FULL-BODY POOL WORKOUT WITHOUT SWIMMING

Kelly Amerson López was startled by what she discovered when she began swimming. She was in her forties, a fitness fanatic who ran half marathons in Central Park.One day at the gym, she saw a group of people using the pool. They were running in place and turning in chest-deep water, and the instructor sounded more like a military sergeant than a water aerobics teacher.

"They looked like they were getting a great workout," she said.

Ms. López began taking water training classes and learned that jogging in the water helped her develop stronger upper-body muscles than running on land. She is now 68 years old and has always incorporated pool workouts in her training schedule.

Why exercise in water?

The phrase "aquatic exercise" refers to any kind of physical activity that occurs in a body of water but does not include swimming laps. In most situations, it is done in chest-deep water, allowing you to push off the bottom or jog in place while still benefiting from the full-body resistance.

Because of the hydrostatic pressure of water, which drives blood back to the heart, exercising in water causes your heart to beat slower than exercising on land. As a consequence, your heart rate will slow. You may not feel like you're getting as good an exercise as you'd want, but there are grounds to believe you are: A number of studies have shown that treadmill exercises on land and water activities result in equivalent gains in fitness (both aerobic and anaerobic).

Individuals who are unable to engage in high-impact land workouts may benefit greatly from aquatic fitness. People who have had their knees fixed may still run in place and do jumping jacks while in the water.

How to get started

An aquatic workout routine requires simply a pool and a bathing suit (or a shortie wetsuit, if you want). According to Ms. Denomme, the optimal water temperature is between 83 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit, which is warm enough that your body does not have to acclimate but cold enough to avoid overheating.

She advised beginning without equipment so you could learn how to utilize the water's resistance to enhance your exercise. Moving gently in water, such as jogging in place or doing leg exercises, is beneficial to mobility and balance. Ms. Denomme said that moving faster, such as with jumping jacks, provides both strength and cardiovascular advantages.

Warm-Up

Before starting, warm up for about five minutes. Spend one minute jogging in place in each of the foot positions listed below to allow different muscles to be stretched and strengthened, Ms. Denomme said. Move directly from one position to the other, with no rest in between, at a moderate pace.

• Feet slightly wider than your shoulders

• Feet close together, side by side

• Right foot slightly ahead of your left foot

• Left foot slightly ahead of your right foot

• Toes pointed outward diagonally, like a duck

The Workout

This full-body activity may be done with or without webbed gloves and comprises of high-intensity intervals followed by active recovery. If you feel unsteady while doing any of the movements, hold on to the pool's edge.

Once you're familiar with the faster and more intense exercises in this program, you should do them at around 80% of your maximum capability. Make an attempt to finish the whole programme without taking any breaks, and utilize the slower exercises to catch your breath. If you find the exercises too difficult, you can either rest in between them or slow down.