Water Exercise: Why Work Out in the Pool?
During our recent team building, water exercise was part of our morning workout. It was a lot of fun! All you need is a big pool, large enough to accommodate all the participants. Why the pool? The pool provides the perfect environment for a water workout. It is supportive but challenging. It is supportive because the buoyancy of water reduces your body weight by around seventy five percent. This eliminates impact and takes the strain off your joints.
Did you also know that water offers up to twelve times the resistance of air? This wonderful fact simply means that every movement or action you do in the water takes more effort and the result is you get to burn more calories than it would on land.
The nice thing about it though was that we loved doing the exercises and stretches in the water. We felt so light and free as we moved our arms about and swung them from side to side. We jogged, moved forward and backward and did some water pilates too.
Now the act of moving forward and backward looks so simple and yet when you really take the time to observe and feel your muscles, you would be pleasantly surprised to note that you are in fact using every muscle in your core. This means that it is a great way to condition the muscles that helps you develop good posture and relieves back pain. Amazing huh?
Another benefit that you get is that it can build strength and endurance too. And throw flexibility in the list of benefits. There are different water exercises that you can do. An example is ai chi (that is doing tai chi in the water) or water yoga which incorporate slow, very meditative motions that help create flexibility and suppleness. Other exercises like aerobic water workout uses large, full range-of-motion movements increases strength and raises your heart rate as well.
Working out in the water gives you natural resistance with no impact to your joints. This makes it a perfect alternative for those with arthritis or those suffering from joint problems. You can tone up your body in the pool too. So every time your muscles are contracting against resistance, it becomes stronger with each session.
Water and its compression stimulate circulation of blood and lymph so it greatly reduces muscle stiffness and speeds up detoxification and healing. What’s more! The heat capacity of water is doubled many times that of air so it can efficiently carry off the extra heat you generate by exercising. So in hot weather (like the weather we are now experiencing in our country), the pool is the ideal outdoor environment for a cardiovascular workout.
Be creative with the exercises you can do. If you already have a work out routine using dumbbells, you can easily translate this into a water exercise workout. The more important thing is to enjoy and charge up your experience with a splash as you jump into the pool and enjoy the benefits of water exercise.
By: Michelle Simtoco
