I’m 5+ weeks out of my first Boston marathon and have developed a bit of Achilles tendinitis and calf strain. I’ve been swimming and cycling all along but now that I need to rest on the running I’ve swapped in some aqua jogging. Wondering what has been the experience of those that have aqua jogged? Does it actually help out or should I rather increase the swimming and cycling in lieu of the aqua jogging?
I have used water running a number of times while injured in an IM build it. I find that I am able to maintain my run fitness for a few weeks by water running. Any longer than a few weeks and my run fitness drops.
It is sooooooooooooo boring.
See Joan Benoit Samuelson before '84 US Olympic trials in marathon…
I use it 1x a week even when not injured. It can prolong your running years just by cutting back on the pounding. Swimming first is a good warm up, followed by a jog–you’re already there at the pool & saves time for the time crunched athlete. Used it prior to my last marathon for a month and a half before with an injury. Ended in a 2:4x --not what I hoped for but it was decent for preparing largely from Aqua jogging. You will tend to lose some adaptation to the pounding built up from road running if doing it exclusively–but if that is all you can do, it is a fantastic supplement to a training program. I’d invest in a Keifer AJ belt so as to take it on travel too. Speedo makes a good one but dollar for dollar like the quality of the Keifer belt. I will say that several hours in a pool will leave you super hydrated & you may find it hard to stay in the pool after 90 min as you tend to absorb the water like a sponge & may have to pee very frequently & need to get out.
Its also great for core strength!
I did a bout of aqua jogging recently when dealing with a running injury. I think it’s better than nothing, but don’t think I’ll keep doing it now that I’m healthy. In the water you get equal resistance pushing your leg both directions, so you’re limited by the much weaker hip flexor muscles that pull your leg forward. That’s unlike running where we encounter most of the resistance pushing back to propel our body forward. I’m dubious that doing a lot to strengthen your hip flexors will really help that much for real running. I did see a woman doing a ton of aquajogging at my pool and it turned out she threw down a very nice marathon time so maybe I’m wrong…
We need some sort of geeky ankle flaps that add resistance when you push back but not forward, now I bet then you’d really have something.
And as someone else said, it’s one of the most boring things I’ve done in a while.
Have not used them, but shoes with flaps are available
I have found my 5 fingers are light and add resistance
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I’m dealing with patellar tendonitis right now and haven’t ran in 1.5 months – would aqua jogging be a good idea? I’ve been on the bike every day and doing strength and conditioning 3x a week.
Aqua jogging is probably the best alternative to running if you cannot run due to injury. Personally, I prefer shallow-water running vs. deep-water, fully suspended running. It all depends on the type and severity of your injury though.
Currently battling PF and I can run in the pool with no problems, but am limited to about 2 miles max in “real” running.
As for the boredom, get a waterproof iPod shuffle from WaterFi or AudioFlood and listen to podcasts. Music didn’t work for me since every song was a mini-timer (oh, that song is done…3-4 minutes done, 30 to go). Podcasts give you something fresh to focus on and you can just kind of lose yourself in whatever story / discussion is going on.
I had an injury 3 months before IMAZ 2007(car u-turned in front of me) and achilles issues 2 months before Kona. Both times I switched to aquajoggging for a few weeks. It worked quite well and I was successful both times.
If I recall, Tom Evans used it before one of his IM Canada wins, when he couldn’t run for a period of time.
I have a “stress reaction” in my knee cap and I have told to stop running for 8 weeks while undergoing PT. I am training for Ironman Wisconsin in September. This is a big set back for me and very worrisome. I am skeptical I need to take all that time off, but I guess I intend to listen to the doctor…
I can still swim and bike, but they also mentioned I could aqua jog. Will aqua jogging reduce the loss in run fitness over a 8 week period or am I better off just using that time to swim and bike?
I aquajogged last year for about 3 months due to a femoral stress fracture. In terms of effectiveness, I came back and with only 4 weeks of running on land (and slowly building on land due to stress fracture, so starting with easy run/walk combo, so most of my “quality” running was in the water), I PRed in a half marathon. The key to aquajogging is you have to try harder than regular running to keep the effort up. It’s really easy to slack off and slowly turn your legs over. Doing intervals help break up the monotony and add quality into your aquajogging. I believe Pfitzinger has a 9 week plan if you google it.
I have a “stress reaction” in my knee cap and I have told to stop running for 8 weeks while undergoing PT. I am training for Ironman Wisconsin in September. This is a big set back for me and very worrisome. I am skeptical I need to take all that time off, but I guess I intend to listen to the doctor…
YES!
Joan Benoit Samuelson had knee surgery 17 days before the Olympic trials, a few months before '84 Olympics and won the gold medal at the first ever women’s Olympic marathon.
She used mostly deep water running for her training and rehab.
http://running-blog.mizunousa.com/using-the-pool-for-cross-training-and-rehab/
I was out for just over 12 weeks last year and aquajogged a lot. I used the nine week Pfitz plan (http://kemibe.com/distancecoach/labreports/9wkH2O.htm), but did mostly weeks 6-8 as it was more comparable to what I would have been doing if I were running. When I came back, I had some muscle soreness as my body remembered how to run on dry land, but honestly didn’t lose much/any fitness.
I did increase my bike training as well. I was doing two trainer sessions, a long ride, and a medium-long ride each week, which may (or may not) have kept me from losing run fitness.
When you do come back, do it slowly (I was doing something like 30" run, 30" walk or 1’ run, 1’ walk for up to 5-10 minutes of running 5x a week when I first started, eventually working up to being able to run 30’ straight, and finally got back to doing “long” runs as double runs split up with my medium-long bike in between).
September is a long way away still – be smart with your recovery, be smart with keeping your fitness up, and then be smart with coming back so you don’t re-injure yourself.
I will say that several hours in a pool will leave you super hydrated & you may find it hard to stay in the pool after 90 min as you tend to absorb the water like a sponge & may have to pee very frequently & need to get out.
Um, that is not entirely accurate. In fact, it could be described as fractally incorrect.
Correct. One does NOT absorb water through the skin. In fact swimmer can dehydrate with long workouts. The urination is from drinking and the pressure on the legs returning lymph and blood to the general circulation. I find this especially true with aquajogging. I think it is due to the higher pressures at 4-5 feet below the surface, but can’t verify this.
If one doesn’t believe. Do a long workout in the water with no water. Weigh yourself before and after.
Immersion diuresis is caused by immersion of the body in water (or equivalent liquid). It is mainly caused by lower temperature and by pressure.
The temperature component is caused by water drawing heat away from the body and causing vasoconstriction of the cutaneous blood vessels within the body to conserve heat. The body detects an increase in the blood pressure and inhibits the release of vasopressin (also known as antidiuretic hormone (ADH)), causing an increase in the production of urine. The pressure component is caused by the hydrostatic pressure of the water directly increasing blood pressure. Its significance is indicated by the fact that the temperature of the water does not substantially affect the rate of diuresis. Partial immersion of only the limbs does not cause increased urination. Thus, the hand in warm water trick (immersing the hand of a sleeping person in water to make him/her urinate) has no support from the mechanism of immersion diuresis. On the other hand, sitting up to the neck in a pool for a few hours clearly increases the excretion of water, salts, and urea.
Either way, I can pee yellow prior to a long AJ & pee clear when I’m done & more often the longer I’m in the water. Even without drinking anything during a long run of 90 min in the water. Guess you can see how it seems like I’m absorbing a lot. That’s just my experience from long periods in the pool.
I will say that several hours in a pool will leave you super hydrated & you may find it hard to stay in the pool after 90 min as you tend to absorb the water like a sponge & may have to pee very frequently & need to get out.
Haha, don’t make some outlandishly false scientific claim and then try to spuriously support with some ctrl c, ctrl v wikipedia paragraph. Remaining in water for a prolonged period of time will categorically not leave you super hydrated and neither will you absorb any water in any fashion even vaguely similar to a sponge. If you had even read your own wikipedia paragraph you would have realised that remaining in water for a prolonged period of time has the opposite effect - some small level of dehydration, due to the increased diuretic effect and the fact that your body also loses water via the exertion of aqua jogging. This can’t be replaced by simply being surrounded by water because your skin is waterproof.
read the pete pfzinger artcile on the subject.