If you're accustomed to walking on land for exercise, get ready to slow things down in the water. You may have to explain that buoyancy belts and hand webs aren't flotation devices or water toys, which many pools prohibit. Be sure to check with the organization running your pool about which types of equipment are permissible. She also recommends not adding strength-building gear such as webbed gloves and water weights until you've spent four to six weeks doing pool exercises and getting used to the resistance of the water. You can move up to athletic-quality pool shoes (worn by many instructors) later, if you wish. Kennedy-Armbruster advises beginners to wear inexpensive water shoes, such as those sold in discount stores. That said, you don't need much equipment to work out in water-just a bathing suit and, perhaps, water shoes (pool walking can cause sore feet from rough bottom surfaces). Never rely on a buoyancy device to keep you safe in water that's too deep for your skills. Start your pool workout in water depth that matches your swimming ability. If you have health concerns, check with the water exercise instructor (if you're taking a class) and your health care provider to make sure the activity is appropriate for you. The calm movement of pool water soothes and relaxes the spirit as well. That safe, therapeutic environment makes pool exercise good for athletes and others recuperating from sports injuries or illness and for those who need to eliminate joint stress. Water also soothes and massages with light pressure (called hydrostatic pressure) while it helps strengthen. "These exercises are awesome for anyone to do," Kennedy-Armbruster says. You'll also burn calories, reduce fat and lose weight at the same rate as working out on land. Kennedy-Armbruster, MS, a water exercise specialist and instructor in the kinesiology department of the School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.Įven the simplest pool exercise-walking forward and backward in waist-high water-improves your balance, trains the core muscles of your abdomen, increases your flexibility and boosts cardiovascular fitness. "You need to look at the pool as a giant resistance machine," says Carol A. Pool exercise builds your strength in much the same way as do weight machines at a fitness club or flexible rubber tubing you might use at home. Now there are special shoes for pool walking, buoyancy belts and vests for deep-water-running (only for swimmers who are comfortable in deep water), webbed gloves and water weights that add resistance to arm movements, and even a form of pool-based tai chi called ai chi. Yes, it's still perfect for athletes and grandmothers (and for grandmothers who are athletes), but working out in a pool is also terrific for women who haven't done any physical activity in recent memory, those who walk or run regularly, pregnant women, folks with chronic conditions such as osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia, women who love going to the gym, women who hate going to the gym, women who are overweight, and, well, you get the picture. Today's water exercise is less a test of endurance, like lap swimming, or a throwback to a disco-music-soaked era, and more of a well-rounded workout for everyone. Just as our understanding of what makes for good exercise on land has evolved, so, too, has our knowledge of water-based workouts. Time was when there were only two groups of people who used water for exercise: dedicated lap swimmers whose powerful strokes and strong pace would often push slower and less steady swimmers right out of the pool and older folks, often women, who participated in aqua classes best known for scratchy music and retro bathing caps. Your heart rate is also lower during aerobic activity in the pool than when exercising on land, yet you get the same cardiovascular benefits. So your muscles do more work, but you feel it less. That's because, unlike physical activity on dry land, when you work out in water there's natural resistance and no gravity. Maybe buoyancy doesn't count as a weight-loss strategy when you return to land, but it explains why exercising in a pool is easy on the body-any body.Īlthough it's not an instant solution, water exercise provides a good fitness result-quickly.
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