When I was in college, one of my best friends and I would come home through the summers to manage the local swimming pool. At the time, it was a great job with a small perk or two.
We would teach swimming lessons in the mornings and lifeguard all afternoon but our favorite time of the day was after we closed.
We had the whole pool to ourselves and did we ever make the most of it!
We soon realized what great exercise swimming could be. (Keep in mind that this was several years ago, way before water aerobics came about!)
My friend and I challenged each other to see how long each of us could tread water, we’d swim laps and were only allowed to use our arms (so we could strengthen our biceps), then we would use a kickboard and kick our way across the pool to give our legs a workout.
It felt so much better than a traditional workout because it didn’t really feel like we were working out at all – but we received all the benefits of a running regimen or an aerobics class.
A great tan and a great workout - in the eyes of college students, what more could you ask for in a job?
Working out in the water is fun and offers almost an almost endless variety of exercises.
Water exercising allows you to get stronger and more flexible without stressing your joints - which is why a water workout might just be the way to go.
The best thing about water exercises is that water supports your body by applying continuous pressure all around you. At the same time, it takes the load off your joints, so you don’t have the same kind of pressure on them that you would when gravity presses down on you on land.
When working out in the pool, water will slow you down, so you are less likely to injure yourself than if you’re doing repetitive exercises on land. Because water is denser than air, when you go to move, you meet a significant amount of resistance. Therefore, while the water tends to buffer the joints, it also challenges the muscles.
Water forces someone to be slower when exercising and more controlled, which is want you want in both water and on dry land.
Pool shops and sporting goods stores now offer an array of items to use when working out in the pool. There are styrofoam dumbbells, paddles and fins.
