Does lap swimming have any cross-training value for running?
Absolutely. The beauty of swimming is that it helps you maintain cardiorespiratory fitness while simultaneously strengthening and soothing your body. The crawl and other strokes work all of the upper-body and core muscles, which is especially valuable for runners who don’t strength train. And immersing yourself in water off-loads the joints and stimulates blood flow, hastening recovery time. These therapeutic qualities are similar to a full-body massage, which is why I recommend that runners get in the pool the day after a hard workout or race. Swimming also comes to the rescue when you’re injured. Often when you can’t run, cycle, or work out on the elliptical machine, you can still swim. -Marc Evans is a California-based endurance coach and the author of Endurance Athlete’s Edge (evanscoaching.com).
