Water Exercises

Its spring time! and with this warm weather, the pools are gearing up for business. If like me, you are constantly looking for ways to spice up your work out routines, the pool is a great place to exercise and cool off simultaneously.

Water exercises have been proven to be beneficial for rehabilitation, pregnant women, arthritis & fibromyalgia patients and those with certain orthopedic non-weight bearing injuries . Also, it is sometimes a better cardio option to running for overweight individuals because the repeated pounding from running can greatly affect bones and joints such as the ankle,knees and etc

My swimming skills are pretty average. I'll recommend non-swimmers to make sure there's a lifeguard around or have a partner who is an EXCELLENT swimmer even though some of the exercise routines can be performed in shallow water or by standing at a waist-deep level. Also for my competitive athletes,wearing webbed gloves or using foam barbells(water weights) increases the resistance/intensity of your work out.

There are many exercises and routines that can be performed in a pool. I'm only listing the ones I have performed. The number of sets and repetitions will vary on individual fitness level and goals

1. Swimming lapses across the pool's length is a great cardio workout by itself. Aim for a minimum of 10 lapses to get a good workout

2.Water jogging. It's a great workout but don't expect to be able to jog for a long time the same way you jog on land. Water is a tough resistance element. Challenge yourself by adding water ankle weights to your legs

3. Water Spider man. Try to mimic the way spider man climbs building by climbing the walls of the pool. This exercise will engage your back and core muscles.

4. With your back leaning on the pool wall, perform Leg Extensions with water weights wrapped around your ankles. If that  isnt challenging enough, loose the back support and repeat the same movements.

5. The Burdenko Method to improve Balance and Flexibility while strengthening the Core. Its a combination of many exercises which can be better explained by watch this video

6. Crane to workout your abs, "thunder" thighs and butt. Stand on one leg and lift the other backwards till your torso in in a horizontal position

For my gadget fanatics

Aquatic fitness gloves

aqua joggers

Aqua belt is a floating device that allows you more freedom of movement while you stay buoyant in water

And when all fails or you're just too tired and want to do something low key, FLOAT :)