UKC

I am looking at taking up swimming to complement my 2/3 weekly sessions at the climbing wall over the winter period. I don't really go in for gym work and I wanted a low impact exercise i could do between the climbing. I Started leading back in May 2013, I had a great 2014 season outdoors and want to pick-up where I left off...hopefully fitter and stronger. So is swimming a good idea ?

In reply to mrgleb:

I couldn't see why swimming would do any harm. CV fitness as well as all round muscular strength would improve. as cv capacity increases, lactic acid build up in the muscles whilst climbing should reduce, giving you more stamina to tackle harder routes.

In reply to mrgleb:

How good a swimmer are you. You need to put a lot of effort and time into taking a step change in fitness with swimming. You're right its low impact but a lot of freestyle miles can affect your shoulders and elbows if you're not used to it or technique is poor.
You'd be better off hillwalking, running or biking to improve your overall fitness IMO

In reply to mrgleb:

If you want to get better at climbing then climb more. If you enjoy swimming as well then go for it.

In reply to zacloftus:

This may be of interest http://www.swimsmooth.com.

In reply to mrgleb:

Be very careful with your shoulders. I was a club level (300-400 lengths p/w) swimmer and I had rotator cuff problems before getting into climbing, which have since cleared up since stopping swimming. I still go once or twice a month but find that my shoulders really flare up quick, especially if I have been climbing a lot recently.

Personally if it's a keep fit type thing I would go for steep hillwalking like others have said, but If it's swimming vs cycling I guess swimming would be the 'best' option.

Just make sure your hand isn't entering the water too close to your head and then extending underwater before you pull back (on front crawl), this is the main way to wreck your shoulders. If you concentrate as reaching as far forward as possible with your elbow 'high' you will probably end up with good technique and not-destroyed shoulders. Also try and do other strokes! Backstroke is amazing for me, stops me getting the climbers hunchback and is a relief from front crawl. good luck

In reply to mrgleb:

Thanks for the good advice. Especially about technique. I don't want to ruin my shoulders.
I do lots of cycling during the spring and summer and it drops off in the winter ,cold , wet miserable nights, I'm a fair weather cyclist you see !

Maybe CV work out at the gym would be better on my shoulders.

And a better diet.