The Multitude of Benefits of Water in Health, Weight Loss, and Fitness
The Multitude of Benefits of Water in Health,Weight Loss, and Fitness - In my last articles about the benefits of water,
I wrote about the many ways to utilize water for health in our everyday life
outside of just for drinking.
I covered various water exercises and water workouts
you could do in the pool to improve cardio-vascular conditioning.But, I didn't
cover any strength work exercises you should add to your workout routine in the
pool.
One of the simplest is the old stand by push-up
The difference is instead of pushing up off the
floor, you push off the wall. You stand in waist height water and lean into the
wall at a 45 degree angle, arms bent. Then you push away from the wall till
your arms are fully extended, and then do as many pushups till you're tired.As
your strength increases, you'll be able to set the number of how many pushups
you can do as you get stronger.
You'll feel how the buoyancy of the water allows and
helps you to do the pushup.
The buoyancy helps you through the full range of
motion which gives your arms the benefit of the complete movement of the exercise.
The pull-up or the chin-up is another old stand
by.This exercise will be a bit more challenging.But, if you've never been able
to do a pull-up this exercise will surprise you, and put a smile on your face.
If there is a diving board or fixed pool ladder
located at the deeper end of the pool you can do this exercise.The most
effective way to do this exercise is to be submerged up to your neck in the
water.
Reaching up to the highest rung on the ladder or the
diving board, hands in a pull up position.You pull your body out of the water
and up, the buoyancy of the water will help you do a pull-up.Start with one or
two to acclimate to the movement then add as you get stronger.
Again the buoyancy will allow to complete the
movement that you couldn't achieve on a chinning bar at the gym.
One more routine for the legs
Simply stand in waist height of water, and do 10
jumps high as you can out of the water.This will add strength to your legs,
fast twitch muscles, and power to your legs.
The benefit of the pool workout is the No-Impact and
Anti-gravity factor
You spare your joints and because there will be no
joint pain (provided there is no previous injury), it will encourage you to
keep at it.At the end of the day, you will be pleasantly tired and not in pain.
*If you have had any major surgery or injury you must
use your judgment or doctors advice as to the intensity of your workout.
These three simple strength exercises will make
you stronger and fitter.You're not going to get "ripped" or become a beach
"hottie" from these exercises.But, if you stick with the
hydro-therapy cardio and strength exercises you will see your body make
significant changes.
The commitment to the water workout routine will help
you lose weight, improve your fitness, make you feel physically and mentally
good about yourself.
Let's be honest one of the motivating reasons for
fitness aside from the health factor, is VANITY! Everybody wants to look good!
Remember we humans are 70% water, so it's easy to
understand why most of us instinctively gravitate to the beach, ocean, and
lakes.
It will also be fun, VERY IMPORTANT to have
fun!Because if it's fun you'll enjoy it and keep doing it. Get The Benefits Of
Water Than you drink it.