Water weights are some of the newest fitness gear that everyone seems to be talking about in gyms and training rooms all over the country. Trainers are realizing that using water weights in a swimming pool fitness routine can help build muscles, while providing more support and decreasing the chance of injury. The specific resistance formed by water makes aqua training a superior way to boost a person's overall body capacity. Those who have access to a gym with a pool can incorporate these kinds of innovative sessions into their workouts.
Many water weights are made for specific types of exercise. Some experts classify them according to upper body and lower body categories. Here are some of the most popular lower body exercises that use specific lower body water weights to increase the power of the legs and related lower body muscle groups.
1. Underwater Running
Individuals can run in place underwater to get some of the benefits of traditional running with less of an impact on the joints. Ankle weights can help provide more resistance for this common aerobic activity.
Doing exercises like squats underwater will provide a resistance challenge with water weights that push the body back up toward the surface.
3. Underwater Jumping Jacks
Some lateral motion aerobics can also be done with ankle and foot water weights for increased resistance and training for the foot, leg and hip muscles.
A different kind of water weight called a kickboard helps to work the lower body in a different way. With kickboards, the user floats the front half of the body, so that the lower body has to do all of the work of propelling the body across the pool. A reverse kind of activity with a tool called a pull buoy works the upper body.
5. Walking with Foot Pads
Wide, flat foam pads called foot pads make walking underwater a good way to challenge a variety of leg muscles. With the feet strapped to these foam weights, muscles have to respond to increased challenge forces, and this helps to build a stronger lower body and core.
6. Underwater Free Weight Exercises
Other kinds of hand-held water weights called water dumbbells or water barbells help individuals to accomplish many different kinds of aqua activities based on traditional free weight routines. From curls and lifts to other more specialized exercises, these handy foam weights help to make sure that different parts of the body get challenged during a routine.
Along with the above activities, those involved in aquatic fitness routines can enjoy a lot of different "weight free" aerobics and other activities where the natural force of the water helps work muscles. Some enjoy traditional swimming and underwater calisthenics, and other prefer to train with water weights. Either kind of training can be a helpful addition to a regular fitness routine, especially for seniors and individuals with physical limitations (or those who are going through rehabilitation from a sports injury).