Water works (and you will too)

Take to the pool to gain resistance and support while toning up

By RICHARD SEVEN
The Seattle Times

Aquatic exercise has long been popular with the aging and the rehabbing. Now that more baby boomers are often fitting both categories, pool workouts have branched into all kinds of classes, products and regimens.

Julie See, spokeswoman for the Aquatic Exercise Association, says the organization has certified more than 25,000 instructors in the past 19 years, and the rate has been increasing at about 5 percent a year. A few years ago, about 250,000 people reported participating in regular aquatic fitness and/or therapy programs.

Water is magical in some respects. It spares much of the stress that workouts typically exert on the back, hips, knees, ankles and feet, yet it packs an intensity wallop because water puts up about 12 times the resistance of air. It also keeps you cooler. Heart rates tend to be lower in water workouts, but studies have shown that oxygen consumption is about the same.

The properties of water — resistance, buoyancy, support — help rehabilitate, invigorate, strengthen and burn calories. Because water puts up constant resistance as you move through it, muscles are activated in sets, not isolation. You might find a few places that use underwater treadmills, which are wonderful for people nursing injuries and chronic medical conditions. You can do more than jog beneath the surface, though. You can do core work, cycle, practice tai chi or yoga and more.

A Seattle company, Aquarobics at www.aquarobics.net, has been offering water-fitness classes for more than 30 years. And every health club with a pool has classes geared to different audiences and goals.

The Pro Sports Club in Seattle, with its sprawling aquatic center, hosts everything from an hour-long cardiovascular workout using resistance equipment to a 50-minute “Power Plunge” class that focuses on large movements of the complete body.

“Water workouts don’t have the impact that land workouts do,” said Linda Sovereign, a 16-year veteran of water aerobics instruction. “But that doesn’t mean they are easy. They can be about as hard as you want to make them.”

Many people, however, would rather work out alone, so they sample the instructional videos and products that wash over the market. WaterGym, (www.watergym.com) offers a program titled “Weight Loss and Strengthening” that incorporates a video, CD and plastic-coated cue card. The program is done in deep water to fully engage your body, so the company also sells a flotation belt to help participants achieve proper form and stay safe.

The depth of the water affects the intensity and direction of your workout. Immersed to your neck, you only bear about 10 percent of your body weight. If you are submerged to your waist, which is where most “shallow-water” workouts are done, you bear about half your body weight and keep feet on the ground most of the time.

Balance, as with any activity, is key. Carol Argo, a former aquatic association instructor of the year, says proper posture and body alignment are critical. Your head should remain over your shoulders and hips under your rib cage. Poor posture can lead to back and neck problems.

Argo (www.carolargo.com) produces aqua-workout videos that incorporate Eastern movements such as tai chi, yoga and Pilates. Since water provides multidirectional resistance and slows movement, she says, it’s tailor-made for the fluid, graceful, circular movements of tai chi.

Argo suggests starting with beginner-oriented exercises, like simple striding, but adds that you should stride backward as well for balance. Try going sideways, too. And don’t jog just on the balls of your feet, she says. It’s important to press through the entire foot.

Experts recommend wearing shoes when working in the shallow end of a pool and flotation belts when working in the deep. There are also foam dumbbells, barbells, ankle cuffs and resistance tubing for toning. Zura Sports produces webbed neoprene “hydro gloves” ($15.95), which help with upper-body toning by increasing the resistance your arms and hands encounter as they move through the water.