Running the hardest sport?

[.Rainbow.Socks.]

x.

[headbang_houa]

.Rainbow.Socks.

x.

?

[Lynor Eclipse]

I don't think so. There's very little resistance. Sure, the impacts might be hard on the knees, but in the end you're only running against the air. I used to be a competitive swimmer - lots of resistance in the water, plus you have to be aware of how and when you breathe. My best event was the 50m freestyle (shortest distance in the pool - takes about the same amount of time to swim this as to run 200m... actually, running 200m is faster by a couple of seconds than swimming 50m if you compare world records). During a typical race of my best event, I'd dive in (fastest part of the race, since you are moving through air at first, then water), after a short underwater dolphin kick out, I'd surface, take 12-17 strokes, take my first breath (between 20-25m into the race), then another 8-12 strokes followed by my second breath (about 35m into the race), and then keep my head down as I push towards the wall. 2 breaths only. I've done it on 1 before, but it worked better for my end race to take two breaths. I can swim that distance (and further) without breathing (I've done 75m before) but that's also not at sprint pace.

Anyways, that just to say, I think there are harder sports than running, swimming being one of them. Anything involving weights also adds more resistance than just air, so I'd also include those types of sports among harder sports than running. Swimming is probably one of the fairest sports (really, it's just you against the clock since you get a lane to yourself), and there aren't a lot of ways to injure yourself (over-training, not maintaining your body properly, and on rare occasions, mishaps during warm-ups when one person flipturns on another person or someone jumps in and lands on someone... which really doesn't happen... or you slip on the pool deck and bump into something. Apart from being flipturned on, none of the other things I've mentioned have ever happened to me). Generally, swimmers train 8-10 times a week (depending on specialty; as a sprinter, I only trained 8 times a week, distance swimmers train 10 times a week). Morning practices are common (of the 5:30 am time). Sundays are usually rest days (I say this because I've trained on more than one team, and I've known many swimmers on many different teams - it seems it's standard practice). Cross-training is common (particularly including weight training, but also may include running, biking, ab workouts, skipping, etc). Training camps usually happen around Christmas and one other time of year (depending upon the competition schedule that year). Heh, just thinking about resistance reminds me of some practices in which I was hooked up to a stretch-cord, and had to swim out until the cord was tethered and starting to pull me back, and then continue to swim against it for a specified amount of time before letting it reel me back to the wall. That's adding resistance to resistance! (cord + water resistance!). Swimming trains all year long (though depending on your level, you may get some or most of August off. I was National level, and that's pretty much the time I got off. The International level swimmers that I trained with got maybe the last week of August off and the first week or two of September off. Oh, and usually a week or so in March or April between. Not surprisingly, March/April is the end of short course season, which is racing in a 25m pool, and the beginning of long course season, racing in the Olympic standard 50m pool. August/September is the end of long course and beginning of short course).

[headbang_houa]

Lynor Eclipse

I don't think so. There's very little resistance. Sure, the impacts might be hard on the knees, but in the end you're only running against the air. I used to be a competitive swimmer - lots of resistance in the water, plus you have to be aware of how and when you breathe. My best event was the 50m freestyle (shortest distance in the pool - takes about the same amount of time to swim this as to run 200m... actually, running 200m is faster by a couple of seconds than swimming 50m if you compare world records). During a typical race of my best event, I'd dive in (fastest part of the race, since you are moving through air at first, then water), after a short underwater dolphin kick out, I'd surface, take 12-17 strokes, take my first breath (between 20-25m into the race), then another 8-12 strokes followed by my second breath (about 35m into the race), and then keep my head down as I push towards the wall. 2 breaths only. I've done it on 1 before, but it worked better for my end race to take two breaths. I can swim that distance (and further) without breathing (I've done 75m before) but that's also not at sprint pace.

Anyways, that just to say, I think there are harder sports than running, swimming being one of them. Anything involving weights also adds more resistance than just air, so I'd also include those types of sports among harder sports than running. Swimming is probably one of the fairest sports (really, it's just you against the clock since you get a lane to yourself), and there aren't a lot of ways to injure yourself (over-training, not maintaining your body properly, and on rare occasions, mishaps during warm-ups when one person flipturns on another person or someone jumps in and lands on someone... which really doesn't happen... or you slip on the pool deck and bump into something. Apart from being flipturned on, none of the other things I've mentioned have ever happened to me). Generally, swimmers train 8-10 times a week (depending on specialty; as a sprinter, I only trained 8 times a week, distance swimmers train 10 times a week). Morning practices are common (of the 5:30 am time). Sundays are usually rest days (I say this because I've trained on more than one team, and I've known many swimmers on many different teams - it seems it's standard practice). Cross-training is common (particularly including weight training, but also may include running, biking, ab workouts, skipping, etc). Training camps usually happen around Christmas and one other time of year (depending upon the competition schedule that year). Heh, just thinking about resistance reminds me of some practices in which I was hooked up to a stretch-cord, and had to swim out until the cord was tethered and starting to pull me back, and then continue to swim against it for a specified amount of time before letting it reel me back to the wall. That's adding resistance to resistance! (cord + water resistance!). Swimming trains all year long (though depending on your level, you may get some or most of August off. I was National level, and that's pretty much the time I got off. The International level swimmers that I trained with got maybe the last week of August off and the first week or two of September off. Oh, and usually a week or so in March or April between. Not surprisingly, March/April is the end of short course season, which is racing in a 25m pool, and the beginning of long course season, racing in the Olympic standard 50m pool. August/September is the end of long course and beginning of short course).

Wow. Lawl. I think it is how people preceive it. I know I would have to struggle on swmming as well as in running to be good. Thanks for the info, man.