Fitness: dive in, but know how to use the water to your advantage

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Too hot to exercise? Get out of the heat and get in the pool.

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It’s the coolest place to exercise during a hot summer, and you don’t have to be a swimmer to reap the benefits of a pool workout. In-water calisthenics and HIIT (high-intensity interval training) workouts have just as much potential for improving cardiovascular fitness as those done on land, making them the perfect choice if your pool is a little too big for fun than to swim

Another advantage of exercising in the water is that you can jump, jog and run with less impact stress than in the gym. But to reap the full fitness benefits of a high-intensity aquatic workout, you need to know how to make the unique properties of water work in your favor. In the water, depth, temperature and resistance make a difference.

Deeper water displaces more body weight than shallower water. At chest height (nipple level), about 60 percent of body weight is offloaded through buoyancy, making some exercises more suitable for shallow or deep workouts.

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Also at play is the density of the water (water offers more resistance than air), which slows down movement. Used strategically, that resistance is what makes water workouts so tough, and it’s one of the more discreet benefits of moving your workout to the pool, lake, or ocean.

The temperature also makes a difference. Colder water (18-25 degrees C) lowers your heart rate, so you can’t use that as a measure of intensity. Instead, use the simple method of perceived exertion: if you feel like you’re working hard, you probably are. The same goes for the recovery part of the workout: if the workout feels easy, it probably is.

For other strategies to make aquatic workouts more effective, check out the tips below. Keep in mind that it takes a while to get used to sweating in the water, but once you click, you’ll end up spending more time in the pool than you do in the gym during the dog days of summer.

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test intervals

Popular HIIT workouts can be easily incorporated in an aquatic setting, alternating between short bursts of high-intensity exercise followed by longer sessions of active recovery. Start with 20 to 30 seconds of work (running or jumping on the spot or moving) followed by 60 to 90 seconds of easy movement (walking or light jogging). Repeat 10 times, warming up for 5-10 minutes before starting the intervals. Remember, the key to great HIIT workouts is to maintain intensity during the hard interval, so if you need a longer recovery, go ahead and take it. Or if you prefer, increase the duration and decrease the intensity of your work intervals (from 30 seconds to two minutes) and shorten the recovery period. Both options will help you reach your fitness goals.

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Move

Moving against the resistance of the water increases the intensity of your workout, so cover as much ground as possible. If you’re short on space, change directions frequently, including returning to the current you just created without losing speed. If possible, stay deep between your hips and chest so you can maintain contact with your butt and easily adjust your speed, direction, and range of motion. Too deep and you’ll start to float. Too shallow and you won’t get the full benefit of the water’s natural resistance.

go big

The big, strong, controlled movements of running, walking, and jumping will engage more muscles and create more resistance, all of which get your heart rate where you want it to be. Get your arms into action too, keeping them underwater as much as possible, swinging them to your side, around your body, or pushing them back and forth exposing as much surface area of ​​your body as possible (think pushing against the water versus cutting into it).

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Mingle

Alternating between big and small, fast and slow, stationary and moving movements prevents training from becoming boring. Big, fast movements will get your heart racing, while slower movements are better choices when you need to slow down. Alternate 20 seconds of big jumps from side to side with your knees almost breaking the surface of the water, then 60 seconds of recovery at a slow pace to your knees. Or run the full width of the pool with your arms pumping to your sides as many times as possible for 20 seconds, followed by a minute of easy walking. Repeat as many times as possible for 20 minutes. Training done.

go to the bottom

If deep water is your only option, grab a pool float and get moving. Wrap the pool float around your back and under your arms, supporting your forearms along the float and maintaining an upright posture. Jog in place, move your legs in a cross-country or cross-country skiing motion or move them from side to side bringing both knees to the surface of the water with each left and right sweeping motion of the legs. If you have room to move, hop on the pool floats and start jogging in the water alternating between fast and slow intervals.