Inner tubes belong in the water, not as a ring of flab around your waist. Tone up and trim your tummy in the swimming pool. Low-impact aqua exercise uses the resistance of the water to build muscles and increase endurance. Doing exercise in the pool also appeals to those who dislike getting all hot and sweaty in the gym.
Savvy Strokes
Classic swimming pool moves that whittle the waist include the front crawl, which exercises the abdominals and strengthens the back. The trick to doing a proper front crawl is to tighten your abdominals by pulling your navel up into the spine, which maintains the straightness of the torso. Flip over for the backstroke, a great stomach toner that lengthens the spine. The butterfly, a more difficult stroke, also helps blast belly flab.
Water Walking
Do your miles in the pool, keep cool and work those ab muscles all at the same time. Walk the pool from side to side in the shallow end, making sure to lift your legs up to the stomach level. This is more of a march than an on-land walk. Simultaneously, tighten your ab muscles while raising each leg, taking care to protect your back by keeping your posture straight. The faster you do the marching moves, the more aerobic benefit and possible fat loss.
Crunch Time
Perform body-sculpting exercises in the shallow end -- in about 4 feet of water. Start with the bicycle. Place your back flat against the side of the pool and your arms comfortably outstretched at the pool's edge. Move your legs in a pedaling motion near or at the water's surface. From the bicycle, segue into crunches by extending your legs out straight in front of you. Keep your feet together and then pull both knees up to the chest. Slowly lower the legs out and down and repeat.
Targeting Tone-Ups
The pike scull exercise works the abs, hips and arms. Begin by standing in the shallow end of the pool, then sit back and tread water using your hands only. Lift your legs and fold at the hips so that your body forms a wide v-shape similar to a jackknife. Your head and toes should just break the water's surface. Keeping your body in the V-position and treading water with your cupped hands, move yourself forward toward the other side of the pool. Try to do this for at least 30 seconds.
References
- Daily Mail UK.com: Swim Away the Calories; Kate Rue, August, 2011
- FitDay.com: Ab Workouts in the Pool
- Fitness Magazine.com: 20-Minute Water Workout: Sculpt Your Body in the Pool; Hallie Levine Sklar, August 2007
- Fitness Magazine.com: Tone in the Pool: Water Aerobic Exercises; Lara McGlashan, July/August 2009
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