Water jogging, and water aerobics in general, are good forms of exercise when you have joint issues like arthritis. Aside from the fact that you experience a moderate to high caloric expenditure while jogging in water, you also activate multiple muscles. The added resistance of the water will help improve your definition while you lose weight.
Quadriceps
The quadriceps sit on the front of the thighs and they are composed of the rectus femoris, vastus medialis, vastus intermedius and vastus lateralis. When you pull your leg through the water and move your thigh toward your stomach, you perform hip flexion. This movement, along with knee extension activates the quads. Knee extension occurs when you straighten your leg.
Hamstrings
The hamstrings consist of the biceps femoris, which has a long and short head, semimembranosus and semitendinosus. You activate your hamstrings when you perform knee flexion and hip extension. Hip extension takes place when you move your thigh through the water backward. Knee flexion occurs when you lift your foot off the surface of the pool and raise your heel toward your butt.
Glutes
The gluteus maximus, medius and minimus make up the gluteal muscles, which are in the butt. During water jogging, you work your glutes while extending your hips, in similar fashion to the hamstrings.
Calves
The calves run down the back of the legs from the knees to the heels. The gastrocnemius sits right below the knee, and it has a lateral and medial head. The soleus is in front of the gastroc, and both parts taper down to form the Achilles tendons. You activate both parts of the calves when you plantar flex your foot. This takes place while water jogging when you rise up on your tip toes with your leg behind your body.
Hip Flexors
The hip flexors start at the lower stomach and run down to the top of the thighs. These muscles contract to flex the hips as the name implies. You may also hear these muscles referred to as one muscle group called the iliopsoas. This is so-named because of the two muscles called the iliacus and psoas that make up the hip flexors.
Abs
The abdominals take up a lot of surface area in the middle of the body. The rectus abdominis runs from the chest down to the pelvis and the obliques sit on the sides of the ribs. Both of these muscles get activated while water jogging to produce force and stabilize the spine. You will work these muscles with more intensity by speeding up your jogging pace.
Erector Spinae
The erector spinae is a long strip of muscle that runs down the length of the spine and ends in the lower back. In similar fashion to the abs, you contract this muscle to keep your back straight while jogging. The erector spinae, along with the abs, are known as core muscles.
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