Should swimmers jog? What a new study means for your training

If you enjoy running, you do not need to give it up to become a better swimmer. It can be a simple, accessible way to build general fitness, get outside and keep training when the pool is not available.

But it is worth being clear about its job.

A 2026 study of university students looked at habitual jogging and 25-metre freestyle performance. It found a statistically significant, low-to-moderate relationship between more jogging and slower freestyle times. The result was not a verdict on running. It was a reminder of a more useful training principle: being fit on land and being efficient in water are related, but they are not the same skill.

For adult swimmers, Masters racers, triathletes and open-water swimmers, that distinction matters. Training time is finite. The question is not “is jogging good or bad?” It is “does this run help the swimming I want to do?”

What the study actually found

The researchers surveyed jogging habits and timed a 25-metre freestyle swim in 121 university students. Their analysis found a negative association between the two measures (Spearman's r = -0.316, p < 0.01): participants reporting more jogging tended, on average, to record slower 25-metre times.

That is an association, not proof that jogging made anyone slower. The study did not assign people to a running program, measure changes over time or control every other influence on their swimming. We do not know, for example, how much pool training each person did, how well they swam technically, or whether some used jogging simply because it was their main form of exercise.

Still, the finding is useful because it pushes against a common shortcut: assuming that more general cardio automatically produces more swim speed.

Swimming speed is highly specific

Freestyle asks for skills that jogging cannot practise for you:

• holding a balanced, streamlined body position
• finding purchase with the water in the catch
• coordinating the breath without lifting or stalling
• applying force in a pattern that moves you forward rather than creating drag
• keeping those details together when the effort rises

Jogging may support your general aerobic capacity and leg resilience. But it does not teach your body what an efficient breath, catch or kick feels like in the water. If a run leaves you too tired to complete a useful pool session, it can also take more than it gives.

This is especially relevant for swimmers trying to improve a 50, 100 or 200 metres. At those distances, technical efficiency and the ability to apply power in the water are central. A faster 25 metres usually comes from better swimming, not simply from adding another land-based session.

Where jogging can still earn its place

For a triathlete, runner or busy adult, a run can be a sensible part of the week. It may help maintain aerobic fitness, provide variety and make training easier to sustain. For an open-water swimmer, easy running can also be a useful option when conditions, travel or pool access get in the way.

The key is to make it a supporting session.

An easy run is generally easier to fit around a quality swim than a hard interval session the day before you want to work on pace, technique or speed. If you are following a triathlon plan, running is of course essential - but the swim leg still needs its own practice. Do not expect the running volume to do that work by proxy.

A simple way to decide

Before adding or keeping a run, ask three questions:

1. What is this session for? General fitness, enjoyment, race preparation or recovery are all valid answers.
2. What swim session does it sit beside? Protect the pool work that is most important to your current goal.
3. What happens to your swimming afterwards? If your legs are constantly heavy, your kick disappears or your technique falls apart, reduce the run's intensity, duration or placement in the week.

The answer will differ from swimmer to swimmer. Someone building confidence for a first open-water event may benefit from any sustainable aerobic work. A Masters swimmer chasing a 100-metre personal best may need more quality in the pool and more recovery around it. A triathlete needs both sports, but still benefits from deliberate, swimming-specific practice.

The practical takeaway

Jogging is not the enemy of swimming. It is just not a substitute for swimming.

Use land training to support your health, enjoyment and capacity to train. Then give your pool sessions a clear purpose: improve one technical issue, hold a repeatable pace, or build the endurance that lets your stroke stay intact for longer. That is where general fitness becomes useful swimming.

If you are unsure where your running and swimming should sit in the same week, a private lesson can identify the swimming priority first. From there, it is much easier to build a plan that fits the rest of your life rather than competing with it.

Research note

Maulana, I., Rahman, A. A., & Fauzi, R. A. (2026). Relationship Between Jogging Habit and Freestyle Swimming Speed. Competitor: Jurnal Pendidikan Kepelatihan Olahraga, 18(1), 660-672.