7 Ways Water Workouts Work Wonders May 1, 2014
Posted by nrhatch in Exercise & Fitness, Health & Wellness.trackback
For people with arthritis, hip injuries, or other joint maladies, working out on land can be incredibly painful, if not impossible. Of course, not exercising can cause those conditions to worsen over time.
If you’re caught between a rock and a hard place, consider a third option . . . water aerobics:
1. Exercising in water improves muscle strength. The water’s resistance makes movements harder than on land, resulting in faster development of muscle strength, endurance and flexibility.
2. Participants can control movements more easily using the water’s buoyancy to distribute the weight load, improve their balance, and reduce the impact on tender joints.
3. Pool exercise speeds recovery after injuries or knee-replacement surgery since the buoyancy allows for full range of motion with less risk of injury.
4. Water pressure compresses the chest, lowering the heart rate and helping blood circulate more efficiently.
5. In a cool pool, participants can exercise longer and more comfortably.
6. Water workouts may also improve mood and mental health. Being in water encourages a more positive outlook, which speeds recovery from both illness and accidents.
7. Warm water relaxes muscles, eases tension, reduces stress, and lessens mental fatigue. It may also promote chemical changes in the brain which maintain critical thinking and memory skills.
Well? What are you waiting for?
Dive in!
Aah . . . that’s better!
For more on Water Aerobics: Aquatic Fitness (AARP)
Or watch this video on smooth underwater moves from WaterGym.com
Related posts: Beginner’s Yoga 1~2~3 * 10 Happiness Boosters * 13 Tips to Stay Healthy & Happy
Need more inspiration? Check out the Fitness-Photo Challenge on As My Camera Sees It and join the 12 week Fitness Challenge.
I go to a “ladies” gym 5 times a week but have been considering something different. I was looking at yoga but we also have an indoor pool at a local college that has exercise class. You have given me something to think about here.
I’m headed over to the pool right now ~ it’s one of my favorite parts of the week. Something I never thought I would say about exercise.
Yep, I don’t like it much either but make it interesting in some way and I’m a fan.
I find that working out with music makes the time go faster (and makes me move more). We play CD’s at the pool for water aerobics which keeps us entertained. That and chatting up a storm.
As soon as we locate closer to a Y or a pool I will be giving it a try..😀 I usually don’t do well in a group..🙄 Time for a change maybe.
I’m not much of a groupie either, Pix. Our water aerobics class is flexible enough that it works for me. Except for “bossy Bob,” no one comes around to critique our form.
So true Nancy🙂
I’ve been heading up before class to swim laps ~ I find that I am happily tired (and famished) after a 2 mile bike ride (up and back), 15 minutes of swimming, and an hour of stretching and aerobics.
May the force continue to be with you! That’s awesome Nancy🙂
Happily tired sounds good to me right now!
Thanks, Val. How many yoga classes do you teach each week? That must make you happily tired at times.
I wish I could swim and that I wasn’t terribly uncomfortable around water. I think there’s so much mountain girl in me that the first time I saw an ocean wave crash on shore, I ran the other way!
This is great information and maybe someday – maybe soon – I’ll find the courage to jump in the lap pool at Bally’s and see what I can do.
Gulp…..
And thanks, again, for the shout-out. 🙂
There are a number of people in our class who cannot swim. They stay waist deep in the water while still getting a great work out.
[…] starters, check out my friend’s Nancy’s blog at Spirit Lights The Way. She has some great suggestions for swimmers and tons of wisdom to share on her fabulous […]
Hey, You . . . Thank You!
Now I know why we spend the first nine months of our lives in water.:)
Pretty amazing that we knew how to hold our breath for 9 months.
Pool exercise is out for me, my body would go into shock, even in a heated pool. Yesterday, I had such an occurrence, here at home for no reason, it took two and a half hours in bed with the electric blanket on high and two hot packs, before my body warmed up. I took it easy today and should be back to normal tomorrow.
Hope you’re back to normal soon, GM. That sounds like a tough situation to deal with. Our bodies do so much for us ~ regulating temps, digesting food, repairing cells, thinking, breathing, pumping blood, etc. Sounds like your heat regulator went on strike.
Back to normal this morning, but it is only 7°C here, so staying put for another hour. Do you think I need a thermostat replacement?😉
That’s it! You need a new thermostat!
I wonder if there is a deficiency in your diet ~ a missing vitamin or mineral that is required to keep temps in the right range?
This is a very timely post for me. This Sunday I found out that my small club was bought out by a larger club that, unlike my old club, has a pool.
I understand that swimming is also good for people with asthma. It’s all about holding the breath and than taking a big breath.
I hope you get to try out the pool in the new to you club, Nicki. I’m surprised at how much I enjoy water workouts. It’s invigorating and energizing and I never work up a sweat!
Don’t forget that it doesn’t suck like land exercise. It’s fun!
I’m more of an ocean swimmer, but that’s exertion aplenty, even if the waves aren’t interested in my workout routine.
I’m impressed. I’ve never been able to swim in the ocean because I’m too busy looking for sharks, jellyfish, and stingray.
Swimming in the ocean builds stamina!
NJ shores are nurse shark birthing sites, I’ve read, which apparently makes it a no-hunting zone (that is, no hunting of humans by sharks).
I enjoy ocean swimming for the one-with-nature sensation, the awesome power of the water, the lack of chlorine, and the fun of wave-riding.
I love splashing about in the Gulf, but don’t do much swimming. I tend to stay in the more congested areas where the odds of becoming “shark bait” are less.
I’ve not done water exercises, but I’ve heard they are supposed to be great! I’m not a fan of pools, but I guess if that’s the only way I could keep moving, I’d have to suck it up🙂
I like to mix it up ~ swimming every day would get old fast. We walk (on the beach), bike around the neighborhood, and swim a couple times a week each. And when the weather doesn’t cooperate, I dance (i.e., flail around) in my living room.
And the weightlessness of it all is wonderful. Although, I have to say, I wouldn’t contemplate getting in the water today, heated or not. It’s markedly chilly in Sydney – a very wintery day. Hot chocolate and a good book is in order🙂
I hope you get your Book Vacation day today, BB! Chilly days are made for curling up with a favorite tome.
Great post! Exercising in the water is a good alternative for people who can’t handle high impact exercises. I’ve been having some twinges in my knee lately, I’m wondering if I need to head to the pool.
I’m with you…swimming in the ocean freaks me out with the jelly fish, sharks and other creatures.🙂
I have found that water aerobics provides a great opportunity to stretch with less stress on joints ~ especially the knees.
I do go in the gulf to splash around, but I’ve never done much sea swimming. It’s too busy near the shore and I feel like there’s safety in numbers.
We purchased a small hot tub last year at the suggestion of my husband’s orthopedist. He has some serious aches and pains associated with spinal degeneration and anything with too much “shock” is absolutely of no benefit. But the heat and doing some movement in the water doesn’t take it all away, but it relaxes him enough to rest well. I wish we had an available pool, but this works for now. Too bad our doctor doesn’t prescribe a pool.🙂
Your doctor might be willing to prescribe a pool if you have room for one ~ but a hot tub is great for soothing away aches and pains and doing gentle stretches! Plus it’s so relaxing. Like B~U~T~T~E~R!
My brother has been taking weekly swimming lessons from the age of four because the doctor said that swimming could help strengthen his lungs. And it did. In fact, it cured his asthma.
Awesome! I am more and more convinced that exercise is good for what ails us. A veritable fountain of youth.