Is Water Exercise Good for You?

 At the age of 30, I could jump out of bed in the morning and hit the ground running; now at 50 I crawl out of bed with lots of aches and pains.  As Baby Boomers age, we are looking for exercises to stay active without putting extra strain on our joints.  Swimming does just that.
Around the world, wellness represents a $3.4 trillion market, according to the Global Wellness Institute. This category includes fitness and weight loss — areas where water exercise proves beneficial.
Studies have consistently supported swimming as a beneficial cardiovascular exercise. Movement in water also has proven effective at strengthening muscles without putting extra stress on joints.  I can no longer ride a mountain bike as the strain on my knees hurts the joints and tendons.  The same goes with playing basketball.  But swimming laps or just chasing the kids around the pool is great exercise without the joint stress.
Good news is the current guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) state that swimmers have about half the risk of death when compared to inactive people. In addition, people report enjoying water-based exercise more than land-based.  The fun factor in exercising is important; it is hard to get motivated to exercise if it’s not fun also.
Just soaking in hot water is also good for you.  The hot water will open the blood vessels wide open and help flush out your system, removing toxins.  Just soaking in hot water up to your neck has the same effect on your cardiovascular system as jogging.  Naturally just soaking does not exercise your muscles but it is a step in the right direction.  The Arthritis Foundation has long recommended warm water immersion to alleviate arthritis pain, while saying that aquatic exercise helps keep joints moving and reduces symptoms. But new studies are uncovering additional ways that being in the water improves health. One recently released study, published in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, suggests swimming can reduce fibromyalgia symptoms. Another seemed to show that water exercise might delay effects of dementia, as published in the Journal of Neurology.
The benefits are being recognized in other arenas as well. “One of the places I see aquatic exercise continuing to grow is … for weight management,” says Jackie Nagle, Ph.D., an assistant professor in Sports Studies at John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio.
Nagle, who studies the effects of aquatic exercise on people who are morbidly obese, says the calorie burn for water and land is very close, but people can exercise longer in water. She also believes people form more of a community around water exercise and are more likely to adhere to a fitness program as a result.  See, the fun factor does count.
For ideas on what exercises to do in the pool you can watch some videos from Speedo.  Speedo recently launched a marketing campaign to promote its new line of water workout gear. To showcase the gear in action, Speedo partnered with athletic training firm EXOS to design water workouts. A 60-plus video series, called Speedo FIT, features an instructor explaining each exercise while an athlete demonstrates in the pool.  The videos are targeted to everyone from athletes to everyday fitness enthusiasts.
Get out there and go swimming, it’s fun and healthy for you.
For more information, call 661-263-7503 or visit www.poolsbyben.com.