I am so passionate and convinced water is the way to go for great exercise, if I could get anyone’s attention for 5 minutes I could get them started in getting the most out of a water aerobics class or swim strokes lesson. Therefore today’s entry is a crash course in water workouts. It won’t cover everything, but it will get you started and in the know for both water aerobics and swimming pool laps.
- You won’t feel like you are working out as hard in the water as you do on land, but you will get the same exact benefits. This has everything to do with buoyancy and feeling a 50-80% body weight loss. Movements become low-impact in water and slower, because water is 12 times the resistance than air and you land softly on the bottom of the pool, if at all. You can still sprint or “pulse” aerobic movements or laps, but heart rate checks (for the most part) are non-existent in water because of these factors. I wrote an earlier entry about documented physiological changes from water exercise here.
- Most water workouts are 85% lower body. All this means is you need to give more thought to focusing the upper body (biceps, triceps, deltoids, pectorals, trapezuis). One thing I do in my classes is mimic exercises done on land, but be conscious of the 3-D resistance and the fact you could be working the opposite muscle. For example, when I use floating dumbbells, the resistance is found on pushing it underwater– on land with a solid dumbbell, the resistance is pulling the weight up. For laps, insert a pool buoy between your legs and pull freestyle.
- Water exercise is all about resistance and pushing your intensity. Water is 830 times thicker than air. One upper body resistance exercise I’ll give you right now is while in chest-deep in water, reach back and then “sweep” or pull your arms/hands forward, and then twist the wrists and pull the water all the way back, bending slightly at the elbows each way. Do a rep of 25. Want to pulse it for a higher intensity? Shorten or switch to “chicken wings” in front and flap that water back and forth as fast as you can. Always, always keep your arms in the water. I tell my class when I push for more that they are the masters of their intensity, but I am the driving force.
- Proper alignment has a lot to do with working the right muscles and thus refraining from an injury. If you’re going to do that above exercise, don’t throw your back into the power. Come from the core, or the center of your body. Try to imagine your torso (and also your butt/pelvis area and chest) is made of the lightest, thickest and strongest titanium available, as opposed to a floating net with holes. You stand tall and push and pull, one foot in front and one foot in back for stability: Ear to shoulder, shoulder to hip, all in one straight line, and move that core forward and back. When you freestyle, roll the body to breath on the side — don’t just turn the head, you’ll get a kink in your neck.
- Use perceived exertion as a measure for how hard you are working. Perceived exertion is a fancy term for do a body check and slow down if you couldn’t have a conversation with the person next to you. Use active recovery — another fancy fitness term, meaning staying moving but move slowly to catch your breath.
While I could go on and on about more points, and expand even more on the ones mentioned, it’s enough to get you started. Most of my knowledge above is from the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA), which I am a member and have taken courses; and Aquatic Exercise Association (AEA), another reputable water workout organization that trains and certifies instructors. It’s also from teaching about 3 water aerobic classes a week, not to mention endless private swim lessons.
It’s pretty amazing watching people who can’t exercise or even walk all that well on land due to an injury, illness, or some other health problem, and then get in the water and become a workout super-hero.
