires to the equivalent of a 10 mile run at sub 6:00 pace.

2:00/100y pace is a warm-up for a good swimmer, but a real workout for me.

Actually it depends on how good of a swimmer you are. The better swimmer you are, the less work it is to swim.

For someone like me who is a fairly decent swimmer, but certainly not as good as high school or college swimmers… I would say 400 yards of swimming is equal to 1 mile of running as far as caloric burn is concerned.

"ish"

cross training is such a gray area that its hard to really be trying to equate it to miles and have that be your mileage in training. In the pool I usually alter intensity more than volume in the sense ill do ~45-60 minutes total every time where ill spend the first 10 minutes on a warm up then ill do reps for 30-40 minutes and then a 5 minute cool down but I also used to swim competitive so I have a different gauge on how to approach a pool workout. On my harder days Im targeting 3k-4k and easier days im around 2k for total distance swam

A bad form is actually good if you are cross-training for running. You can go very slow and still get in a great workout for your heart and core, which are the main targets from swimming.

With proper form you would need to swim a pretty fast pace to get any aerobic benefit, which also builds muscle mass in your upper body which you want to avoid.

One thing some elite runners who cross-train swimming use is anaerobic breathing. E.g. 10x100 with 25m breathing every 3rd, next 25m breathing every 5th, next 25m breathing every 7th stroke and then last 25m sprint. That makes your body more efficient at using oxygen.

sit and kick wrote:

check your heart rate maybe?

It is very hard to get the same heart rate when swimming as for running or skiing or cycling.

I Because you are horisontal so the blood does not need to be pumped from your legs

II Because smaller muscle groups (arms) are those pulling you forward.

SprintTriathlon wrote:

sit and kick wrote:

check your heart rate maybe?

It is very hard to get the same heart rate when swimming as for running or skiing or cycling.

I Because you are horisontal so the blood does not need to be pumped from your legs

II Because smaller muscle groups (arms) are those pulling you forward.

Cycling HR is lower than running HR, as well. You use your core way more with running, in cycling all power needs to come from the legs. So for most people, running max HR is ~10 bpm higher than cycling.

For swimming - yes horizontal position is one of the three main reasons why max HR in swimming is ~15-20 bpm lower than with running or XC skiing. The other two main effects are the cooling effect the buoyancy of the water. A good swimmer has a gigantic kick, Sarah Sjostrom once swam 1:09 for 100m just flutter kicking. But yea, the kick of a runner is pretty much useless, it also has to do with the ankles (you want to have different feet/ankles/flexibility for running than would be good for swimming).

That said, when I first measured my HR I was surprised how high it was. I thought I was going easy but it was actually threshold, so a runner with bad technique should have absolutely no problem to get his HR up in the water, unless he is an absolute aerobic monster.

I've found that my heart rate during my swim seemed to be the equivalent of a super super easy run, and I swam for about as long as a super super easy 3 miler would be. Maybe that works?

poleflag wrote:

So far I've read that it is about four miles of running to about one mile of swimming. I know the exercises are quite different, but aerobically, what is the equivalent?

Look at 200 metres swimming word records for both men and women. Look at 800m metres world records for both men and women, T&F. Four to one is the correct answer. There are posters on this thread who do not accept the 4 to 1 ratio. Due to temperment and body build, most individuals are not psychologically and are not physically able to do well at both running and swimming equally.

List of 200m world records, freestyle swimming: men long course, 1:42.00, short course, 1:39.37; women long course, 1:52.98, short course, 1:50.43

List of 800m world record, T&F: men, 1:40.91; women, 1:53.28

I have done one triathlon which was a sprint tri, I was aimimg for a sub 90 timing and achieved this with tenths of seconds to spare so I am not super experienced and I am worlds better at running than I am at swimming.

For me, the intensity of swimming 1 mile in 40 minutes would equal the intensity of running 5 miles in 40 minutes. I have terrible swimming form so for me, it is a 5:1 ratio. I rarely swim but somebody a bit more trained in the pool or balaned in training like a triathlete, they might be able to swim half a mile further in that same timeframe at the same intensity so the ratios would change to more 1:3(ish).

For swimmers, the ratios reverse as they might even find swimming 2 miles easier than running 2 miles.

Bottom line, swimming = swimming and running = running. There are no real equivalents.

Heart rate in swim is useless. Low because body isn't working against gravity to pump blood. Notice no real swimmer uses HRM? Just silly triathletes

poleflag wrote:

I've found that my heart rate during my swim seemed to be the equivalent of a super super easy run, and I swam for about as long as a super super easy 3 miler would be. Maybe that works?

Yes, also try out some running in the pool before or after.

Swim training is very different than run training. Most swim workouts have at least some intensity, while most running workouts don’t. A typical 5k swim set with 2-3k at or near threshold is about equivalent in recovery cost to a 60-70 minute run at 70-80 mhr. A 60-70 minute run with threshold work is of course much harder on your body, both from a cardiovascular standpoint and also on your muscles.