Okay. So I’m not really a mermaid. But when I’m in the water I feel like one. 🙂 However, I am not an underwater mermaid.
My absolutely most favorite thing to do in the water is to resist! As you move your arms or legs back and forth through the water, it supports you and creates resistance.
There are so many benefits to exercising in water.
- Water acts as resistance to your movements so your muscles become stronger.
- You don’t sweat.
- You are in the sunshine if it’s an outdoor pool so your body can create Vitamin D.
- Water supports you so you actually weigh less; gravity pulls less on you and your body can lengthen.
If you can’t bear to go into the deep end, that’s okay. You can get all the benefits of water exercise by walking or running in the shallow end.
You can do all of the movements in this video in the shallow end, too, except the scissors sideways kick.
There are float belts for adults that strap around your ribs and let you exercise or move through deeper water without sinking. I learned how to be comfortable in deeper water by using a float belt.
Water exercises are easy on your joints, strengthen your muscles and when most of your body is underwater your spine gets a break from gravity, too!
