Exercise Tips

SLV Talks
Aquatic Exercise Tips: 1

Water gives you 12 times more resistance than air and will work your entire body during vertical exercise (unlike streamlining as in swimming) up to 44 times a similar workout on land, depending upon the muscle balance, strength and flexibility you bring to the water. In order to keep your balance and maintain good posture, water recruits the muscles of your whole body, especially your core muscles. To get the benefit of water walking, stand tall with great posture, shoulders down and back, and walk forcefully heel ball toe forward with arms in opposition to the legs, with a long, proud stride and feet kept close to the pool floor. You can even drag your toe on the floor as the back leg pushes off the toe to return forward for more resistance. Work at waist to chest deep, no deeper (or you will cheat by floating). Keep the arms (levers) relatively long and push them down and through the water against buoyancy, hands pronated and angled 45 degrees (pinky finger leads) when the arm goes back behind the body (as far as possible) and 45 degrees, hands supinated (palm up) with thumb leading when the arm moves forward. When right leg swings forward, the left arms tracks with it, and the reverse. Of course, suck the tummy in tight and also contract your gluteal muscles. Then do everything in reverse going backward, toe, ball, heel. Walk backwards twice as many laps as walking forwards to balance strength and flexibility of the muscles. Walk in a line, not in circles! (Hint: Wear lace up aquatic shoes and aquatic webbed mitts.)

Dr. Lucia Cordell Getsi
WaterART Fitness International, Master Trainer