Splish Splash: Chill out this summer by beating the heat in your pool

6/22/08 Posted in Cover Story  |  1 Comment

Life can be stressful, and stress can affect our mind, body and behavior. When the heat of stress brings you down, you can cool off by jumping in the water. There is something incredibly appealing about water. Water

is an ideal medium in which to exercise, relax and heal your body. It can change our mood; think about how you feel when relaxing by a tranquil pond, or how about a walk along a sandy beach, or listening to the rhythmic sounds of the ocean. Jumping off of a dock into a lake can make you feel like a kid again. Water can challenge our muscles and cardiovascular system by a swim in a lake or diving into a pool, even if you are not a good swimmer, there is something for everybody to do in the water to de-stress your life. The following ‘stress reduction’ exercises can be done in a pool, lake or ocean. Remember to follow water safety guidelines in any type of water.  

The advantages of exercising in the water are;

• Buoyancy of water minimizes the normal stress placed on joints resulting in fewer injuries so water provides a pain free way of burning calories.
• Your range of motion will increase in water.
• Water allows a person to exercise every joint in the body at the same time.
• Every movement in water works resistance both ways.
• When you heat up, the water cools you down.

BREATHING EXERCISES

Blowing Bubbles. Inhale with your nose out of the water, of course, hold your breath and submerge yourself completely underwater. Blow out all the air in your lungs. As the bubbles are created imagine each one is a stressor in your life and you are releasing them from within you body. Watch as they float away from your body to the surface of the water and watch them pop. When people stress me, out I visualize their face in a bubble; it’s funny to see them floating away and popping.  Experiment with a combination of fast and slow exhalations. When you have released all the air from body, come up and out of the water and take another deep breath of fresh air and repeat this exercise again.

LISTEN TO NOTHING

I love this one. Take a deep breath in and go completely underwater. You can dive down or sit down on the bottom of the pool. Clear your mind of all thoughts and listen carefully to the muffle sounds of underwater. Sometimes there is nothing at all to listen to and other times you may hear some strange noises. Sometimes my kids want to join me, so we go underwater together and have one person talk while the other persons listens. It can be very difficult and very funny to try to figure out what the person is trying to say.  

TURN ON YOUR TUNES

Listen to your favorite music when you are in the water. Music can provide timing and speed of the movement for any water exercise. Music can be very motivating, especially when you are working at your peak performance, or during the relaxation and stretching. All music works well with water play, C&W, R&B, Top 40, New Age, Classical, whatever type of music moves you. Just remember water and electricity are a dangerous combination; so be sure to keep any electrical equipment away from water. 

SPLASH AROUND

Hang on to a float, noodle or the side of a pool. Lay in a prone position with your face out of the water. Begin by kicking your legs, you may bend your knees as you kick or you can tighten your gluteals and kick with a straight leg. Begin slowly, focus on the power and strength of your legs, feel your legs hit the top of the water. Increase your speed to a medium pace, feel your heart pounding and breathing becoming stronger. Take a deeper inhale and exhale, and kick all of your stress and frustrations out of your body, kick as hard and as fast as you can. You can vary your speed and change the position of your legs, try to open your legs as wide as you can as you kick or you can flip over and kick in a supine position. Not only will you be able to release stress from your body you will tone your lower body and get a cardio workout as well.  

PRACTICE YOUR FAVORITE SPORT…UNDERWATER

While working at one of Boston’s Health Clubs, I saw during the off-season, Boston Red Sox players practicing swinging a baseball bat underwater. Water allows a person to exercise every joint in the body at the same time and every movement in water works resistance both ways. Practicing your favorite sports is an ideal way of preparing your body for your sport and increasing muscle tone and cardiovascular endurance. Almost any sport can be done underwater, golf, tennis, boxing, track and field, soccer, basketball, and football just to name a few. Take a piece of old equipment or use your imagination,  go into the water about chest deep and practice your swing, a serve, a jump shot, jumping hurdles, a right hook, or the perfect bicycle kick.       

WATER YOGA

Yoga and H2O mix very nicely together. On land you feel gravity pulling you down and in water you feel buoyancy pulling you up. The waters density and the buoyancy of the body decrease the gravitational forces; this is what gives you the feeling of weightlessness. The deeper the water, the more buoyant you become. When your body is suspended in water, it is at this point of buoyancy in which there is absolutely no impact to your joints and you are almost working in a gravity free environment. Use this property to you advantage if you have back, hip knee problems, sore muscles, stiff joints or when a person has weak limbs that cannot lift much weight, using weightlessness to your advantage, water become the perfect medium to increase strength.

Prayer Pose-Stand in waist deep water with your feet together and your arms by your sides. Take a deep breath, and then exhale while bringing your palms together at chest level.

Arch Back- Stand in chest deep water. Inhale and stretch your arms up over your head. Arch your back so your hips come forward, and stretch as far as you comfortably can.  

Forward Bend- Stand in waist deep water. Inhale and stretch your arms up overhead. Exhale and reach your arms forward until your hands are skimming the surface of the water. Inhale and hold, exhale and return to starting position.

Mountain pose- Stand with hands in prayer position in front of chest, inhale. Exhale and extend your arms overhead with palms pressed together. Focus on pressing your palms together. Inhale and exhale several times. Exhale and return to starting position.  

Warrior pose-Stand in waist deep water with feet about 3 feet apart. Turn your right foot 90 degrees to the right and left foot 30 degrees to the right while keeping your hips facing forward. Bend your right leg until you knee is over your right foot. Extend arms horizontally at shoulder level with palms facing down and look toward the right hand. Hold for several breaths and repeat on the other side.  

If the exercises above don’t relieve your stress, I guarantee this one will. Lie down in a prone position on a float; feel the sun on your face, the wind at your back and in your right hand hold a frozen margarita! Enjoy your stress free summer. 

Kim Rodomista has over 20 years of experience as a fitness and dance instructor specializing in kid’s fitness. She is the author of 101 Cool Pool Games for Children: Fun and Fitness for Swimming for all levels. www.hunterhouse.com