Pools are a great place to workout, they allow you to do things you couldn’t do on land and the water gives extra resistance for great results. If you have a pool, you have your own personal gym – below are 5 simple exercises you can do to tighten, tone and have fun.
Scissor Tread
Jump in the deep end of the pool and tread water with your hands while you keep your legs straight. Once you have yourself balanced, bring one leg up while the other remains straight with toes pointing towards the bottom of the pool. Hold for 5 seconds then switch legs and repeat. This will help tone your arms, core and legs.
Ball roll
Hold your breath, it’s about to get interesting! Grab yourself a medium sized beachball that you can fit your arms around and jump in the pool. Float on your back while hugging the ball to your chest with your legs straight and together. Use your entire body to roll over the top of the ball on the left or right, completing a full revolution. Continue for 30-60 seconds and alternate direction of your roll. This might look funny to anyone standing by the pool, but it’s a great workout for your back, abs, glutes and legs.
Running against the whirl
If you have a small-medium, oval or circular pool this exercise is great for working your entire body. Jump in the pool and run in one direction around the edges. After a few laps the water will start picking up momentum in the direction you are running – if you can grab a couple of friends to do it with you, you can really create a current. After 5 laps, turn and start running in the opposite direction against the momentum of the water.
Noodle Press
It’s time to bring in the pool noodles. Hold your pool noodle out in front of you on the surface of the water. Push it down through the water until it touches your legs and slowly bring it back to the surface and repeat. For more of a challenge, you can also try holding your arms out at your sides with one noodle in each hand. Push your arms down at the same time (like wings) until each noodle touches your legs then slowing bring them back to the surface and repeat.
Noodle for Abs and Core
Take a pool noodle and wrap it around your back and under your armpits. Float with your legs straight and toes facing the bottom of the pool and steady yourself by holding on to the ends of the noodle. Lift your knees toward your chest as far as you can while contracting your abs, hold for 2 seconds then slowly take your legs back down to the starting position. Repeat 30 times or until you become fatigued.
Are you ready to get fit? Tone your body with these fun exercises and reward yourself with a relaxing swim afterwards. While there are plenty more pool exercises you can do, the 5 mentioned above are a great place to start. Enjoy!
Image credits:
Pool ball by Home and Outdoor Products
Noodle for core and abs by Susan Smith