The Get-Wet Winter Workout  

Article By: Mary Lynn Mitcham

 

Do you want to get some exercise, but dread heading outside in this freezing, miserable wintertime weather? Why not head to your local indoor pool? Exercising in water is an excellent way to tone up, trim down and have fun. And there's more to aquatic fitness than just swimming laps. Plus, working out in water meets or beats the same workout on land.

  "Do aerobics on land, and you burn 6.2 to 6.6 calories per minute. In the water, you burn 5.7 to 6.5," says Joanne Maybeck, an aquatic fitness instructor in New York City who is certified with the American Council on Exercise and the Aquatic Exercise Association. Water gives you 12 times the resistance of air, so your muscles work harder when performing the same exercise. So you're likely to get more out of a 45-minute workout in the pool than working out at the same level on land. But this doesn't mean that you have to hurt to see results.

"You have more buoyancy in the water—you weigh only 25 percent of your usual weight— so exercise actually feels easier because the stress on joints and muscles is reduced," says Maybeck. And, of course, you get all the benefits of exercising on land: reduced cholesterol, lowered risk of heart disease and improved circulation, balance, flexibility and mood.

Still, the best part abou****er exercise is that it's fun. New York City resident Lela, who has been doing water aerobics for five years, says, "Even if you've had a really bad day and don't feel like exercising, once you get in the water everything seems to melt away."

Everybody in the Pool There are two basic types of aquatic fitness classes: shallow water (a workout in chest-deep water) and deep water (a workout in about eight feet of water). If you've never taken a class, you might want to start with shallow water—you don't even have to know how to swim because your feet never leave the pool floor.

The classes usually begin with a warm-up (often walking through the water or an easy jog). Then, once your body is warmed up and used to the water, you start a more vigorous routine—jogging in place, doing kicks and jumping jacks, and sometimes traveling around the pool.

Toward the end of class, you do strength training. Many gyms use Styrofoam dumbbells for standing chest flies, bicep curls and leg lifts, and special floats for abdominal crunches. Shirley Archer, the chair of the IDEA Water Fitness Advisory Committee, advises, "Remember to drink water. Sweat is less visible, but you lose fluids in the water like you do in any kind of activity. And if you're outside, remember to use sun protection." To find an aquatic fitness class near you, call your local gym or YMCA/YWCA.

Of course, you don't have to take a class to work out in the water. If you're lucky enough to have a pool (or access to one), try these easy exercises on your own:

 

• Get in the water and walk, jog and jump, they're all great ways to tone your legs.
• Jump sideways and do jumping jacks, leaving your arms dangling in the water for extra resistance—this exercise improves cardiovascular fitness. (Do sets of 8 to 12 reps, with 30- to 60-second rests, until you're too tired to go on.)
• Walk across the pool dragging your arms. Try to lengthen your spine and stretch—this will help tone your body and get your blood pumping.