I wonder what you mean by "efficient form of exercise".
Can you compare it to swimming and rowing (the sliding seat kind).
BTW, I don't run.
I won't go as far as saying I hate it. I just don't enjoy it. Also, we have runners in the family. Every single one of them has had problems with their knees, ankles, hips, tendons, etc. A couple of surgeries here and there too.
I do swim and row. I enjoy both and find them very relaxing and mentally stimulating. I swim both at our local olympic-size pool and lake for the open experience. I also row at the same lake.
My definition of efficiency is, loosely stated, using the most major muscle groups per unit time. This means a bunch of things depending on what you are trying to achieve.
For weight loss, for example, I think it is hard to beat swimming or rowing. Swimming, in particular, probably takes the lead because you expend calories two fold: The first is moving. The second is thermally, as you are immersed in water colder than your core temperature and your body has to deal with that the entire time you are immersed.
For strength and muscle tone both are good but I'd probably suggest rowing might have a bit of an advantage because you engage muscles through a longer range of motion under a non-trivial load.
> Also, we have runners in the family. Every single one of them has had problems with their knees, ankles, hips, tendons, etc. A couple of surgeries here and there too.
Swimming gets points for having a lower risk of injury, but OTOH, running is good for bone density which can help avoid injuries down the road.
Were your relatives competitive runners who trained hard for races? I think injuries are much less common in casual runners who rarely train to exhaustion, and never try to power through oncoming conditions like shin splints.
See my other reply about what I mean by efficient. Note that swimming will pull less from fat reserve because of the cold, still a very good sport, but you do need to get to a body of water.
Can you compare it to swimming and rowing (the sliding seat kind).
BTW, I don't run.
I won't go as far as saying I hate it. I just don't enjoy it. Also, we have runners in the family. Every single one of them has had problems with their knees, ankles, hips, tendons, etc. A couple of surgeries here and there too.
I do swim and row. I enjoy both and find them very relaxing and mentally stimulating. I swim both at our local olympic-size pool and lake for the open experience. I also row at the same lake.
My definition of efficiency is, loosely stated, using the most major muscle groups per unit time. This means a bunch of things depending on what you are trying to achieve.
For weight loss, for example, I think it is hard to beat swimming or rowing. Swimming, in particular, probably takes the lead because you expend calories two fold: The first is moving. The second is thermally, as you are immersed in water colder than your core temperature and your body has to deal with that the entire time you are immersed.
For strength and muscle tone both are good but I'd probably suggest rowing might have a bit of an advantage because you engage muscles through a longer range of motion under a non-trivial load.