My exercise mantra has always been simple:
Exercise Should Feel Good.
But it wasn’t until more recently I learned how to use these feel-good sensations to help my students and clients using Wavemakers to get their best results.
When you’re following a well-designed workout all you need to do is:
Follow the Feel.
Knowing what sensations to feel really helps you listen for what your body needs. And when you can feel what your body needs, you fast-track your results. You can effectively monitor, measure and modify any move for the results you want – weight loss, muscle tone, heart health…
And at the same time it FEELS GOOD.
Are you ready to get in the zone? Here are my top 3 ways to help you feel more and get better and faster results from your water exercise:
1. Pay Attention
This is the key focus of the idea of FEELING your workout. As you progress, pay attention to breath, heart rate, and muscles. Then, ask yourself:
What are the unique sensations of breath, heart rate, and muscles as you move?
Can you feel the difference between easy, moderate, and vigorous?
Take any basic move (like a ski, jog, or jumping jack) and move through graded levels of increased effort, finding the sensations. Then, when you get specific feedback, listen and respond. For example, pain in your knees means the move needs an adjustment; a gentle stretch in the shoulder is muscles saying YES this is the mobility I need; and mouth-breathing effort is the way to improve heart health.
Try this cross-country ski warm-up and practice feeling your way to your best results.
2. Learn Intensity Levels
Linked to no. 1, intensity really is a big deal. Too high, too often increases the potential for injury and you risk simply not reaping the benefits of your efforts (we are talking about improving results here, after all). Too low, too often means not enough of a stimulus to produce a positive change. That’s why every workout we teach includes a buildup drill.
So, once you’ve paid attention to the sensations of breath, heart rate, and muscles, think about what level of intensity you’re working at. Practice getting familiar with the different levels of effort (easy – moderate – vigorous) so you can increase resilience to everyday stress.
Learning how to target effort and moving in and out of different levels takes practice, and every day is different. It’s important to respect your body if, one day, you don’t feel like working in the maximum effort zone. Be patient. It can take weeks or even months to be confident in following the feel.
Try this warmup from my new workout: Cardio Jump Intervals. I’ll teach you exactly what you should feel in the cardio-training zone.
3. Wear Gloves
We’re talking about feeling here, and to really increase what you’re feeling, wear gloves. Wearing gloves in your water exercise workouts is one of the easiest ways to see improved results. You’re increasing resistance in a really safe, manageable, and joint-friendly way, encouraging an increase of tension to build bone density, to build muscle, to help you tone up and lose weight (if that’s your goal). It’s a simple tool, but amazingly effective. Learn more about wearing gloves for water exercise in this free video from Wavemakers.
I hope this helps you supercharge your water workouts for maximum results!
If you’re not getting the kind of results you want from your workouts, your body is sending you a clear message that something needs to change. Learn my follow-the-feel approach and get meaningful and lasting results from your workouts with me as your coach – join Wavemakers.
