If you don’t adhere to a fairly strict exercise regimen, it can be very difficult to track how much exercise you’re truly getting. For example, maybe you used to walk your dog twice a day and you’ve recently started only walking your dog only once daily. Perhaps you previously lived in a third floor walk-up but now you have no stairs to climb in your current home. Even seemingly smaller changes in your routine can have a big impact on your muscle strength and amount of exercise you get. When you’re less active, you start to lose strength in your muscles.
The blazing hot weather can be a further impediment to getting the exercise you need, unless you consider what water can do for you. Water exercise is a great natural fit for summer exercise. When you exercise in water, your body temperature stays lower even though it’s hot outside. You can also enjoy the unique benefits water has to offer.
Water is naturally buoyant and helps support you as you exercise. Water exercise can be especially good for people who may have sore areas, such as joint pain. While you’re in the water, you can typically move without pain thanks to the support of the water.
Water can have some long term benefits, too: If you engage in regular water exercise, previously painful joints can start to feel better, even when you’re not in the water. This occurs naturally over time, because water exercise helps build your muscle strength to the point that your muscles can better support your joints, which results in less pain.
People who may have some mobility issues, or people who are not always steady on their feet may benefit from water exercise as well. Water can hold you up gently but firmly while you work on improving balance through exercise. Over time, your balance will be better out of the water, too, and this can lead to improved mobility.
The type of exercises that you can do in the water are nearly limitless. Something as simple as walking in water can be great for building muscle and therefore strength in your legs and abdomen. If you add some arm swings to the mix as you walk, your arms and shoulders can benefit, too. If you try to walk a bit faster in the water each time you exercise, you’ll be working many muscle groups at once and building strength quickly.
Walking in water can also be great for leg compression. Many people suffer from swelling in the legs or ankles. This may be particularly problematic during the hot and humid weather of summer. When you are moving your legs in water, it’s not only adding strength but also pressure. The water pressure against your legs and ankles can encourage better circulation and will prompt the excess fluid in your legs to move away and disperse throughout the body.
Water can be not only fun but also an incredibly useful tool for improving your overall physical health. There are a whole host of exercise options for water today. Choose something you enjoy and revel in the coolness of water while you do something great for your body!
