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eLearning Series:
I'm an Active Senior
Who Wants To Stay Healthy
( 50 aticles in this series )
Seniors:
Try Working Out In Water
Staying fit is tough, especially when you
are nursing an injury or struggling with joint pain. Low impact
exercises, like biking or swimming, reduce impact on joints
and ease the body through a workout. When considering the alternatives
among low impact exercise programs don’t overlook the advantages
of performing your entire workout in water. In a pool, your
body feels lighter. This phenomenon is known as buoyancy. The
water actually holds you up, creating a safe environment for
people of all fitness levels to exercise. In between exercises,
you can relax, letting the water support your weight and relax
your muscles
In addition to providing a great low-impact
exercise environment,
working out in the pool can prove for more relaxing and refreshing
than a regular, sweaty workout session.
Exercising in the pool also allows
you to beat the heat, as
the temperature of the water will help keep your body temperature
down. This means you can workout in comfort and avoid any health
risks associated with overheating.
The other primary benefit of working out in water is resistance.
Essentially, any movement through the water requires you to
push water out of the way. The water “pushes back,” in a sense,
adding resistance to each of your movements. This resistance
is exactly the same a lifting weight and helps strengthen muscles,
ligaments, and bones.
Although exercising in the water doesn’t necessarily require
any equipment, a number of products have become available for
working out in water in recent years. These products add to
the effectiveness of the workout by adding support and resistance
while you exercise.
Support
belts are available to provide a little extra flotation
(taking additional weight off of you knees and ankles). In
addition, these belts provide lumbar support for your back
and give you additional vertical balance.
A product that adds extra resistance to a water workout routine
are water dumbbells. These function much like regular dumbbells,
allowing you to perform all kinds of exercises with a little
extra resistance.
Water dumbbells come in several varieties. The first are simply
plastic coated versions of the dumbbells you are already familiar
with. The dumbbells can be submerged in water and simply add
weight as you perform your exercises. Another variety of water
dumbbell floats in the pool, they are typically covered in
EVA foam which is soft, non-abrasive, and won’t irritate your
skin of catch on your clothes. The handles are padded for extra
comfort.
The floating variety of water dumbbells come in all shapes
and sizes. Rounded dumbbells typically add resistance by increasing
in size—the larger the dumbbell, the more resistance you experience
as you pull them across the surface of the water. An alternate
method for increasing resistance is available in triangular
dumbbells. By turning the dumbbell, the leading surface can
be alternated between the tip of the triangle (for less resistance),
and the flat face of the dumbbell (providing more resistance).
Barbells provide an alternative to the one-handed dumbbells.
These barbells are much like the one’s you’re used to seeing
in the weight room and are used to add weight to exercises
involving the back, shoulders, chest, and triceps (the back
of the arm). They typically come in the EVA foam coated variety
and float on the surface of the water.
A third type of dumbbell has paddle-wheel shaped fins on the
end. A similar product is the “water fan.” In addition to adding
weight, these products have plastic fins on the end that spin
as they move through the water. The paddle-wheel and the fan
allow water to pass over or through them slowly, providing
additional resistance to your exercises. Other products for
adding weight to the workout include weights that strap onto
the wrists and ankles, providing additional weight for aerobic
workouts in the water.
If you’re looking for an alternative to the hot, sweaty workouts
available on land, consider exercising in the pool. Besides
keeping you cool and comfortable, water workouts lower the
impact on your joints and muscles, allowing you to exercise
safely and lowering the risk of muscle strain and damage to
your joints. If you want to get the most out of your workouts,
consider obtaining water dumbbells. They add to the effectiveness
of your exercises by increasing the resistance of your movements
in the water. Click here to discover my current SolveYourProblem recommendation and choice pick for the fastest, easiest and best exercise / fitness solution you'll find anywhere. Get it and reward yourself with more more energy and a healthier life.
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by SolveYourProblem.com
: 2006
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