RUNNING: Will biking and swimming help me?

Question

I want to build up my muscles without putting ANY stress on my bones.
Will biking and swimming long distances put ANY stress on my bones?
I already run 6/7 days of the week and I want to know if adding in biking and/or swimming will either help me, or if it will just increase my chance of getting another stress fracture?

Only experienced runners please!!!

To Justin: Yeah it does! Especially leg muscles!!!

Answer 1

Oh, it will help you a LOT!!!

There has been a lot of research showing that high cadence biking increases your leg turnover speed while running. My husband is amused at how I PEDAL PEDAL away while he is in a higher gear.

You want to keep your resistance enough that you do not bounce around on your seat or you will end up with a very sore crotch and butt bones. I do increase the resistance sometimes, but I really don;t want to get my quads too big, you can run hills for that. ONE THING NOT TO DO, don;t make it so tough that your knees bow out or in, that's begging for trouble.

Swimming-I cn't remember if you swim already or not, but if you are a beginner, don't overdo it, it can be hard on yuor shoulders. Some laps with a kickboard might be good when you get tired of regular laps.

One thing that concerns me is you say that you run 6-7 days of the week. this will stress your body and your bones a lot. Could you give yourself a few more rest days off of running and substitute a cross train activity? I used to run 5 days a week and am now down to 3 days a week with higher quality run workouts, more rest, and have improved my race times. And yes, it bugs me to only run 3 days a week, but I always got into trouble the other way.

the best crosstraining for a runner is pool running. Look up AQUA VEST in a search engine and you'll see the float thing I used in the deep end when I was hurt. Those were some tough workouts and I came right back.

Answer 2

I think it's an excellent idea, i only run 3 or 4 times a week with 'low impact' CV such as biking on the off days. There is no getting away from it, running does cause stress to joints etc so it's a good idea to minimise it where you can. This routine has been working for me for years and recently i have spotted some articles reinforcing the concept that you don't actually have to run every day to get results. If i find one again i'll post it up.

Some people claim that swimming hampers running training but i think as long as your running sessions are up to scratch then it can only help.

Answer 3

Running is one of the best ways to burn calories, but it is pretty high impact. So yeah, you need to find an alternative then. Swimming is the safest, lowest impact form of real exercise. It's also good because it works your entire body.

Biking is so so. There is no real impact because you're moving in a smooth motion, but you will work fewer muscle groups. It's also a lot easier, so you won't burn many calories unless you go uphill, long distances, or really fast.

Answer 4

any form of exercise can put exercise on your bones. however, biking and swimming are better for you because its a lower impact exercise than running. i have bad knees, so i cant run. i bike daily and my leg muscles are really built up. i would try that if you want a low-impact exercise.

Answer 5

swimming will help, Biking would most likely put more stress on your bones and muscles

Answer 6

Running does not build up muscles. Try weight training.

Answer 7

Good Glooy Miss Molly
ya look like a hog....
Well, ya better start runnin
cuz it's much too late to jog

Answer 8

swimming will help -ask your doc./ physical therapist for exercises you can do while in the water

Answer 9

swimming-yes, biking-no