Hello “Y” members, subscribers, and viewers alike! Once again, I’m here this week to talk about exercise and fitness, and all of the benefits that go along with being actively involved in any of the programs and/or classes that the “Y” offers. I’ve had several people ask questions about swimming, and what some of the overall benefits of aquatic exercise are in general. So I’m here today to talk a bit about some of those aspects and how to incorporate it into your weekly exercise regimen.
First off, I like referring to water activity and exercise as “aquatic exercise” as opposed to just “swimming.” Swimming is certainly exercise to say the least, however, what I would like to further recognize, is that aquatic exercise can go beyond simply swimming in the pool in order to appreciate its full benefit . There are several other activities associated with aquatics such as aerobic aquatics, which essentially involves low impact exercises performed in the water for a specific period of time along with intermittent breaks, focusing primarily on the working muscles and the cardiovascular system, sport aquatics like water basketball or volleyball, swimming (e.i. freestyle, butterfly, backstroke, or a combination of these), and aqua-therapy, which involves using water or steam as a means to relieve muscle soreness or tension and to recover from injury. Naturally, water has specific properties that gives it a unique quality when it comes to exercise benefits and physical well-being. In other words, there are certain attributes and benefits to aquatic exercise that cannot be achieved through any other exercise modality, simply because of the presence of water. With all due respect to exercise due to external resistances and their benefits, water on the other hand, has a property that is convective when in contact with the body, and can therefore become therapeutic in nature as an added benefit to general exercise. So as you can see, aquatics exercise and activity does indeed go beyond just swimming, therefore I would encourage you to take full advantage of these other water activities!
Secondly, in my blog post several weeks ago on ‘Balancing Your Workouts’ I spoke briefly about incorporating other activities into your exercise programs such as aquatics and swimming in order to give the body something new and fresh each day. Because aquatic exercise such as swimming and water aerobics are such low impact activities, it could be done either as your main daily exercise workout or after a strength or cardio workout/class. I would suggest swimming, a water aerobics class, or getting involved in a water sport game as a daily workout, and sitting in the hot tub or sauna and doing laps or wading in the pool as a means for relaxation after daily workouts or on weekends.
So once again, just a little ‘tid bit’ about aquatic exercise, its benefits to exercise, and why and how it should be incorporated into exercise program and as an exercise activity. I hope I answered some of those questions about swimming and aquatics, and stay tuned each week (or every other week) on the latest exercise activities offered at the Y and more answers to your exercise questions. God bless and enjoy!
