FITNESS FRIDAY 7/19/19 - (SUMMER AQUA FITNESS)
HEY EVERYONE!
WELCOME TO "FITNESS FRIDAY"!~
**With Summer-time in "FULL-SWING" For many of us, today's Fitness Friday will focus on a great, well-rounded "Summer Workout"!
**As with any workouts or fitness activities, please consult with your physician before starting any new workouts or activity!
**Most people think of Swimming or "Pool Running" as the main way to exercise in a pool, but "WALKING" can actually be a great option!.... As a go-to workout for many physical therapists and trainers, pool walking can be as easy or as difficult as needed.
ITS GREAT FOR ALL ABILITY LEVELS
The workouts versatility makes it a beneficial option for people of all fitness levels. It can be as simple as walking back and forth in the shallow end of the pool or as complex as a High Intensity workout with coaches, special aqua gear and motorized underwater treadmills... Pool walking can be done in shallow water with feet touching the bottom of the pool or in deeper water with a flotation belt. Weights and resistance training exercises are also often incorporated into pool-walking workouts.
Water workouts offer different benefits than land workouts... people with joint issues are usually more comfortable working out in the water. This also makes it a good option for those who have high training volumes in other sports, like running and weight-lifting.... Water also naturally provides resistance to help tone muscles... and is good for people with circulation issues.
ITS AN EFFECTIVE WAY TO IMPROVE CARDIO
Pool-walking workouts can be as long or short as you like, but 20–45 minutes is a good length of time to heart-rate up that allows you to work on cardiovascular health.... Because of the pressure of the water, your heart rate is lower, so people can push themselves harder than on land and not get their heart rate up too high.!
ITS GOOD FOR THOSE WITH INJURIES
Water workouts are an amazing way to work on stabilitiy and balance, which is beneficial for everyone, but comes in especially handy for those recovering from injuries..... The water really helps as an assist with "Range of Motion..., and you can push the limits of balance in the water. The worst that can happen is you get wet, whereas on land you could fall~
***HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF POOL WALKING***
1. BUILD DURATION OVER TIME
Because pool walking may feel easy in the moment, its common to overdo it. Its always best to start easy and gradually build up your duration, intensity and frequency. Make sure to record your workouts in a journal, along with how you felt afterwards. This can help you determine whether your pool workouts are working for you and how you can adjust to see the most success. And remember that Any good fitness program takes dedicated effort to make a lasting transformation.
2. TAILOR YOUR WORKOUT TO YOUR FITNESS LEVEL
Though pool walking is often used to rehabilitate from injuries, that doesnt mean it cant be used as a tool for more advanced athletes
***Make pool walking as difficult or easy as needed using the guidelines below:***
To make it harder or more challenging:
Increase the duration
Increase your speed
Go deeper in the pool
Walk against a current
Wear special webbed gloves that make it harder for you to pump your arms through the water
Perform Tabata-style high-intensity sessions
To make it easier:
Do a shorter workout
Slow your pace
Avoid water with a current
Stay in the shallow area
Take more frequent rest breaks
3. WORK ON YOUR BALANCE
Standing on one foot, doing one-legged exerises..., moving from side to side and leaning forward or backward as you walk can help improve your stability on land. This is especially good for anyone with an injury who cannot do balance work on land or those who want to improve their balance in general or for a specific sport....
4. USE POOL WEIGHTS
Adding weights to your pool workout can have major benefits, whether you walk with them in your hand... or do resistance-training exercises. Your range of motion in the pool is much larger because the water supports you....That means you might be able to sit deeper, or reach further overhead in the water than you might be able to otherwise.
5. If able....TRY IN A LAKE OR OCEAN
The advantages of exerising outdoors are well-documented, so if you can, take your water-walking workout to a natural body of water.... Its really nice in the summer when the weather is so hot. Even if you dont live near a body of water it can be a great activity to try when doing summer travel.~
**WHAT ACTIVITIES DO YOU LIKE TO DO IN THE POOL OR IN THE WATER?!... WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR YOUR "FITNESS FRIDAY"?!**
**I LOVE SummerTime and being anywhere near the water .... preferrably a "POOL" where I can do any type of AQUA Fitness activity in a clean environment~
**Currently I try to get in the pool at least 3 times a week~ My exercise of choice are "Walking, running and treading" the water, Doing 'High-knees", Jumping Jacks, and then of course Front/Back strokes and swimming laps~.... I love taking my "Noodle" floating device and sitting on that and doing things to work my "Core"... As our core is what stabalizes our bodies and helps us to do many things!
**I like to workout in the pool for at least an hour a session~ 
@PoliteOcean
Sounds great.
I swim every week at least once and take the little ones with me. My biggest little turtle got his 5 metere swim badge yesterday. Very proud mommy.
@brilliantTurtle89
Thats awesome Turtle!...
Thats so nice when the kids are little and young like that and you can take them swimming and get them involved in things. I miss those times~ (Mines all grown up!) lol...
I bet you are a very Proud Mommy for sure!
It is so true that a pool is a great place to exercise after injury! I have had 2 knee surgeries over the years and could walk in the pool while I was still on crutches on land. Several years ago I pinched a nerve in my neck and could not swim for a long time. I would walk in the pool and eventually started doing different motions with my arms while walking, building up mobility again gradually.
Now I swim once a week at my Y during the school year. During the summer, unfortunately multiple outside swim teams take over half or more of the pool all day for the whole summer, so I do not swim then. I use a snorkel because I do not have full mobility in my neck, and I have trouble with one shoulder too, so I alternate swimming one way and then just kicking back. It is still a great and gentle workout, plus then I reward myself with 10 minutes in the hot tub on the pool deck!
@SadMe70
I totally get it Sad!
Its great that you have a pool available to you with your past/present injuries and body aches..... I've had some recent issues with back, knee and my shoulder.....The pool has been really great for my knee for sure!
Thats a shame that your community pool doesn't have more access to those who aren't apart of "swim teams" and such. Our local community "outdoor" pool would tend to do that as well when it was owned and operated by the YMCA..... They would section off a portion though for those taking swim lessons or who were apart of swim teams and such~.... ... Not sure if that is something that they do or could do at your pool?..... Either way, I still think it makes for alot of "extra" crowding... I don't care for "large" crowds myself. I was really glad when the Ymca decided to pull out and let the "City" take over running it again.... its definitely cut down on the extra crowding. And makes it much more pleasurable to swim there.
Its great that you are able to get to your local Ymca and that you have that option for yourself when you need it and want it... I imagine that is "indoors"?.... Our "indoor" YMCA is like clear across town, so its more challenging to get there once the local outdoor pool closes for the summer.
Thanks so much for your input on Aqua Fitness and how its helped you in your time of need and injuries etc... Its great to have options like this when we need them so that we aren't stuck with no activity at all.~
@PoliteOcean Hello! Yes it is indoors so I can swim all winter before work when the kids are in school. They leave 1 or 2 lanes for lap swim during the summer but there could be 3 people sharing a lane, or you could go and have no lane at all. I'm so slow I don't like to share a lane. Plus, like you said, I don't like a crowd. I don't want a loud roomful of competitive swimmers watching me swim! When I go in the early morning, they don't even have the overhead lights on, so it's quiet and peaceful.
