The topic of cardio is a popular one right now in the climbing world, and I thought this was an interesting question posed by a TrainingBeta reader about using swimming as cardio. Here’s her question and my answer below.
Hi Neely,
I absolutely love what you do. Thank you so much! It’s amazing to have all these resources in one spot – your blog. I can’t wait for the bouldering training program. I was wondering if you have done any research or know anything about using swimming for a source of cardio. I have 12+ years of competitive swimming background and still love to get in the water a few times a week.
Though I am really focusing on bouldering right now (and routesetting because it’s my job! haha) I would like to know your thoughts on how this can work with climbing. Basically, what I have come up with is it might be fast-forwarding me to an overuse injury due to the repetitive stress on shoulders and being another sport that primarily uses the pull muscles. Thank you again for doing what you do.
Chelsea
Hi Chelsea,
Thanks so much for the very sweet email! I love positive feedback and I’m so glad you like the site. And the Bouldering Training Program will be out soon. Seth is entering the last of the workouts into the system tomorrow, so we’re getting there!
As for your question, let me begin by telling you what I think a few of my favorite trainers would tell you. Having talked to some of the more well-known guys out there, here are my guesses on what their advice would be.
What I Think Some Trainers Would Say
Steve Bechtel would probably tell you that swimming (or any long, slow cardio) is useless for climbing training. The Anderson brothers would probably say the same, but maybe in a more… um… honest way 😉 I think they’d all say that you’re wasting your energy and possibly taking away your body’s potential to do the more powerful things it needs to do to boulder hard. That’s the thing, right? You’re trying to boulder – not even do long enduro routes, so cardio isn’t really what you want to be spending your time doing.
However, Kris Peters would probably say that cardio should be used for people who are generally unfit, who need to get better at being an overall athlete – so a lot of beginner climbers and anyone who can’t run a mile under, say, 10 minutes. If you’re already fit, he doesn’t see any reason to do cardio very often, especially since climbing outdoors already requires you to hike (usually).
However, Dan Mirsky (a consistent 5.14c climber) would say that long, slow cardio in the form of running has improved his climbing ability, possibly drastically. He loves it and swears by it, and thinks that long endurance routes are easier now because of it.
Having said that, Jonathan Siegrist was also a serious runner while he was crushing long endurance routes up to 5.14d, and he thinks running helped him with those. When the Anderson brothers told him to stop running, he did it loathingly, but it obviously and impressively helped his power, strength, and ability to recover. He started doing 14+’s much more quickly and easily, and he sent his first 5.15a. He doesn’t regret quitting cardio.
My Opinion
Here’s what I think: It really depends on you. Some people are really built to do a lot of physical work and stay healthy and strong, and you may be one of them. Dan Mirsky is a machine, and he’s sort of like an ADHD kid (in the best way possible), so asking him to actually rest on a rest day is out of the question. He’s going to get some exercise in, damn it. If you’re like that, then yeah, maybe swimming is a good idea.
But if you’re like me, and your body needs a lot of rest and not too much exercise for fear of tearing something or not being able to get out of bed, then I’d say if you’re really serious about your climbing training, stop swimming so much. Maybe cut it down to like once a week or something. Or never, unless you really love it.
Shoulder Concerns
Plus, like you said, swimming is hard on your shoulders, which will not only make your shoulders tired during climbing days, but it may also set you up for overuse injuries (and trust me, that’s not fun). At the very least, I’d make sure you’re doing rotator cuff strengthening exercises and other supplemental PT type stuff regularly if you’re going to swim. Take 15 minutes at least a few times a week for it.
Sorry for the long winded answer to a relatively short question. There’s not really a right answer, but I hope this gives you some guidance!
And thanks again for the kind words.
Neely
Obviously this is a very late comment, but I was just thinking about starting some light, low-intensity swimming to supplement my climbing, sort of as an active-recovery, in the way that ARC-ing has been suggested on low-intensity or recovery days, so I was looking for some thoughts about it.
But, I just wanted to point out that swimming as a cardiovascular workout is not the same as running, which is what most of the trainers/athletes talk about when they discuss cardiovascular workouts, right? The Anderson brothers and J-Star in particular. As running forces a lot of adaptations in the legs, and in ways unrelated to climbing, the vascular and metabolic adaptations from swimming I would think are much more relevant to climbing.
Also, FYI, I remember that Jain Kim regularly swims as part of her training, though I can’t find the video of the interview where she talked about it.