So you want to add running to your swimming... Let's talk!

Happy Sunday!

Many of you already swim regularly, and some of you have asked: Can I add running to my routine without compromising my swim training?

The short answer is yes!

Running and swimming complement each other in many ways, but balancing them requires smart planning if you want to see progress with both.

We will break down:

• The differences and similarities between running and swimming

• How to structure your weekly training schedule

• Why strength training still matters (especially as we age)

• The importance of nutrition to fuel both activities

Running vs. Swimming: Differences & Similarities

Running and swimming are very effective cardiovascular workouts, each providing unique benefits while sharing some fundamental similarities.

Understanding these can help you better integrate both into your training routine.

Cardiovascular Benefits

Both swimming and running improve heart health and lung capacity, making them excellent choices for endurance training. The key difference lies in how each sport conditions the cardiovascular system.

Running is a weight-bearing activity that requires the heart to pump blood against gravity, making it slightly more demanding on heart rate.

On the other hand, swimming is a buoyant exercise where the body is horizontal, reducing the impact of gravity and allowing for more efficient circulation.

One of the biggest misconceptions about swimming versus running is how breathing works. While it’s true that swimmers must coordinate their breaths with strokes, the breathing patterns in both sports can be quite similar.

In swimming, you must exhale fully underwater and inhale when turning your head out of the water. This rhythm of exhaling and inhaling is quite similar to controlled breathing patterns in running, where runners typically sync their breaths with their strides.

The majority of us don’t know this because we “think” that we know how to run properly, this is until to work with a coach and realize there is so much more to running technique than just going out and doing it.

Developing a proper exhalation technique underwater in swimming helps maximize oxygen efficiency, just as maintaining rhythmic breathing in running optimizes performance.

Cardiovascularly, for those of you who can’t run due to the weight-bearing impact on knees and joints, swimming is the best you can do, in my very personal opinion. Cycling comes next.

Muscular and Strength Aspects

From a muscular perspective, running primarily engages the lower body, especially quads, hamstrings, calves, and glutes. Swimming, especially for us lap swimmers, provides a more upper-body workout, incorporating the shoulders, chest, back, and core. Both sports rely heavily on core strength to maintain posture and stability, and this is why many people feel soreness in the abs after the first time they swim or run.

Swimming builds lean muscle through the resistance created by water, which is approximately 800 times denser than air. This means that every movement in the pool engages muscles in a way that running does not.

Running, however, strengthens the bones due to its high-impact nature, something swimming lacks. This is why incorporating both into a weekly routine can provide a balanced approach to fitness, avoiding muscular imbalances.

Swimming has the added benefit of reducing the risk of overuse injuries commonly associated with running. Since swimming is low-impact, it allows for active recovery while still maintaining cardiovascular endurance.

This is why I continuously stress the fact that you should always cross-train swimming with strength training. If you only swim, inevitably as you age your joints, bones, and muscles in the lower body will become weaker, which can spark injuries.

How to Balance Running and Swimming on a Weekly Basis

When combining swimming and running in your training routine, it’s important to structure your schedule to avoid overtraining while maximizing performance. Below are two different but common approaches depending on your goals and experience level.

1. Alternate Days Method (For Beginners and General Fitness)