Why do you need 20 new ways to jog in the pool? A well-designed water workout includes three simple ingredients: warm-up, conditioning and warm-down. The warm-up and warm-down should always sandwich the work phase, preparing the body to work in the water and then get ready to return to land. The work phase is where you focus on desired outcome such as managing arthritis pain, improving balance, or strengthening the knees and hips.
Creating a water workout is like building a sandwich; sometimes you follow the recipe and other times you get creative.
Let’s look at aqua jogging, a common water exercise
Begin with the original recipe, using an alternating knee lift and hand reach. Repetition is important when first learning. If you’re having a hard time with the arms and legs moving in opposition, try touching the opposite hip as you lift the knee.
Now that you’ve got the move, it’s time to get creative.
It’s time to move in six directions! Moving in six directions is the key ingredient to Wavemakers workouts that makes them original and so effective. It’s simple: move forward and backward, right to left, and right and left rotation.
Try these 20 new ways to jog in the pool by moving in six directions:
- Punch front to back
- Punch side to side
- Punch right and left rotation
- Travel forward
- Travel backward
- Travel right
- Travel left
- Travel clockwise
- Travel counter clockwise
- Arm swing front to back
- Arm swing side to side
- Arm swing right/left rotation
- Feet neutral
- Left foot forward
- Right foot forward
- Feet wide
- Feet narrow
- Toes out
- Toes in
- Speed changes
While repetition is important when first learning, variation is the key to mastering a movement, having an enjoyable exercise experience and getting results!
Want to take it a step further? Feel your way to better results inside Wavemakers. Access a growing library of video and audio pool workouts, yoga, land, and mindfulness sessions, our amazing community to keep you accountable, plus NEW video tips each month to help keep you safe and progressing.
Join me inside here for your best mobility yet.
