Pool Running : Maximising Adaptations Beyond Rehabilitation
When I first introduced pool running into my athletes' training schedules in 2014, it was exclusively as a rehabilitation tool. I had an athlete recovering from a minor injury, and the goal was simple: maintain cardiovascular fitness and muscular endurance without the pounding stress of land-based training.
What began as a stopgap solution, however, turned into a revelation. Within weeks of reintroducing track sessions, not only had the athlete regained their prior fitness, but they were also recording personal bests in both flying 30s and at shield meets. This led me to reconsider pool running not just as a fallback, but as an untapped resource for performance enhancement.
In this article, I’ll outline what I believe the benefits of pool running for sprinters and distance runners are, discuss effective techniques, and suggest key session parameters to help you add this versatile training tool into your athletes' programs.
Why I Believe Pool Running Works
Pool running offers unique benefits that make it applicable to both my short sprinters and middle distance athletes:
Reduced Impact: The buoyancy of water eliminates the impact forces that can exacerbate injury or lead to fatigue. This allows for high-volume training without the risk of overuse injuries.
Neuromuscular Coordination: The water’s resistance requires athletes to engage their core, stabilisers, and primary movers in unison, reinforcing proper biomechanics.
Resistance Training: The water adds 360-degree resistance, making each stride more challenging and reinforcing efficient movement patterns.
Cardiovascular Fitness: Pool running can maintain or even improve aerobic and anaerobic conditioning. I have not found a more effective way to do this in my short sprinters who roll their eyes at the thought of running more than 400m.
Suggested Pool Running Technique
The key to effective pool running is replicating the biomechanics of running on the track as closely as possible. I have five things that I look for. Is it everything? Probably not, but this is more than enough for me as the coach to focus on.
Posture: Maintain an upright position, engaging the core to avoid tilting forward or backward.
Arm Swing: Mimic the natural arm drive of track running.
Knee Drive: Look for a powerful active knee lift, bringing the thigh forwards, parallel to the water surface.
Stride Cycle: Focus on a circular motion rather than a straight-leg kick. The emphasis should be on driving the knee forward and pulling the heel up.
Foot Position: Point the toes forward and flex the foot on the downward phase to simulate the motion of ground contact.
I don’t know about the actual legality, but in my view filming athletes in the pool without a lot of paperwork is a strict no-no - so when it comes to modeling good technique, use the best athletes and get the other athletes to watch and mimic.
Huge thanks to the brilliant Nik Hagicostas for this great video of his approach to pool drills.
Session Parameters and Examples
Warm-Up and Pool Drills (10-15 minutes) - All sessions
Slow Swim or Easy Jog: 5-7 minutes of light strides to acclimatise to the water.
Dynamic Drills and Plyometrics: Include high knees, ‘plyometrics’, and carioca to activate key muscle groups. I stick to the exact same warm up I do on the track, but ask athletes to replicate it in the water. The only point of difference is I half the duration of each exercise due to the extra difficulty.
Sprint-Specific Pool Running Session
The theme of this session is explosive efforts that simulate acceleration and top-end speed.
1. Short Bursts Intervals
Chest-depth water
Session: 10 x 20-second max effort sprints, 90 seconds recovery.
Focus: Maximal arm speed and extension, full effort.
Pencil shape in the water – long – with no knee bend
At “Start” command, athlete should ‘rise up’ out of the water with a vigorous arm action
Elbows MUST break the water at the back
White wash all around
Stable torso – nil rotation
Short fast whole-of-leg movements
Count ONE arm for a 12s rep
24-28 OK starting point
29-32 Good
33-36 Very Good
37-40 Extremely FAST.
2. Resistance Sprint Sets
Chest-depth water
Session: Use a drag belt or buoyant vest.
6 x 30-second sprint efforts, 2 minutes recovery.
Distance-Specific Pool Running Session
This session is all about sustained efforts with controlled intensity variations to replicate the demands of middle and long events.
1. Tempo Intervals
Session: 6 x 3 minutes at tempo effort (perceived effort of 7/10), 90 seconds rest.
Purpose: Maintains threshold conditioning while reducing load.
Chest deep water
2. Long Endurance Pool Run
Session: 5-20 minutes steady-state run at moderate intensity.
Optional Variation: Add 30-second surges every 5 minutes to simulate race changes in pace.
Deep water
Final Thoughts
From my experience, incorporating pool running into training programs can provide an edge for both sprinters and middle distance runners. What started as a rehabilitation tool in my coaching journey has now become a versatile and powerful means to build resilience and performance. However, my view is that pool sessions should only ever be a supplement - not a replacement - to track based training.
By refining technique and tailoring sessions to your athletes' event demands, you can leverage the unique properties of water to enhance fitness, maintain form, and ultimately push the limits of performance.