4 ms·

Swimming is good too, even more gentle

by NegativeLatency 3y ago

kazinator 3y ago
Doing nothing is even more gentle; that's not exactly the idea.
- selimthegrim 3y ago
  “Low-impact”
  - kazinator 3y ago
    The idea that swimming is better than cycling because it has even less impact is simply invalid. The low impact of cycling is more than low enough.¹ (Outside of falling down and hitting the pavement, of course!) I would say that if all you do is cycling, you should add some more load-bearing exercise, like weights, and a bit of running. You should not be worried that cycling is too high impact and go for swimming for that reason (though there are great reasons to swim, and nobody should be discouraged from that!) ＿＿＿＿ 1. Except for someone with a serious injury that they are treating with pool exercise, or a member of some other special population.
- viciousvoxel 3y ago
  You're being obtuse. Parent clearly meant gentle as in "lower impact", which really is the idea. Swimming is a great exercise option for joint health (and in general).
  - kazinator 3y ago
    Nope; you need load bearing. And even some mild impact. Lower impact being better than high impact doesn't imply that even lower impact is even better. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone#Remodeling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone#Remodeling "Repeated stress, such as weight-bearing exercise or bone healing, results in the bone thickening at the points of maximum stress (Wolff's law). It has been hypothesized that this is a result of bone's piezoelectric properties, which cause bone to generate small electrical potentials under stress." Swimming is beneficial, and is a great complement to load-bearing exercise.
    - dredmorbius 3y ago
      This is a much better response than your upstream contribution.
dredmorbius 3y ago
Swimming may or may not be appropriate. Swimming, generally, is pretty poor lower-body exercise. Most swimmers have very well-developed upper-body strength, though favouring back and torso generally. Legs get comparatively little workout, though for competitive swimmers starts (diving off the blocks) and turns (kicking off the wall) are periodic explosive strength. Swimming can and does lead to joint problems in many cases, notably shoulders (for most strokes) and knees (breastroke or "frog" kick). The human anatomy isn't really designed for dragging itself through water, and repetitive stress injuries can emerge. The leverage effect of even a small effort exerted at the hand or foot transferred to the elbow/knee or shoulder/hip can be stunningly large. There is the option of "aquasize" or "water walking", which can be useful as rehabilitative exercise or for the morbidly obese. This is water-assisted movement, though, not swimming per se. Mind: so long as you're mindful of limitations, and swimming is both convenient and useful, it's a great exercise and a useful training tool, or goal. But it's possible to hurt yourself in all kinds of ways. A useful rule of thumb is that mild soreness in muscle after exercise is generally OK. Pain in joints or connective tissue is not, and is a strong signal to back off, with total rest for days or weeks often required. (Source: long-time competitive and recreational swimmer, some-time fitness fanatic.)
- zimpenfish 3y ago
  > knees (breastroke or "frog" kick) Anecdata: My knee consultant specifically banned the breaststroke kick if I go swimming (but then my knee is a disaster area and pending a replacement.)
  - dredmorbius 3y ago
    I know quite a few competitive breaststrokers who developed knee problems in their later teens, so, yeah. Flutter or dolphin kick, with or without fins ("Zoomers" are particularly useful) should be safer, and actually is a reasonably good lower-body workout, particularly in conjunction with strength training (squats & deads notably).
yolo3000 3y ago
From what I read cycling is better, at least for cartilage, check out the video of this doctor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PNBjKJ9hxQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PNBjKJ9hxQ. He also talks in other videos about the force you get on the knee from a push motion, versus a kick motion, with the kick motion exerting more force.

Swimming is good too, even more gentle

kazinator 3y ago

Doing nothing is even more gentle; that's not exactly the idea.

selimthegrim 3y ago
“Low-impact”
- kazinator 3y ago
  The idea that swimming is better than cycling because it has even less impact is simply invalid. The low impact of cycling is more than low enough.¹ (Outside of falling down and hitting the pavement, of course!) I would say that if all you do is cycling, you should add some more load-bearing exercise, like weights, and a bit of running. You should not be worried that cycling is too high impact and go for swimming for that reason (though there are great reasons to swim, and nobody should be discouraged from that!) ＿＿＿＿ 1. Except for someone with a serious injury that they are treating with pool exercise, or a member of some other special population.
viciousvoxel 3y ago
You're being obtuse. Parent clearly meant gentle as in "lower impact", which really is the idea. Swimming is a great exercise option for joint health (and in general).
- kazinator 3y ago
  Nope; you need load bearing. And even some mild impact. Lower impact being better than high impact doesn't imply that even lower impact is even better. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone#Remodeling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone#Remodeling "Repeated stress, such as weight-bearing exercise or bone healing, results in the bone thickening at the points of maximum stress (Wolff's law). It has been hypothesized that this is a result of bone's piezoelectric properties, which cause bone to generate small electrical potentials under stress." Swimming is beneficial, and is a great complement to load-bearing exercise.
  - dredmorbius 3y ago
    This is a much better response than your upstream contribution.

dredmorbius 3y ago

Swimming may or may not be appropriate. Swimming, generally, is pretty poor lower-body exercise. Most swimmers have very well-developed upper-body strength, though favouring back and torso generally. Legs get comparatively little workout, though for competitive swimmers starts (diving off the blocks) and turns (kicking off the wall) are periodic explosive strength. Swimming can and does lead to joint problems in many cases, notably shoulders (for most strokes) and knees (breastroke or "frog" kick). The human anatomy isn't really designed for dragging itself through water, and repetitive stress injuries can emerge. The leverage effect of even a small effort exerted at the hand or foot transferred to the elbow/knee or shoulder/hip can be stunningly large. There is the option of "aquasize" or "water walking", which can be useful as rehabilitative exercise or for the morbidly obese. This is water-assisted movement, though, not swimming per se. Mind: so long as you're mindful of limitations, and swimming is both convenient and useful, it's a great exercise and a useful training tool, or goal. But it's possible to hurt yourself in all kinds of ways. A useful rule of thumb is that mild soreness in muscle after exercise is generally OK. Pain in joints or connective tissue is not, and is a strong signal to back off, with total rest for days or weeks often required. (Source: long-time competitive and recreational swimmer, some-time fitness fanatic.)

zimpenfish 3y ago
> knees (breastroke or "frog" kick) Anecdata: My knee consultant specifically banned the breaststroke kick if I go swimming (but then my knee is a disaster area and pending a replacement.)
- dredmorbius 3y ago
  I know quite a few competitive breaststrokers who developed knee problems in their later teens, so, yeah. Flutter or dolphin kick, with or without fins ("Zoomers" are particularly useful) should be safer, and actually is a reasonably good lower-body workout, particularly in conjunction with strength training (squats & deads notably).

yolo3000 3y ago

From what I read cycling is better, at least for cartilage, check out the video of this doctor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PNBjKJ9hxQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PNBjKJ9hxQ. He also talks in other videos about the force you get on the knee from a push motion, versus a kick motion, with the kick motion exerting more force.