“It’s cold outside. Why would I want to strip down to a swimsuit and go get in the water!?â€
I hear ya’. I’m not a cold-weather fan myself. In fact, I call myself a “cold weather weenie.†I have to push myself to get things done in the cold weather.
So why go?
Because I love water.  The average human body is composed of 60% water; there’s about 70% in the brain and heart, and about 83% in the lungs. I have always had a theory that anything that makes up so much of me (water) draws me to the same (water). I’m mostly made up of water, so why shouldn’t I love water?Â
(source: usgs.gov)
Because I love summertime, and being in the water means a little shot of summertime no matter the season.  I was a summer baby, and I’m still a summer baby. Water sports of all kinds have always fascinated me. When I had two good legs I loved to waterski. I’ve always loved swimming and riding the jetski. I’ve always loved to watch surfing and go diving.
 When I was a kid, my Dad would take us to college football games. I remember a swimming pool in Dallas, Texas that I was dying to get into. The problem was it was January and I was 10 years old.
Because of the way it makes me feel when I’m exercising. Â In addition to conjuring fun summer memories, the water on my skin feels so good. Cutting through the water – whether swimming laps or doing water aerobics – produces dopamines that give you a high in the water. What? No drugs, nothing unhealthy, and you still get a high? Yes please.
Because of the way it makes me look.  I’m all in for solid abs (stomach), sleek biceps (arms), and nice legs. Working out in the water helps me get there.
Because my wet comrades are there. Â I enjoy the camaraderie of like-minded individuals. Everyone in the water on a regular basis is hooked just like I am.
Because I feel better afterward. Â After a good water fitness workout, I feel like I can conquer the world. I can go back to my office with new ideas, I can face the rest of the evening with a great attitude. When I worked out first thing in the morning, it helped me to prepare for my day.
Because it’s healthy.  Exercise builds new cells and muscles, increases your heart rate, protects against falls, and gives you a sense of what you can accomplish.
Because it helps me maintain my weight. Â As we get past 30, we all begin to be challenged by weight gain. All the diets or pills in the world cannot replace the benefits of working out three (3) times a week for 45 minutes each.Â
So…yes it’s cold. But it’s so worth it to go jump in the water!
Even hearing the basic concept of “water fitness,” people often write it off as being “too simple. There’s no way I’m going to get fit doing water exercises or water aerobics.” They give a slight bit more credit to swimming laps but have a hard time committing to that exercise as well.
It is very simple.
You take off your clothes and put on your swimsuit; you get in a large body of water like a pool, the ocean, a lake – and you move. ‘Taking it off’ helps you to tell the world to “bring it on!”
With water fitness, you have a built-in assistant in getting you in shape: the water itself. That’s right, the water creates resistance before you ever pick up any equipment, e.g. a pair of buoys (water dumbbells) or a noodle. Simply walking back and forth in the water creates resistance, a necessary ingredient to building muscle.
Add a little rhythm and pick up your steps so that you’re running in chest-high water. Now your heart rate is increasing, your blood is pumping, and talking is a little challenging. All of this is good news. You’re opening up your lungs while working your core and your legs. Simple, huh?
If you feel your mind start to wander while running, that’s cool too. You’ll find that your day’s problems seem to present solutions, you relax, and your confidence begins to grow.
I discovered years ago that doing only this – running in the water – is a good workout. It’s jogging with a current of resistance.
But why stop there? Don’t you want your arms to get in on the action? Grab a pair of .42ounce buoys. That’s right, that’s all they weigh. But in the water, they’re super heroes!
Buoys (water dumbbells) take your workout to the next level. Doing a simple bicep curl in the water with a set of .42 ounce buoys is the same as using 6 lb. weights on land. I’ll wait here while you Google that. So do a few of those! Try 10 and work your way up to 30 on each arm. Pretty simple…
Do some overhead jack arms with those buoys. Hold them over your head with your palms facing forward and act like you’re doing a jumping jack. Jog while you’re doing jack arms, and voila! You’ve added to your repertoire.
Nothing complicated so far.
Hold the buoys over your head with palms facing each other, each buoy in line with your shoulder. Go straight back as far as you can, then come forward again. You’ve just worked your triceps (bat wings, soft underarms). Repeat.
This workout is still pretty darn simple but you’re doing amazing things for your body. You’re building bicep muscle, strengthening your core, and getting rid of old lady/old guy arms.
Add some more exercises until you get your workout plan. Taking a class helps to develop your workout, and there are also plenty of videos and a few good books detailing water exercises out there. Comment below if you want some suggestions from me.
And just think: All you did was take off your clothes and get in the water.
Other simple ideas:
Keep your diet simple. Count the calories you burn while working out. We’ll call this (B). A water-proof smart watch is perfect for this. Then count the calories you put in your mouth. We’ll call this (E). Then you subtract E from B. Keep adjusting your intake and exercise until you get a deficit there. When you’re taking in (eating) less than your working off (burning), you lose weight and/or maintain your present weight.
Vote. For decent interactions with people. For belief that the best days are ahead. For love, not hate.
Keep your life simple. What does God require of us? “To act justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8) That’s all.
High Intensity Interval Training is one of the greatest exercise routines you can do. And yes, you can do it in the water!
H.I.I.T. involves pursuing one exercise, e.g. running, for 60-90 seconds as hard as you can go followed by 15-30 seconds of slower exercise, e.g. jogging. Then lather, rinse, and repeat. For a more comprehensive explanation, here’s what Wikipedia says about it:
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a training protocol alternating short periods of intense or explosive anaerobic exercise with brief recovery periods until the point of exhaustion.[1] HIIT involves exercises performed in repeated quick bursts at maximum or near maximal effort with periods of rest or low activity between bouts. The very high level of intensity, the interval duration, and number of bouts distinguish it from aerobic (cardiovascular) activity, because the body significantly recruits anaerobic energy systems (although not completely to the exclusion of aerobic pathways).[2] The method thereby relies on “the anaerobic energy releasing system almost maximally”.[1]
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To perform HIIT exercises in the water is easy. Take any exercise – the running/jogging mentioned above; squat jacks; cross-country ski or almost any exercise or exercise combo that you can go full board for a minute followed by a slowdown. The benefits: HIIT boosts metabolism, strengthens bones, burns fat, builds muscle, and maintains muscle mass. Your stamina, and your endurance are amazing and experts rave about it. I rave about it too. You don’t have to go nuclear with it; 3 days of 5 minutes of HIIT during a 45 minute total workout is sufficient to put you on track. You can find some good books that illustrate various water aerobics exercises! Check out the ones below:
Time yourself, using the pool’s chronometer, your smartwatch, or one of these:
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Question: What about bringing intensity to the pool?
Answer: This one is a little tricky. On the one hand, yes, you definitely want to be focused on your workout and serious about the desire to attain and maintain results. On the other hand, the water is – with the possible exception of lap swimming – a more relaxed environment than the gym. Some of the same traditional “Gym Rules†for attitude still apply, such as:Â
Leave your day’s problems at the door.
Leave your bad mood at the door.
Be courteous to everyone.
Return the equipment to its designated space when finished using it.
You should really try, for your sake and others’, to take responsibility for these actions and attitudes.Â
At the same time, I believe people in the water are more relaxed and want to talk more than people at the gym. I may be wrong, I spend 99% of my time in the water, but I believe the water provides a connection to everyone in the pool that the air in the gym or the carpet in the gym doesn’t provide. People who get wet together seem to become closer friends. I mean, for cryin’ out loud you’re wearing very few clothes, you’re wet (maybe a little vulnerable?), and you’re just a short distance in shared water from the next guy.
This shared water space seems to really open people up…which, in my view, is good and – sigh, sometimes not so good. Some people seem to come to class only to revert to a relaxing day at the pool or the lake or the beach. They just want to kick back, talk and talk, and their only intensity is intensely wishing they had a cold drink in their hand. They came to play, not work. Unh, hunh. They’re in the wrong place.
Focus is important with any exercise routine. When I’m teaching class, I encourage camaraderie but not talking. What do I mean? I mean that if you want to discuss your day or your work or your friends outside the pool, get to class a few minutes early or stay late. I enjoy personal time with my class attendees so much. It’s great to get to know each other and to share! But don’t use class time to talk. During class, if you want to ask questions about the exercises, the pool, or share information about fitness, then please speak up. Otherwise, save it.
Your body’s shape or level of fitness is not going to improve talking about Jake or Sally, the kids, how much your spouse ticked you off, or that report you didn’t finish at work. However, it is going to improve if you’re focused and in step with the exercises we’re doing.
I also have a personal workout which I usually do daily for an hour. On non-class days I do it before my regular workout, and on class days I do it about an hour prior to class. During this time, I’m running across the pool, doing some stretching, and a few exercises. This is “my time,†and I’m every bit as intense as anyone can be working out. Because I’m spending the majority of the time running, it’s hard to talk or keep up a conversation. I try very hard to balance my need to focus and breathe properly with someone else’s need to talk to me without interrupting my class. LOL, it’s a high wire act sometimes. See #3 above.
So intensity at the pool is great for exercise routines, sometimes a little sticky for enhancing naturally occurring personal relationships. There’s a way to balance it, just don’t be rude and don’t be annoying, no matter what side of the workout/desire-to-talk equation that you’re on.
Now, equipment for the HIIT exercise protocol. I encourage you to get good shoes for the water in order to do these exercises properly. Don’t waste your money on “aqua socks,†or extremely cheap brands of shoes. Just like a good running shoe, you need a pair of good water shoes for your feet. They should have traction soles, drainage ports, and fit comfortably. The best for women are Ryka, shown below, and the best place to get them is H20Wear.com or Amazon. These shoes last for years!
 Â
If you’re a man, I have heard good things about these shoes, available on Amazon:
The HIIT protocol will make you sweat in the water – which is a glorious feeling, by the way – and you’ll want and need to rehydrate. So bring your water bottle to your workout! I know, it makes you have to go to the bathroom. But it is so healthy it’s worth it!! If you drink more water, eliminate salt from your diet, and cut back on sugar, then along with a workout there is no end to how far you can go in improving your health. Disposable water bottles are not where it’s at, nor what you want poolside. Try out these water bottles:
I’ll see ya’ in the water!
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This is nothing but fun. If you’ve never played volleyball in the pool, you are missing out. And if the thought of volleyball makes you wince thinking back to bad days in high school gym, then rinse those memories out of your head and try it in the water.
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[Amz link to vballs]
Games in the pool can be very competitive but there’s a lot to smile about too. People become braver in the water, diving for shots, stretching out and getting vertical, and sometimes coming down in a resigned heap…into the water. There’s not much chance of being hurt as long as you stay away from the wall; which is an added incentive to stay within bounds. As long as you do that, no matter what else you do you’re coming down in kind, forgiving water, not on a hard gym floor.
I can’t get over how some people extend their own physicality just because they’re pretty sure they’re safe playing in the water. And they’re right. I’ve seen men and women who have never played sports turn into extreme volleyball wizards in the pool. They go up for a shot, miss, and suddenly here comes their foot out of the water – and they hit the ball. Not exactly legal but sure is fun to watch!
Depending on whether you’re in a public pool, membership gym, or private pool, the games can vary in terms of rules and the ball. In a private pool setting with some friends, during the summer we play volleyball in their outdoor pool with an actual regulation volleyball, or more recently with the newer water resistant volleyballs. They have the same measurements as regulation size balls but they’re made for the water. I play with tall people. The hosts are 6’5†and 5’11â€. I’m 5’6â€. My 6 ‘5” compadre has a wingspan that looks like 12 feet. The guy can hit anything from anywhere in the pool. The 5’11” wife has a return that will knock you down. We play very hard, very competitively, and follow all the rules. It’s an excellent party because we’re getting some good exercise then breaking for healthy snacks in between. We set up our beverages along the side of the pool, trying to find spots near the net that keep the cans and plastic cups safe from getting whacked by the ball. This is a little side game to see who put their drink in the safest place and who lost the most drinks at the end of the afternoon/evening. Great friends and the most fun I’ve ever had in my life in a pool.
At my gym the game is very different. Still fun, still has its own challenges, but looser. The pool is indoors. We play with a beach ball. The only rules are to keep it in bounds, don’t spike, and don’t be annoying. You can hit the ball as many times as you like, and whichever side it lands on serves. The boundaries contract and expand depending on how many players there are. Oh, and we don’t keep score.
Before you blow the beach ball game off, hold up. A beach ball literally blows with the wind, so one minute it’s right in front of your hand and you’ve jumped up and are poised to hit it and the next it’s caught up in the a/c and has changed directions. You hit nothing and the ball whizzes right by. The beach ball also becomes slightly warped with just a minimum amount of play, so it starts angling off to the right or to the left at will. You have to adjust your hand and your shot to hit the ball where you want, or to simply keep it in bounds. And if you hit it too hard too many times, the ball pops and, well that’s a dead ball. The indoor gym pool game serves up some very funny moments. Just being able to hit the ball as many times as you want can have a person chasing the ball beyond their position or crawling up and down the net trying to get the ball over. I looked up the other day and there were three people in the same court position all vying for the ball while leaving their individual positions wide open. Hysterical.Â
I have to admit that the beach ball game has humbled me, and made me a better sport. Possibly because everyone is a little less serious about the game. These aren’t athletes showing up to play; these are people there strictly to have fun. Some of them have never played volleyball before, some haven’t since high school. And some, like me, think they know the game but they didn’t factor in a ball with a mind of its own. I love the comments from the first-timers who say, “this is a lot harder than it looks.†This “milder†form of the game can get pretty competitive too.
Water volleyball is the only sport I’ve ever seen in which everyone gets better. Regardless of height, weight, physical level, athletic prowess, or physical handicap, everyone can become a Water Volleyball Victor and step up their game.
Remember, if you’re moving in the water you’re lapping everyone at home on the couch. If you’re spending all your time on the couch, throw on a swimsuit and grab a towel and go catch some pool volleyball. Playing at an indoor pool near you. Then, come home and reward yourself with some Thursday night football.
…is sometimes as important as doing it. Why, you ask? Because you’re encouraging others to do water aerobics, lap swimming, pool volleyball, learn to swim, dive, or scuba. And that might be all the motivation they need to open up a whole new world of exercise.
I had the happy good fortune to meet and talk with two other women while on vacation at the beach (near water, of course!). We were sitting on the ledge in the condo’s pool, enjoying extremely nice water temps on a sizzling hot July day. Turns out one of the women was a swimming instructor whose business taught 650 students a year. We connected over our shared love of water, and my water aerobics class and her swimming instruction. This in turn got the attention of another pool goer who joined in. We covered topics of conversation that I believe are helpful here:
Weight Loss
Exercise and diet, we all know the drill. But for some, due to weight issues, handicap, illness, or physical rehab/recovery, it is very difficult to exercise on land. Water fitness offers a perfect alternative.
First of all, it takes a load off, due to the displacement principle. When you’re in the water up to your waist you are only supporting 50% of your body weight. At chest level water, you are supporting only 20% of your body weight.
Second, it’s safer for fall risk individuals. If you fall, you’re hitting the very soft, very forgiving water, not the hard ground or solid pavement. Be sure to swim in a grounded pool with a trained lifeguard and/or instructor.
As the saying goes, the best exercise is the one you do. Especially for those of us who love the water, it almost doesn’t feel like exercise (I did say almost). The more you do, with sensible eating choices, the more weight you lose.
Getting In Shape
Getting in shape after 40 – or after 20 or 30 or any other number – can be a challenge. We live in a society driven by onscreen entertainment. We can and do sit for hours in front of TV screens, computer screens, and smartphones. Right now, while you’re sitting in front of your favorite smart screen, search for the nearest gym with a pool. Call them and get the scoop on membership, hours, and classes. Go take the tour, and join. Do this for YOU.
A note on weight-bearing exercise: Typically, water exercise and fitness are, by definition (see note above on displacement) not weight-bearing. For women especially, our doctors encourage us to do weight-bearing exercises. After much discussion, my gynecologist finally agreed with my internist that you can get the needed workout for building new muscle in the water. One key exercise here is running in the water. I do an hour’s worth of laps in the pool, running side to side, every day. I have strong abs and good muscle tone. So, I’m just saying, it is possible.
As another woman joined our discussion, she was eager to learn about water aerobics and its benefits. She lives in another southeastern state and is now going to look into any classes available in her area. She said it sounds like a good idea, and a lot of fun. I can’t agree more and I encourage you to do the same!
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If you feel your mind start to wander while running, that’s cool too. You’ll find that your day’s problems seem to present solutions, you relax, and your confidence begins to grow.
