Swimming Vs Running?

I prefer running easily. Better harder cardio, good for balance, the impact from the ground up translates into boxing well. You can run up hills, stairs, straights. Adjust yourself when running over rocks or any kind of surface. The momentum of pushing your arms in and out is a good boxing workout on its own if you like. The distance and effort is a lot more variable with running aswell.

 

swimming is more shoulders and arms training and running is more legs training.

 

Knees are the main reason I went to cycling. After 3 surgeries, with one being an ACL replacement, I can't even think of running. It is much easier on the knees to pedal a bike as opposed to pounding pavement. Might I suggest you borrow a good bike from a friend to see if you like it. There can be considerable expense to get even a good used bike, and even more so for new, so see if it is something you'd like to pursue.


If you decide to take it up, don't waste your money on those cheap Wal-Mart, K-Mart bikes. The components are crap and will not last if you are planning to use it regularly and do some serious training with it.

I've seen some good bikes on e-bay that can be had much cheaper than buying new. However, before buying a bike, see what size fits you properly. Go to a bike shop and chat up the sales people to get an idea what to look for and to see what you want in the form of a bike. Some folks like road bikes, me included. Other's like mountain bikes, then there's hybrids, comfort bikes etc. It all depends on personal preference and how you want to ride.

 

Really depends on the bike. If it is a road bike with very thin tires, it will not be good on the grass or dirt. It would not be advisable to put a road bike in gravel or anything with sharp edges since the tires are usually pumped to very high pressures. My bike tires are pumped to 120 psi. and it wouldn't take much of a sharp edge to pop a tire and tube.

You can do this with mountain bikes, hybrid bikes and comfort bikes since the tires are much heavier with thicker rubber and tread.

 

id aim for 40-50 mins minimum 3-4 times a week with a decent ride on the week end soemthing that pushes you so your feeling it on the way back but done at a decent pace so you not incredibly sore.

a tip for a beginner,as far as hills dont just stand up and pedal as hard as you can up the whole hill, your not going to make it, your going to have issues down shifting, and your goign to end up off your bike walking the rest of the hill.

your best option is to drop into your lowest gear at the very bottom of the hill and take the hill as slowly and relaxed as you can, do not get off your bike and walk it, just pedal as slow as you can to the top then once you have confidence that you can make it up the hill and you start to feel comfortable with it then you can start messing around with the hill like stand up pedaling and higher gears ect.

cyclo cross bikes are similar to road bikes in that they are light and preform well on the road, not quite as well as a good road bike. they pretty much look just like a road bike but the tires are slightly bigger with slightly more agressive tred and tend to have moutain bike locking pedals(there might be other diffrences im not sure) if your looking for something you can take on dirt paths and roads while still having good speed and comfort this is probly the kind of bike you want, but of course with new good bikes whether its a road bike mountain bike cyclo cross bike its going to be expensive i spent about 1700 on mine and from the sound of gumbo's he probly spent over 2k on his.

 

Wladimir does a lot of swimming, so it must be better

 

They are both means to an end, to train an energy system. Running has the added benefit for boxers in that you are upright and moving your legs in that plane which is what you do in the ring, while swimming has the added benefit of little to no impact on the joints.

 

aside from the eccentric impact on the shoulder joints when your arm goes from air to water. not that thats a bad thing in fact there have been studies where they take a cross section of a swimmers shoulder and an average persons shoulder (via mri or something) and found while both shoulders are the same size the individual muscle fibers in the swimmers shoulder are much smaller denoting more muscle fibers in a swimmers shoulder and a greater muscle density. also denoting that the eccentric motion of your arm going from air to water can result in muscular hyperplasia.

 

swimming is good for your shoulders, for sure
It isn't from that "impact" though as proper swimming doesn't have sudden shock impact, your arms slide into the water for optimal hydrodynamics (aerodynamics? ha!).

 

im probably not swimming correctly then cause it sure puts some strain on my shoulders.

if you know of any good youtube vids or articles that go over proper form when swimming in different styles that would be greatly appreciated. i got a pool and spent a good deal of time last year swimming but after about 400m id start to get incredibly sharp pains in my shoulders with every stroke.

 

Cycling is an overlooked option imho.

Hardly any impact on the joints, you can cram many miles in, see some beautiful scenery (depending on where you cycle, i usually go down onto the canals) and you can really get your cardio up.

I much prefer that to Running or Swimming. Although the latter is a great option /form of excercise as well.

 

Good advice here, especially about the hills and how to approach them. Not many hills in New Orleans, none in fact, but several bridges that need to be crossed on most rides I take along the lakefront-----only a couple uphills when taking the levee route. Geared bikes are great for hills even though it feels kind of funny pedaling at 50-60 rpm and creeping along at about 2 mph, but you're making headway.

As for bike cost, I made out like a bandit on mine. The shop was running a big sale, my bike was the last of that particular style, tons of new stock coming in, and I picked it up for $1400 out the door. Clip in shoes were $80 but worth every cent as they make it much easier on long rides.