Pool cues

Can't run due to injury but don't want to lose your conditioning?

Jump in the pool for some deep-water running and lap swimming, suggests Bridget Stamos, MD, assistant professor of medicine at UCLA and former member of the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) women's cross country team. Here's how to really make waves:

* Don't use heart rate to judge your work while swimming.

Training horizontally, your heart doesn't have to work as hard to circulate blood since it's not pumping against gravity. Go by rate of perceived exertion (RPE) instead.

* While one mile of swimming is equivalent to roughly four miles of running, don't go by mileage so much as time and intensity.

* To break up the monotony and challenge yourself at the same time, do intervals: Alternate between working at a high RPE for one minute, then at a low RPE for one minute.

* Frequency depends on your swimming fitness level. If you're new to swimming, start off slowly. Your goal should be to swim approximately as often as you would run.

For more information, visit the United States Masters Swimming website at www.usms.org/training.

--Michelle Basta Boubion, CPT

Women are more likely than men to use a fitness facility: 53.2% of those who work out at clubs are women.

Source: National Sporting Goods Association

FROM THE WORLD OF RESEARCH--THE LATEST FINDINGS FOR WOMEN IN THE FIELDS OF EXERCISE, BEAUTY, NUTRITION, PSYCHOLOGY AND HEALTH.

COMPILED BY KRISTINA HAAR

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