( If you haven’t tried water workouts lately, your body doesn’t know what it’s missing. If you sweat during these water workouts, no one will know but you.
In this Mind Your Body TV video with Lynda Huey, M.S., I learn just how tough water workouts can be. I kid Huey that “I’m a doubter,” but by the end of this aquatic session, we’ve jumped through nine very different moves that left me gasping for air—and I’m fit.
Why water workouts:
Exercising in water does a few things that exercising on land can’t do. Water workouts let you “turn it up” in an environment that has the following properties:
*Buoyancy: You feel lighter, yet water gives you support.
*Resistance: You use muscles you might not engage on land, and you improve balance and strength.
*Hydrostatic pressure: The water around you “envelopes you” and may aid blood circulation.
*Temperature: If water is heated, that helps blood circulation, too, and it also helps you relax.
Water workouts prevent injuries:
If you can’t jog anymore because of injuries to knees or hips, water takes care of that so you don’t pound on hard ground. It actually helps protect your spine and your joints if done correctly. Water workouts can help you burn calories, lose weight and tone your entire body and they’re bound to make you smile—especially if you’re doing them with a group of friends.
Don’t know if you saw Lynda Huey’s first video with Mind Your Body TV, but it’s a good introduction to water workouts and aquatic therapy—the latter is a good option for you if you’re injured and have been given a prescription for physical therapy. The American Physical Therapy Association even has a special “section” for PTs who choose to practice aquatic therapy. Remember that water workouts and aquatic exercise are not aquatic therapy.
Find water workouts:
After watching this video about water workouts, bet you’ll have a great time the next time you’re at a friend’s pool. Or ask your local YMCA/YWCA or health and fitness club (that has a pool) what classes might work for you. Water workouts have come a long way from dog-paddling.
Want to get wet? You bet! You’ll get fitter in a splash!
