Water Workout

From Sonoma Diet


Who didn't enjoy flopping around in the swimming pool as a kid? But as adults, we're sometimes hesitant to go "play" in the pool — that's kid stuff, right? No way! Water workouts — including swimming, aerobics, and strength training — are great for adults of all ages. Water workouts are especially effective for people with arthritis and osteoporosis, and those who are overweight. You can choose between a shallow-water workout, in which you keep your feet on the bottom of the pool while exercising, and a deep-water workout, in which flotation devices are used to keep the body vertical.

The secret of these workouts lies in the special properties of water. The buoyancy of water greatly reduces the impact on your joints — a body immersed up to the neck has to support only about 10 percent of the weight it has to support on land! In addition, the resistance provided by the water tones muscles. As your arms and legs move through the water, they are significantly more challenged than if they were moving through air. Finally, the cooling effect of water helps ensure that your body won't become overheated during a workout.

So find out what types of water workouts are offered at your local community center, YWCA, or health club. Best of all, flopping around in the pool is not just an effective workout, it's also a blast!