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In my previous blog, I explained how pool exercises are beneficial and what precautions should be taken before starting off on them. In the current blog, I am going to tell you about few aqua exercise that you can do.

Let’s get started with some amazing Pool exercises

1. Aqua walking: You might start with water walking. In water about waist high, walk across the pool swinging your arms as you do when walking on land. Avoid walking on your tip toes, and keep your back straight. Tighten your abdominal muscles to avoid leaning too far forward or to the side.
2. Aqua jogging: This is deep water running and mimics. You wear a buoyancy belt, which helps you maintain an upright position as you jog or you would also need to wear a flotation vest as a beginner. One of the easiest and most effective pool workouts is water jogging. At a high intensity, you’ll burn 17 calories per minute — more than on land. It also makes you stronger.

3. Water spinning: Stationary bikes are placed in a pool and one has to combat the waters resistance and pedal to go faster which can pose a challenge. Water cycling gives your legs good massage as the water hits the fat deposits on the leg and thigh muscles. It’s a high-value workout where you may burn 750 calories in just 45 minutes.

4. Spiderman— Climb the pool wall like Spiderman climbs buildings. How do you do this: Stand in the water on the side of the pool. Stabilize your upper body by sweeping your hands back and forth as you run your legs up the side of the pool and back down to the pool floor. Do four Spiderman exercises, alternating the leading leg each time you reach the end of one jogging circuit.
5. Arm exercise using hand webs: Hand webs can help you strengthen your biceps and triceps in the water. Wearing hand webs, stand in waist-high water with your arms down, your palms facing forward and your elbows close to your body. Raise your forearms to the level of the water, keeping your elbows close to your body and your wrists straight. Then switch direction and push your hands down until your arms are straight again. Repeat 12 to 15 times or until you’re fatigued.

6. Pool plank: Planks are a proven core-strengthener on land. But, if you don’t have a strong upper body it’s hard to hold it long enough to give abdominal muscles a good workout. All that changes in a pool. Hold the noodle in front of you. Lean forward in a plank position. The noodle will be submerged under the water, and your elbows should be straight down towards the pool floor. Your feet should still be on the pool floor. Hold as long as comfortable, 15-60 seconds depending on your core strength. Repeat 3-5 times.

7. One-Legged Balance

This strengthens your leg and core muscles and helps in balance. Standing in waist-high water, lift your left knee up and place the middle of a noodle under your left foot. (Its sides will float up into a U-shape.) Keep your hands by your side and balance with your left foot on the noodle for one minute. Then move your left knee out to the side and balance for another minute. Switch legs and repeat with the right knee lifted and the right foot resting on the noodle. For an extra challenge, lift both arms up over your head as you balance.

8. Fly-Backs

In the water, as on land, fly-backs work the muscles in the upper chest, back and arms. They also improve posture. Start in a lunge position with your right knee bent and your left leg extended straight behind you in the pool. Reach your arms straight out in front of you at chest height — palms touching, fingers extended and thumbs up. Open your arms straight out to the sides in the water, then return them to the starting position to complete one rep.

8. Forward and side lunges:  Stand near the pool wall for support, if necessary, take an oversized lunge step in a forward direction. Do not let the forward knee advance past the toes. Return to the starting position and repeat with the other leg. For a side lunge, face the pool wall and take an oversized step to the side. Toes should be kept facing forward. Repeat on the other side. Try 3 sets of 10 lunge steps. For variation, lunge walk in a forward or sideways direction instead of staying in place.
9. Leg exercise using a noodle: To strengthen your leg muscles, tie a water noodle into a knot around your foot or water shoe. Stand with your back to the side of the pool in waist-high water, placing your arms on the edge of the pool for stability. Straighten your leg in front of you, and then flex your knee to about a 90-degree position. Return to the starting position and repeat 12 to 15 times or until you’re fatigued. Tie the water noodle into a knot around your other foot or water shoe and repeat with the other leg.

11. Resistance exercise using a kickboard: Kickboards provide another type of resistance. Standing up straight with your legs comfortably apart, and tighten your abdominal muscles. Extend your right arm and hold the kickboard on each end. Keeping your left elbow close to your body, move the kickboard toward the centre of your body. Return to the starting position and repeat 12 to 15 times or until you’re fatigued. Then extend your left arm and repeat the exercise on the other side.

12. Pool kickboxing: It is great for sculpting arms and torso. Lift one knee and kick the foot upwards which you punch forward with your other hand. Punch throughout the water resistance and kick without worrying about keeping your balance.

13. Deepwater bicycle: In deeper water, loop 1-2 noodles around the back of your body and rest your arms on top of the noodle for support in the water. Move your legs as if you are riding a bicycle. Continue for 3-5 minutes.

14. Push-ups: While standing in the pool by the poolside, place arms shoulder-width apart on pool edge. Press weight through your hands and raise your body up and halfway out of the water, keeping elbows slightly bent. Hold 3 seconds and slowly lower back into the pool. (Easier variation: Wall push up on side of pool: place hands on edge of pool shoulder width apart, bend elbows, and lean chest toward the pool wall.

15. Aqua Tai Chi: This water inspired version of tai chi. It involves series of deep breathing, relaxing movements that challenge balance using tai chi and Qigong (breathing techniques).Try the arms uplifting pose, moving arms from side to centre, and floating. The slow, fluid exercises reduce tension, stretch the spine and allow the chi (life force) to flow through the body. They reduce fibromyalgia and chronic pain.

Aquatic exercise can be fun at any age, size or fitness level — whether you practice it on your own or sign up for a class. Jump in. The water’s fine! Stay healthy and stay fit!

Today, to counter their stress filled lifestyle, people are shifting their focus to health and fitness. There are many fitness methods that one can adopt such as running, cycling swimming, yoga, aerobics etc. Most of these are popular among people who are taking to fitness or are already into fitness. However, there is a new form of exercise- Aquatic exercise and Aqua aerobics that is getting popular.

Aqua aerobics or exercise arrived almost over two decades ago but, it has gained popularity in India only 5-6 years ago. Aqua aerobics uses the buoyancy of water coupled with your own body weight as a training tool to build endurance and get into shape.

Aquatic exercise is a low impact exercise that takes the pressure off your bones, joints and muscles. Water offers natural resistance which helps to strengthen the muscles. It provides almost 14% more resistance than air, which means your muscles get more toned in water and there is almost no impact on the bones, joints and muscles.

Why Aqua exercise?

You weigh only 10% of your body weight when you are in the water. When a person weighing 100kg or who has arthritis in joints or cannot do any exercise while on land due to the gravitational pull, as he enters the water, the load is lifted off the joints and he can do exercise without any pain.

For elderly who have difficulty in walking, sitting and moving, this is the best way to work out and stay fit. And, the best part is you can do these exercises even if you don’t know how to swim.

Aquatic exercise has amazing benefits: Here is a list

• It improves muscle endurance and strength. Pool water provides resistance which strengthens the muscles and boosts cardio intensity and improves flexibility.
• Water exercise is good for people with joint injuries or infections or who have had a recent surgery –great way to stay fit and shorten recovery time and heal faster.
• A pool workout gives better balance, agility and endurance.
• Pool workouts are great fat burners. You can burn much higher level of calories in a shorter time in the pool. You can burn about 400-500calories in one hour.
• Working out in the pool doesn’t feel like an arduous task, you enjoy doing it and thus there are higher chances that you will stick to this routine. Since aquatic exercise is a low impact exercise there is no age bar for it. Water is therapeutic and removes the pain. Water has a healing effect and can distress the body and mind too!
• Water resistance is not only for muscles, in fact, water pressure actually works with your blood as well and enables good blood circulation decreasing blood pressure and keeps the heart also in good condition.
• Aqua aerobics can satisfy that need to feel cool in warmer temperatures while still enabling us to exercise.

Aqua exercises have a great bonding effect as it can be done together and there are positive benefits to be derived from these workouts.

Precautions for the Pool Workout:

Before starting any pool exercise program, always check with your physician to make sure pool exercises are right for you.

Here are some tips to get you started:

• Water shoes will help to provide traction on the pool floor.
• Water level can be waist or chest high. This way your feet will have good contact with the pool floor and your leg muscles will be able to support some of your weight.
• Use a Styrofoam noodle or floatation belt/vest to keep you afloat in deeper water.
• Slower movements in the water will provide less resistance than faster movements.
• You can use webbed water gloves, Styrofoam weights, inflated balls, or kickboards for increased resistance.
• Never push your body through pain during any exercise.

Although you will not notice that you sweat with pool exercises, it is still important to drink plenty of water. Drink water before and after your water workout to avoid dehydration

In my next blog..I will share the various pool workouts and procedure to do it. Stay tuned!