Four Great Reasons to do Pool Workouts

Performers often struggle with finding new and/or different ways to exercise without increasing their risk of developing an overuse injury.  Pool workouts offer an excellent alternative to working out in a gym with cardio equipment and weight training.

Here are 4 benefits to exercising in the pool:

1. Take Stress off Your Joints

Buoyancy – the upward pressure exerted on your body from the water – helps counteract some of the gravitational force acting on your body. This is why you feel like you weigh less in water and why you’re able to float. Buoyancy can make your pool workouts feel better than land-based workouts because it helps decrease the amount of weight compressing your joints when you’re standing. In turn, the decreased compression on your joints means that you can exercise with less wear and tear on your joint surfaces, which translates to less pain and long-term damage.

2. Tone and Strengthen Your Muscles

Water is denser than air which causes increased resistance to motion. This higher resistance helps tone and strengthen your muscles without you having to use external weights (like dumbbells). Increasing the surface area of your body that encounters this water resistance will increase the difficulty of the exercise/motion (moving your arm through the water with a closed fist will be easier than using an open hand with the palm of your hand facing the direction of the movement).

3. Avoid Overtraining while Still Cross-training

Since you can train your cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems with lower levels of stress placed on your body, pool workouts are an excellent way to cross-train. Another benefit to cross-training in the pool is that you are training in a way that is not mechanically identical to what you’re doing in rehearsals, so you don’t risk furthering the mechanical strain caused by the repetitive motions you perform in rehearsal.

4. Start Some Lower Extremity Rehab Activities Earlier

Because water’s buoyancy lightens the load on your joints, you may be able to start weightbearing rehabilitation exercises for your lower extremity injury in the pool sooner than you would be able to do those same exercises on land. Depending on the severity and location of your injury, these activities can include walking, lunges, squats, and barre exercises. [Your rehab exercise routine should be designed and overseen by a qualified and experienced medical professional. Don’t start pool-based rehab exercises without the permission and instruction of the therapist guiding your rehabilitation.]