Summer might be a distant memory, but that doesn’t mean your pool workouts have to be too! The many benefits that come from Aquatic exercise extend far beyond the summer months. Just like any form of exercise, it is a great way to keep fit and reach those goals year round! Here are just a few reasons why we love drag resistance training and why we encourage you NOT to put your swimsuits away over the winter!
1. Efficient, Full Body Workout
Working out in the water allows you to challenge your body in all planes of movement. Resistance is everywhere and each movement works multiple muscle groups. Take a simple bicep curl as an example. When performing this exercise in the water, not only are you working your bicep on the way up, but you will also be forced to work your tricep as you resist against the waters’ resistance on the way down. In the pool, one can very easily get a total body workout in half the time as on land. Even when you are focused on a particular muscle group, your entire body and core will be working very hard to stabilize itself, making it an extremely efficient way to workout and challenge yourself.
2. Improved Flexibility and range of motion
Buoyancy supports a large portion of your body weight in the water, making it much easier to move in full range of motion, and consequently, improve your flexibility. Flexibility training is extremely important as it helps correct muscle imbalances, improves range of motion, decreases muscle soreness, joint stress and maintains the normal functional length of all muscles. Regular workouts in the water can help to reduce stiffness, thus making movement on land more comfortable too.
3. Low Impact
The water is 500-800 times more supportive than air, but up to 15 times more resistance, making it an extremely effective form of resistance training, without the harmful impact. Not only does this significantly reduce the chance of injury, but it means you will not face delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) after a big workout.
Drag resistance training influences a very different loading of the muscles in the water compared to land. On land, muscle load decreases when you achieve a constant speed. However in the water, you have a constant muscle load provided by the water through full range of motion.
4. Maintainable
Consistency is key when it comes to achieving your health and fitness goals, which means it is crucial to find a workout that you realistically maintain over a long period of time. When you workout in the water with drag resistance equipment, you control the level of intensity. No need to add / remove weights from the barbell, the harder you push, the harder the workout will be. This makes it an effective form of training for all ages and fitness levels. Whether you are one of the greatest athletes of all time, or you are recovering from a knee injury, you can tailor the workout to suit at any stage of your fitness journey.
5. Stay cool
Whether it’s summer or winter, we all know how hot and sweaty a hard workout can leave you… but this doesn’t have to be the case! Working out in the water allows you to burn hundreds of calories all whilst staying nice and cool. Because the water is cooler than your body temperature, the heat flows away from your body, even during the toughest workout!
So, regardless of what season you are heading into, we urge you to keep reaching for those goals and keep jumping in the pool!