I was having a debate with a friend earlier today… Is the endless pool the EXACT same concept as a treadmill? Since you are staying in one place and allowing the water/belt to pass behind you?
I thought I had read previously on here that they are the same idea, but don’t exactly work the same. The treadmill gives you essentially the same workout as running outside, whereas the endless pool is very different than regular swimming since you are not pulling still water? The water is moving behind you at the same speed as your hand.
I haven’t tried an endless pool, but I’m familiar with how they work. The water does move past you, so it is similar to regular swimming. But not identical.
I have tried lots of treadmills (who hasn’t) and running on them is also similar to regular running. But it is also not identical, and this has been verified by independent research.
I sometimes train in a swimex which is a similar concept (we have one at work). I’ve wondered the same thing, and basically the current is focused at the top, which pushes your body back, and the water you are catching (or at least pulling) is below the current, so fairly still. Having said that, it does feel a little different than swimming in a pool. I find it particularly useful in getting more streamlined, since you can notice minor changes straight away.
I haven’t. One run was enough for me to know there is no such weather that could justify me running indoors. Dredmill runng makes it not fun. I do this to have fun. I already don’t like the back and forth of a pool. I figure endless pools would just be worse.
I haven’t. One run was enough for me to know there is no such weather that could justify me running indoors. Dredmill runng makes it not fun. I do this to have fun. I already don’t like the back and forth of a pool. I figure endless pools would just be worse.
Trust me, there is weather I have run in that had me begging for a treadmill…that said I still dread it, but sometimes necessary evil when miles are required and temps hit -20 or so.
I haven’t. One run was enough for me to know there is no such weather that could justify me running indoors. Dredmill runng makes it not fun. I do this to have fun. I already don’t like the back and forth of a pool. I figure endless pools would just be worse.
Trust me, there is weather I have run in that had me begging for a treadmill…that said I still dread it, but sometimes necessary evil when miles are required and temps hit -20 or so.
Hell it doesn’t need to hit -20. With a nasty windchill even zero can be too much on th e frozen tundra that is the midwest.
Let’s say the water in a river is going the perfect speed so you can swim upstream without actually going anywhere relative to shore… and you’re at your ideal workout pace.
Are you telling me that this is somehow different than swimming across a lake at that same speed?
The only difference could be that the moving water is probably not all moving at absolutely the identical speed, so it may be more choppy and inconsistent, contain swirls, etc. Which if anything is probably good to practice for triathlons.
But how fast you’re moving relative to nearby land is clearly irrelevant.
The biggest difference to me is that swimming in an EP requires a bit more concentration than running on a treadmill.
I feel like on a treadmill it’s easy to just run, and it stays that way the faster you go.
In an EP, your back end gets pushed around more than in regular swimming and the faster the current the more you notice this. Not necessarily a bad thing.
I still feel like my upper body gets a workout in the EP. Lower body probably more so (at least for me as I don’t generally kick all that much in the pool).
I agree that you tend to think more of streamlining in the EP because when your legs drop you really notice it.
I unfortunately do not have one, but form what I read you set the pace in terms of x:xx/100 so if you keep the pace the same you can figure it out that way.
I have swum in one that doesn’t have a pace clock. In that case I guess you just guesstimate based on how long you’re in there. You can do your sets based on time or counting strokes. I have a friend who did all her winter swimming in an EP and she was able to keep her swim strong.
I still swim with a Masters group a couple times a week and get most of my distance and hard workouts in that way.
I use treadmills a lot and have been in an endless pool. Neither are exactly like the real world. On both the machine sets the pace obviously), in the real world you speed up or slow down a bit occcasionally. I really noticed this in the EP as soon as you slow you hit the back.
The other difference in the track is heat bulid up is more and aero issues don’t occur. If you do a fast interval your legs are going 10mph plus, but the virtual wind is still 0.
In the EP it seemed a bit small for the waterflow be flowing at a constant rate, top to bottom, side to side.
i just thought there was something different about grabbing “still” water vs. grabbing the moving water. Maybe I was wrong.
Yes, you are wrong.
Hugh
Easy there cowboy. Properties of fluids are very dependent on velocities, namely transition to turbulent flow. In a still pool, ALL of the water is moving at the same speed, namely, not moving at all. Unless you can design a perfect endless pool with a totally uniform velocity gradient (problems central to the wind tunnel business), it will be different, albeit slightly enough that the mechanics of swimming probably don’t change too much. But there will be something different about it.
i just thought there was something different about grabbing “still” water vs. grabbing the moving water. Maybe I was wrong.
Yes, you are wrong.
Hugh
Easy there cowboy. Properties of fluids are very dependent on velocities, namely transition to turbulent flow. In a still pool, ALL of the water is moving at the same speed, namely, not moving at all. Unless you can design a perfect endless pool with a totally uniform velocity gradient (problems central to the wind tunnel business), it will be different, albeit slightly enough that the mechanics of swimming probably don’t change too much. But there will be something different about it.
Wholeheartedly agree that turbulence would affect the feel and mechanics of swimming in an Endless Pool a bit. My feeling is that the OP was thinking about any motion of the water including a perfectly uniform laminar flow just the fact that it’s moving at all. The still versus moving aspect was all my comment was meant to address.
His comment “The water is moving behind you at the same speed as your hand” in regards to swimming through moving water shows that he doesn’t realize the same is essentially also true in still water.