Running Or Swimming??

[cabinetman]

Between running or swimming which can be of a better health benefit? Find out.
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[LinuxRandal]

I think most people could figure out why swimming was better. Low impact (ever seen old people use the pool for workouts), good cardiovascular.


Now, it can also be good, due to getting your heart rate up, when you see some of the gals in bikini's.

[tfischer]

For me, running is much healthier. Mainly because I can't swim, so I'd die trying

[pelligrini]

Without following the link yet, swimming. No impact related problems, & you use far more muscle sets. I used to swim competition in high school & before.

[crokett]

Swimming is better in terms of low-impact and over-all cardio. However, running is much more accessible - you just need a pair of shoes. Plus everybody is born knowing how to run. Swimming has somewhat of a learning curve before you get efficient enough for it to be an effective workout.

[docrowan]

Another problem with swimming is it is too easy to go easy. With running there is a definite break in stride at some point when you're tired and it's easy to tell that you've moved to a less strenuous pace. For me, it's all too easy to slow down when I'm swimming to a point where I'm basically goofing off.

[billwmeyer]

With me it would be the difference between drowning and knee surgery.

Bill

[Ed62]

I didn't follow the link, but I'll put my money on swimming.

Ed

[LinuxRandal]

Plus everybody is born knowing how to run.

You actually have that very backwards. Go watch some underwater births, then watch how long it takes a baby to learn to walk, then run.

[kirkroy]

I haven't read the article but the lack of impact or weight bearing in swimming is both positive and negative. Does swimming benefit maintaining or building bone mass (an important issue for older folks)? Perhaps swimming for cardio and some weight training for bone/muscle building and maintenance.

Kirk

[pelligrini]

The article was pretty short. I doubt that weight training for building muscle mass would be needed for swimming. I don't know about the bone mass part. Even as a teenager my body didn't fair well with running. All the joints in my legs and feet complained very loudly.

[farkel]

I have been swimming regularly for 35 years and running regularly for 31 years. Putting aside the question of longevity which seems to the article's focus, when looking at bigger picture issues like woodworking, in my opinion neither running nor swimming is helpful. They both exhaust you to the point that it is not a good idea to be running power tools, making careful measurements or inhaling finishing solvents.