Water Workouts are fab for gaining fitness in a safe, cool environment. Want to make them more fun? Add some aqua fitness equipment, or simply get imaginative.
Add a Noodle To Your Water Workouts
A pool noodle can enhance your water workouts by both increasing the fun and the benefits of the routine. Let’s say it’s Leg Day. While the water provides a natural resistance to make your leg exercises more beneficial, you can add some fun, and even more benefits, by incorporating a Pool Noodle.
“Choose a denser noodle that doesn’t have a hole in its core,” advises Mark Grevelding, a training specialist and consultant with the Aquatic Exercise Association (AEA) and founder of Poolfit.tv, a water exercise app with over 125 fun water workout videos. “This will provide even more resistance and allow you to get more benefit from the movement. The added bonus is that the water keeps you cool and it provides a zero gravity environment, which reduces impact and risk of injury.”
You can also use your noodle to do a super fun, results-based yoga workout, or a total body workout.
Get Deep
Take your water workout to the deep end of the pool! Excellent routines for deep water workouts include ones like Deep Cardio and Core. “When you’re in the deep end, you’ll need to invest a few bucks in a buoyancy belt,” explains Mark. “This allows you to remain vertical while you move your arms and legs freely in the exercises throughout the routine.”
Do it With A Friend
Working out with a buddy is always more fun than going it alone. You get to have a great catch up, while enjoying the satisfaction of knowing you’re making your future self happy. Much better than meeting for a bottle of wine, in which case your future self may be disheartened the following day! Schedule in BFF time and jump in the water. Nobody ever regrets working out.
Use Foam Weights
Foam weights are fantastic when used in water workouts, as they add to the water’s already natural resistance. “They make your muscles work harder, but because you’re in the safe, cool environment of the water, you won’t feel the burn as much,” says Mark.
While the foam weights are lightweight on land, once they work with the water’s resistance, they become fabulous muscle toning machines.
It’s OK To Be Shallow
Shallow water workouts are a great way to boost your cardio fitness, while at the same time toning, stretching and strengthening muscles. “Ideally, you want to be in water that is about chest high,” says Mark. “You want your feet to be able to stay flat on the pool bottom throughout the routine. This helps you maintain good form, while providing a low impact workout that gets the heart rate going. When your body is immersed in chest-high water, you are only bearing around 25 percent of your body weight and your muscles get a good workout from the water’s resistance.”
A really fun and results-driven water workout unilateral strength and power, which is a great circuit class that works the whole body in 60 minutes.
Get Your HIIT On
We all know that HIIT is one of the hottest ways to workout in the world right now. Take it to the pool and you’re maximising the results and making it so much more enjoyable! “Poolfit’s Aqua HIIT It! workout is great fun,” says Mark, “and it really burns the calories. It combines HIIT and Ladder drills in a 45-minute session that you can do in either deep or shallow water.”
Water fitness isn’t just your grandma’s exercise anymore. These six tips can help you cross-train in the pool and achieve your best summer shape ever. CBM
