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Workouts You Can Do in the Pool

You've got options.

By Paisley HansenPublished 5 years ago 3 min read
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In a few months, the sun will be warm and people will start to pull the covers off their pools. Swimming is one of the best full-body workouts that you can do. You can do lap swimming which works core, arms, and legs with every kick and pull that you do. You can also run in the pool for a lower-impact, high resistance cardio workout. Not to mention, you can do amazing weight-training workouts all from the comfort of the water. To help you find some of the best workouts for your summer, here are the top four water exercises of all time.

1. Lap Swimming

It might seem self-explanatory, but lap swimming is one of the best workouts that you can do. The best way that you can do this is by visiting custom pools in Jackson MS, Chicago, or wherever else you live that is 25 yards or longer. If the custom pool is shorter than 25 yards, lap swimming becomes more difficult. To do successful lap swimming, you need to be able to swim continuously for a prolonged period of time (and 10 yards is too short). Once you’ve found the perfect pool to do lap swimming in, the rest is easy. You want to swim for as long as possible without taking a break on the wall. Swimming back and forth once, then taking a 5-minute break is extremely ineffective. Instead, try swimming a 200 or a 500 before taking a break. You can switch up the stroke between breaststroke, freestyle, backstroke, and even butterfly to make the workout harder or easier. This workout should last about an hour.

2. Running in the Pool

When you go for a walk in the morning, chances are that you’ll pass a dozen or so people out for a morning run. What you don’t see as often is people going for runs in their backyard pools. This is an amazing workout that people don’t think of doing. You’ll be running, but you have the added friction of running against water. It’s also extremely good for your bones and muscles because you’re not pounding your feet against the ground. The thickness of the water gives your body the perfect cushion for a comfortable run. So, if you’re the type of person who gets shin-splints from running on pavement, try running in the pool.

3. Water Weight-Lifting

Recently Olympic athletes have taken the weight lifting to a whole other level. They have started bringing the weights underwater for an edge on the workout. The benefit of listing underwater is that the water offers 360 degrees of resistance, and switching up your environment is a challenge to the lungs and mind. You have a few ways that you can weight lift in the pool. You can stand in shallow water and do bicep curls beneath the surface and squats with your head above the water for the first half of the squat, or you can go a level harder. Leave the weights at the bottom of the deeper end of the pool (don’t go too deep for safety reasons) and when your ready to work out, take a deep breath and dive. Then, lift the weights for one set while straining your lungs then come back up for a breath. This type of lifting makes weight training mean something entirely different.

4. Playing Catch While Treading Water

This exercise can be done with a partner or by yourself. You can expect to get an amazing leg, arm, and lower ab workout. This is a common exercise for high-intensity water polo teams. Head to the deep end with some kind of ball. It can be a volleyball, tennis ball, water polo ball, or anything else that you have around. If you’re playing catch on your own, hold both arms above the water with one hand with the ball. Then, toss it over your head back and forth between the two hands while treading water. The goal is to do it until your head is bobbing beneath the water. If you’re playing with a partner, keep your arms above the water and toss back and forth, alternating hands.

Conclusion

There are so many amazing workouts that you can do in a pool. Having a custom pool where you can enjoy yourself and have a good workout opens up a whole other world of options that allows you to enjoy the exercise and get a great tan while you workout.

fitness
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About the Creator

Paisley Hansen

Paisley Hansen is a freelance writer and expert in health, fitness, beauty, and fashion. When she isn’t writing she can usually be found reading a good book or hitting the gym.

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