Water Exercises
for a Low Impact Workout

But even if you can’t swim, water exercises can benefit you. Working out in the water is one of the best low impact exercise programs for people with joint problems.

Your body feels different in the water. If you’ve ever swam or walked into the water, you’ll notice that your legs feel as heavy as lead when you try to pull step out.

Each time you move around in the water you are actually displacing the weight of the water and giving your body a workout. Those movements have been turned into exercises that are easy and non-jarring for the joints but still gives a total body workout.

Water aerobic workouts can be done in a few ways.

• Perform the moves on your own in a community pool
• Use a water aerobics DVD at your backyard pool
• Take a water aerobics class at your gym or the YMCA

The same workouts that you perform in an aerobics class can be adapted for the pool. Water aerobics can seem like more fun than a workout, but just wait until you try to step out of the pool!

Classes usually begin with a warm up right in the water consisting of running in place or slowly swimming a few laps. If you can’t swim, don’t worry. You can wear a flotation belt around your waist or use flotation boards to keep your balance and your head above water.

Most of the moves are performed in waist deep to shoulder deep water. Standing on the bottom of the pool is permitted and you get the same workout. Using flotation devices, you can perform the moves without touching the bottom of the pool which works the abdominal muscles even harder as you try to maintain your balance.

Water aerobics are great for the entire body. Your muscles get a great workout as you move against the force of the water.

Spongy water dumbbells are also used for upper body workouts and as balancing tools. The dumbbells look like toys out of the water and can have one or more sponge weights on each end. Once those weights are held underwater though, they feel more like twenty pounds instead of twenty ounces!

Water aerobics will raise your heart rate and give you a good weight workout. You’ll think that this workout isn’t vigorous enough because you aren’t getting overheated and sweating but you’ll be wrong. Water workouts are one way that people with joint problems or other limitations can still get a meaningful workout.

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