The Healing Properties of Water Exercise (PDF) - WaterART Fitness ...

Resistance: in the water is, in effect, a natural 3-dimensional weight training machine that is instantly
adjustable, i.e. the harder an athlete pushes and pulls, the more resistance will be achieved. Waterspecific
equipment may exponentially increase the surface area and drag to add intensity and load to any
movement. Buoyancy equipment may add complexity to the exercise because a joint may easily go
beyond normal range of motion with speed or lack of control.
Loading the Joints: in shallow water exercises, i.e. when an
individual’s feet are touching the pool floor, results in loading the joint
or weight bearing so that there may be up to 50% gravity or vertical
stress on the joints. Rebounding and lower body squats for
strengthening are important exercises to be programmed in this water
depth. Often, in deep water, the quadriceps muscles may be difficult
to effectively work or load without advanced drag equipment such as
fins, cuffs or resistive kickers (or even shoes). Everyone needs to
strengthen the lower body to move the body for functional
independent life on land. An athlete may gradually load the joints by
starting in deep water, then going to neck depth (10% of body weight),
then to chest (25% of body weight) and finally working at waist depth
(50% of body weight) prior to returning to their land activity or sport.
Unloading the Joints: or working in a suspended body position will result in unloading the joint or nonweight
bearing of the joint so there is minimal gravity or vertical stress on the joints. There is still an
opportunity for muscular function, strength and balance; and an individual will require core strength for
balance and to optimally support their movements. Therefore, without bottom contact, the client will
require more skills and individual attention to maintain correct body alignment and quality technique. Using
the appropriate buoyancy equipment to balance their body posture may make or break their results.
Buoyancy belts, noodles, cuffs or dumbbells must balance the
person’s body compositions so that the head may stay above
the water with the shoulders as much submerged and
protected as possible. The body should be able to hang
vertically without falling forward, backwards or sideways due
to an imbalance of their body composition. Generally men
have more chest buoyancy whereas women have more hip
body fat and therefore tend to tilt forward. A buoyancy belt that
has too much lumbar support may easily tilt a very buoyant
lady forward and negate any postural benefits that the water
may offer. It is important for trainers to be aware of not only
the most effective programming for water fitness, but also the
most effective equipment to maximize their clients’ benefits
from water exercise.
Water programs, whether they are one-on-one or
group exercise may provide simple, personal, health-enhancing movement that produces positive results
in a very time-efficient manner. Always get in the water and try your exercise design prior to programming
any new exercise or piece of equipment. Just mimicking the movement on land may yield a very different
result and benefit from performing the proper techniques in the water. Let’s expand our programs so that
more individuals can experience the health and movement benefits of quality water fitness programming!
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