Building strength by exercising in a swimming pool is possible if you know how to make the water work for you. Water is denser than air, so it resists your movements more. You work harder with less perceived effort because of the buoyancy of the water. You benefit from reduced stress on joints as well as from the natural cooling effects of water.
Modified Dryland Workouts
Many standard strength exercises work well in the pool. You use your own weight as resistance, much like on dry land. Pullouts work out your arms and upper body. Position yourself in the water, facing the pool wall, with your hands on deck, shoulder-width apart. Raise your body out of the water until your arms extend fully. Slowly lower yourself back in the water. Perform a set of five or more pullouts between laps. Abdominal crunches work well when you float on your back and hook your knees over the edge of the pool deck. Scoot your rear up against the wall for stability and support. Tighten your abdominal muscles and move your upper torso towards your knees. You build leg strength when you propel yourself rapidly and forcefully from the bottom of a 6-foot pool to above the surface of the water. Streamline your position to simulate movement through the water.
Resistance Aerobics
Water aerobics classes vary according to the participant's fitness level, and some focus on strength-building exercises. Exercises such as leg extensions and upright rowing rely on resistance bands. You can stand on the flexible bands and pull to extend them, or you can loop them around a sturdy pole or other object. Hand-buoy dumbbells allow you to use the weight of the water against the equipment to build strength when you push them down under the water.
Hybrid Swim Sets
Some dedicated lap swimmers now combine distance lap swimming with specialized water exercises. The line between water exercises and swimming drills blur a bit, but swimmers report increased strength and endurance when they combine "horizontal" and "vertical" swimming, according to "Swimmer" magazine. Masters team coaches might break up swim sets with vertical kicking, with hand weights added to increase difficulty. Swimming with hand paddles increases the force you use moving through the water and works out the shoulders. Dolphin kicks on your back are good workouts for your core abdominal muscles. Use fins while doing the kicks to increase the resistance of the water against your body. Complement the strength exercises with intense sprint sets to build strength as you swim laps.
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