After the festivities of the holiday season, a lot of people make a new year’s resolution to lose weight or get in shape. A problem arises when people start finding their daily exercise routines boring and ineffective. We have the perfect solution—swimming pool workouts. By exercising in the pool, you not only have fun, but also tone your muscles and stay healthy.
Exercise Equipment
Doing pool exercises without equipment is just fine, but some equipment can make the workouts
more fun and more challenging.
1. Water Barbells
As the name suggests, water barbells are barbells—but for the water! You use them as you would free weights. A couple of exercises done with barbells are bicep curls, tricep kickbacks, and lateral raises, among others. What makes the use of this piece of equipment more challenging than its dry counterpart, is the resistance of the water.
2. Aqua Jogger Belts
Aqua jogger belts are belts fit with weights to make sure that your feet touch the bottom of the
pool. This way, you can jog from end to end without loosing balance or tipping over.
3. Ankle Weights
Ankle weights are small attachable weights that go around your ankles to make moving around harder. This ensures that you get a thorough workout whenever you kick around or do gentle high steps. The resistance that these weights provide increase flexibility and range of motion.
4. Pool Noodle
While the pool noodle is usually used as a toy for children, it can be used to achieve a number of water aerobic workout positions.
5. Kick-boards
Kickboards are the classic pool companion. The kickboard is a great piece of exercise equipment because it allows you to focus of working out your lower extremities.
Pool Workouts
Now that you know the stuff you may need during your workout, let’s get to it!
1. The Water Bicycle
Rest your elbows on the edge of your pool and start moving your legs in a cyclical motion. While doing this in on land helps the abs, in the water, it helps strengthen your core, shoulders, and legs since it takes a substantial amount of effort to keep from floating away.
2. Pool Planking
Grab a pool noodle and rest your hands at its center, then lift your body and go into a “push up” position—parallel to the surface of the water. Stay in that position for one to two minutes. While the water version is much easier than the land version, the water helps you maintain your plank for a longer period of time, thus further strengthening your core.
3. The Knee Tuck
From a standing position, push your knees up to your chest. On land, this move strengthens the leg muscles. In the water, it strengthens the core.
4. Lateral Raises
Want to give your arms a good workout? Hold a water barbell in both hands, and spread your arms out to your sides. Then start flapping your arms up and down in the water. This will help your shoulders and upper arms.
5. The Spider Man
Ever dreamed of copying Spiderman? Well, in the water, you can! With your arms behind you, place your feet on the wall of your pool and start climbing. Your hands should keep your head above water while your feet scale the wall.
6. Water Jogging
Like normal jogging, water jogging works out your lower extremities. More than just that, though, because of water resistance, water jogging also works out your core.
7. Scissor Kicks
Once again, lean your elbows on one of the edges of your pool. Then, lift your legs and open them the make a “V.” Quickly push them close, to criss-cross position. Do this a couple of times and your legs will start to burn.
8. One-Legged Balance
This is one workout that will strengthen both your leg and core muscles. In waist-deep water, start with your feet on the ground, then place one leg in the center of a pool noodle, letting the noodle raise that leg. Balance on the leg that’s on the pool floor. If you need an extra challenge, raise your arms up over your head while still staying upright.
9. Pendulum Swings
Brace your hands on the edge of a pool and lift your upper body out. Then start swinging your legs in a pendulum motion—from side-to-side, one at atime.
10. Noodle Flyback
Mount your pool noodle again (let it make a “U” shape around you), and use your arms to make sweeping back-and-forth motions to propel you forward. Try not to move your legs.
The exercises above are only a handful of the numerous other pool exercises you can do. Each exercise focuses on strengthening certain parts of your body,so don’t be scared to combine them all.
Pool exercises are fun and simple, yet very beneficial to our health. So this year, to fulfill your resolution to stay fit, try our pool workouts.