Incorporate water exercise for a low-impact alternative
WACO, Texas - Dennis Kidwell hits the gym five times a week. At 62, the retired
Waco Police Department sergeant doesn't have lofty goals of beefy muscles or
running a marathon. He just wants to keep moving. But his tinkering around in
the weight room when he first joined the local YMCA years ago wasn't giving
him the full-body workout he needed. So Kidwell traded his gym shorts for swim
trunks and is now one of thousands of adults nationwide who take advantage of
water's natural resistance and joint-soothing buoyancy in order to stay fit.
Beneficial for everyone
Squats in chest-deep water replace mechanized leg presses, pushups along the
pool's edge offer a comprehensive upper-body exercise and vigorous water-treading
provides a cardiovascular workout equal to running on land.
"When you are in the water, you are working everything. It's easier on
the joints, but still uses the same muscles I would be using in the weight room,"
said Kidwell, who attends hour-long aquacize classes. 'I just feel better. I
can really feel a difference in my energy level.' "
Water exercises offer a refreshing, low-impact alternative for people plagued
with arthritis, athletes recovering from an injury and overweight individuals.
Water supports 90 percent of a person's body weight, which allows the person
to perform high-intensity workouts with minimal impact on his joints.
But everyone can benefit from incorporating water workouts into their summer
exercise routine, whether they take an aquacize class to break up the monotony
of daily runs or use calisthenics to keep busy while watching their kids at
the pool.
Every little bit counts. Barbara Resnick, an associate professor at the University
of Maryland School of Nursing, said in an article in Caring for the Ages that
an older adult can burn 525 calories per hour walking in the water compared
with 240 calories walking on land.
"It's a basic physics problem. The water buoys people up, and they have
less weight pushing down on them, which allows them to increase their range
of motion," said Les Marshall, executive director of the Arthritis Foundation
Heart of Texas Branch. "But the water has an added benefit of resistance,
so the exercises strengthen muscles as well or better than on land."
Water exercise options:
But exercising in the water alone can be just as rewarding as attending a class.
Get creative by adapting land exercises that strengthen and improve flexibility.
Hold onto the side of the pool, facing inward, and lift your body in and out
of the water to tone flabby triceps. Perform repetitions of side leg lifts,
holding onto the edge of the pool, to smooth out those outer thighs. Or jump
up and down, bringing your knees to your chest, for a complete lower-body workout.
Belts, weights, flotation devices
Marshall said the growing array of flotation devices, belts and waterproof weights
add to the variety and difficulty of exercises available to water-workout enthusiasts.
Like any sport, people can make it as expensive or inexpensive as they want.
Pairs of water-proof dumbbells and leg weights range from $20 to $30 on average,
but holding a heavy-duty plastic bag filled with rocks adds extra resistance
and costs little. Using a kick board like a fin to pull and push the water also
adds resistance similar to hand weights.
Water jogging belts, which help with balance and flotation in deep water, cost
about $40. And various foot fins and webbed-hand devices that add resistance
cost about $25, but many health clubs rent them out for a nominal fee.
According to aquajogger, the basic water workout should include a two- to five-minute
warm up in which you focus on continuous movement, including slow, maintained
leg lifts, lunges or arm curls below the water, to get the blood flowing.
Main workout
The main workout should consist of 20 to 40 minutes of continuous aerobic activity,
but you should be able to maintain steady breathing. Run or walk in the water,
ski in place, jump and twist, or tread water, alternating between circular leg
movements and scissor kicks. Raise your hands out of the water or hold a brick
(or other heavy object) out of the water while you tread to help building leg
strength.
Core workout
For a good core body workout, hold onto the side of the pool, facing inward,
and extend your legs in front of you. Pull your knees toward your chest to work
the abdominal muscles. Modify the exercise by twisting as you pull your legs
toward you to work the obliques. Then turn around and face the pool deck. Push
up on the side of the pool as if you are getting out of the water, but repeat
the motion for a killer arm exercise. Do a combination of these exercises for
a complete body workout.
Cool down
Your cool down should focus on fluid movements that stretch the muscles you
worked during the main routine. Take deep breaths and allow the water to relax
your body and bring your heart rate back to normal.
Water supports 90 percent of your body weight, which allows you to perform
high-intensity workouts with minimal impact on your joints.
Katherine Heine writes for the Waco Tribune-Herald.
Cox News Service
July 13, 2005