We’ve all heard how good swimming is for our bodies. It’s one of the best physical activities that we can engage in for various reasons: it employs many of our major muscle groups, gets our hearts beating and lungs working, and has a very low impact on knees and other joints.
The most common way to use swimming for exercise is to swim laps, but if your Southwest Florida pool is small or irregularly shaped, you may not be able to do that. Let’s look at some other clever options for using your backyard pool for your daily workout.
Water Walking
Walking through the water in your home swimming pool is tremendous exercise. It’s completely different from going for walks around the neighborhood. This is because water is much denser than air, so it takes a lot more muscular strength and energy.
It’s essential to hold your body correctly as you do this exercise. Stand up straight, engaging your core muscles, keeping your chin up and shoulders back. Maintain this posture as you walk; pay more attention to form than speed. Swing your arms in a natural motion to help propel you.
Gradually, as your body gets stronger, add ankle and wrist weights to make the activity a bit more challenging.
Water Aerobics
Water aerobics is a great way to get a full-body workout in your pool without needing a lot of space. Like many forms of exercise, there are hundreds of water aerobics classes available online that you can stream anytime.
The equipment needed is not expensive. Even just a kickboard and a set of water dumbbells should do the trick.
Ballet Barre
Are you a current or former ballet dancer, or even an aspiring one? You can do almost all parts of a traditional ballet barre workout right at the edge of your pool. The water resistance provides extra strength toning for your muscles. Bonus: if your child or grandchild takes dance lessons, have them give you a lesson!
Tread Water
Treading water is also tremendous exercise, especially if you’re looking to increase your lung capacity or aerobic fitness level. To get a treading water workout, use a timer to tread water progressively for a set amount of time.
Be sure to take adequate breaks in between. After all, the process of raising your heart rate and then allowing it to come back down in between spikes is one of the best things you can do for overall heart health.
Swim Laps but Skip the Flip
If you’re missing your lap swims, you can still modify them in a small pool. One of the best ways is to skip the flip at the end of the lap. Instead of kicking off from the side of the pool, which may launch you nearly to the other end, stop yourself and turn. The repeated stops and starts are a good exercise differently.
Make the Most of Your Backyard Pool
Whatever you use it for–recreation, entertaining, exercise, or even just ambiance–be sure you and your family get the most from your backyard pool. Jackson Pools can customize your southwest Florida swimming pool to meet your current and future needs.
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