Water workout

Jump in the pool with these moves for an extra targeted routine

The benefits of exercising in the pool are just endless: the water brushing past your muscles as you exercise stimulates blood flow and improves circulation. And because it’s summer, you get the added benefit of cooling off!

Water provides resistance in every direction, so you are able to develop strength in muscles while they are contracted (shortened) and lengthened. We call this concentric (shortened muscle fibre) and eccentric (lengthened muscle fibre) exercise. Think of what your muscles do during a bicep curl: concentric contraction of the bicep muscle is achieved when you bend your elbow, while eccentric contraction of the bicep muscle is achieved as you extend your elbow. Your muscle groups always work in ratio with one another, and as a result it is important to exercise them accordingly. This way you prevent injuries and tone effectively without compromising the function of the joint you are moving. Bear this in mind while doing these exercises.

You will notice that there is often a reference to the 8-second: 4-second ratio in this exercise programme. The reason for this is that we are taking advantage of the buoyancy levels of the water to tone your muscles in a full body workout. 1

U JUMP LUNGES This is a full lower body workout as it not only works your glutes (bum) and legs, but is also a great way to elevate your heart rate and get your blood circulation going. Position yourself in waist deep water for this one.

WHAT TO DO

Draw your navel in towards your spine and pull your pelvic floor tight (tense the muscles as if you have a full bladder and can’t go to the loo). This is called holding your core muscle.

Once your core is contracted, step backwards while bending both your knees and lift the heel of your back foot off the ground (as in 1A). The water should come to just below your armpits when both your knees are bent.

Jump up as high as you can (vertically) while still holding your core and swap your legs around before you land into the lunge position again (as in 1B).

Lunge as deep or shallowly as you feel comfortable, but make sure that you place your weight directly down toward the ground and distribute your weight equally between each leg. This is important to remember as failure to do so will result in you either leaning back or forward – which means only one leg will be doing the work.

Aim to complete ten lunges on each leg, remembering that quality is key.

LOOK OUT FOR

When lunging, be careful not to arch your back or lean forward.

Pull your shoulders back and away from your ears. If your neck is starting to hurt, your shoulders are either forward or up toward your ears.

we are taking advantage of the buoyancy levels of the water to tone your muscles in a full body workout