Your swimming pool isn’t just a great place to cool off on a hot Florida day. It can also be one of the best pieces of exercise equipment you already own.
Exercising in water provides resistance in every direction, helping strengthen muscles while reducing stress on your joints. Water’s buoyancy supports a significant portion of your body weight. As a general guideline, water around hip level may support roughly 50% of your body weight, while deeper water provides progressively more support. At chest or armpit depth, approximately 70% to 75% may be supported, and at neck depth, the figure can approach 90%. That can make movements that are uncomfortable on land much easier in the pool.
Easy Ways to Exercise in Your Pool
Water walking or jogging: Walk briskly through waist- or chest-deep water while pumping your arms. Increase the intensity by jogging, lifting your knees higher, or changing directions.
Leg lifts: Hold onto the side of the pool and slowly lift one leg forward, backward, or out to the side. The resistance of the water adds a strengthening component.
Squats: Stand in waist-deep water with your feet about shoulder width apart. Lower into a squat and return to standing. For an added challenge, turn the upward movement into a small jump.
Arm exercises: Push your hands forward, backward, and out to the sides beneath the water. Water dumbbells or resistance gloves can increase the challenge. A slight bend in your elbow and moving your limbs faster causes more resistance as well!
Flutter kicks: Hold onto the pool wall or use a kickboard and kick from your hips for a simple leg, core, and cardiovascular workout.
A Few Things to Keep in Mind
Pool exercise can improve strength, flexibility, balance, and cardiovascular fitness, but exercising in water affects your body differently than exercising on land. Water pressure, also called hydrostatic pressure, increases the return of blood from your extremities toward your heart. Moving from deeper water to standing on the pool deck also changes that pressure relatively quickly. For some people with blood pressure, cardiovascular, or circulation concerns, those changes may cause lightheadedness or other symptoms.
Take your time getting out of the pool, stay well hydrated, and pay attention to how you feel. As with any new exercise program, check with your healthcare practitioner beforehand, particularly if you have an existing medical condition.
And exercising is a lot more inviting when your pool is clean, clear, and ready for you.
If you need help keeping your pool in great shape, call Pool Boy, Inc. at 941-255-1900 or visit www.poolboyinc.com.
We’ll take care of the pool. You take care of you.
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