Make Some Waves
Why water workouts work wonders
Kimberly Olsen
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Resarch
Regular exercise provides a wide range of benefits, including weight management, improved cardiovascular health and sleep quality. But for many people, common forms of exercise, such as walking, running and weight training, are a struggle due to pain, weakness, mobility issues or fear of falling.
Aquatic exercise is an excellent way to focus on fitness in a gravity-reduced environment. Here’s why:
- Buoyancy: When standing waist-deep in water, buoyancy reduces your body weight by 50%, making this form of exercise very low impact. This significantly reduces the stress on your weight-bearing joints and bones.
- Support: Water provides support for people with balance problems. The constant movement of water during a workout also challenges a person’s balance. The more waves there are, the harder it is to balance and exercise.
- Resistance: Water’s viscosity slows movement and provides resistance, making aquatic exercise a great, resistance-training workout. With less joint stress, people find they can work out longer and do more repetitions.
These benefits make water exercise an effective option for anyone recovering from a sports injury to regain range of motion, strength and endurance.
But these benefits also mean you can get a good, overall workout that improves strength, cardio and flexibility. As with any exercise, check with your health care team before starting a new routine.
5 things to know before jumping into the pool
1 Aquatic exercise is versatile
Aquatic exercise offers a variety of options and techniques for almost all levels of physical ability. These range from basic, such as walking in the water, to more high-level aerobic activities, such as deep-water running or swimming.
Standing exercises often are performed in water that’s waist to chest deep, and they typically focus on improving range of motion/flexibility, balance and strength. Resistance training can be amplified by simply increasing the speed and range of movement or adding equipment that increases drag, such as webbed mitts, paddles, noodles or bands.
2 You don’t need to know how to swim
Having a basic knowledge of swimming or water safety is a good idea for anyone who’s around water, but aquatic exercise doesn’t necessarily involve swimming. The shallow end of any pool or lake will do, since for many of the movements, you only need to be able to stand in the water.
3 Water temperature is important
Aquatic exercise in lower water temperatures (82-88 F) is generally best for higher-level intensity exercise or people who are prone to overheating, such as those who are pregnant, obese or have multiple sclerosis. Aquatic exercise in warmer temperatures (84-92 F) is better for people with arthritis, fibromyalgia or pain, as well as those who are frail.
4 Be aware of your abilities
With the increased ease of exercise in water, people often can tolerate longer exercise sessions. As a result, these sessions can be more intense, with larger ranges of motion, which creates the potential of overstressing your body. You may be more fatigued than expected following an aquatic exercise session.
5 Consider group exercises to mix it up
Group aquatic exercise classes are a great way to socialize, build connections, find support, increase accountability and stay motivated to continue exercising. Classes often are led by instructors who have special training in exercising in an aquatic environment. The instructors are able to offer suggestions for adjusting exercises for individual participants, if needed.
Beyond the basics
Amping up your water workout on your own or in a class may include resistance equipment such as:
Foam dumbbells: Lightweight on land, they provide resistance underwater through flotation. They come in a variety of resistance options.
Water weights: Strap-on ankle or wrist weights increase resistance during arm and leg exercises.
Hand paddles and resistance gloves:They enhance strength training.
Buoyancy belt: Helps keep your head above water in the deep end while leaving your hands free. You can run, lift weights and do other workouts using your hands without having to tread water.
Ex-border chief rips Trump aides
SWAPNA VENUGOPAL
RAMASWAMY, USA TODAY
Greg Bovino, a former top U.S. Border Patrol official who became the face of the Trump administration’s controversial immigration enforcement, criticized members of Trump’s inner circle for “pushing to dial back” on mass deportations.
Bovino was ousted from his post as U.S. Border Patrol commander-at-large in January after federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. He was reassigned to his former role overseeing border patrol operations in El Centro, California. He retired from the post in March.
On May 31, Bovino shared a video of himself speaking at the far-right Remigration Summit in Porto, Portugal, saying Trump needed “better advice” and taking aim at White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles for attempting to “water down mass deportations.”
He also mocked Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin for not being up to the job. Mullin was confirmed by the Senate in March to take over the position after Bovino’s former boss, Kristi Noem, was dismissed from her job as DHS secretary following controversy surrounding her spending and a federal contract.
“Trump’s team says immigration is his top issue according to the polls. Voters trust him on the border more than anyone. So why is @SusieWiles47 pushing to dial it back and water down mass deportations?,” Bovino wrote on social media May 30 accompanying the video. “You don’t win by running away from your strongest issue. Mass deportations are the solution to perpetual victory!”
Immigration detention numbers fell by about 15% from an all-time high in January of 70,766 to 60,311 by early April, according to newly released data.
The drop follows high-profile, deadly enforcement operation in the Minneapolis area which resulted in the killings of two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
In Sunday’s video, Bovino implied Mullin was not cut out for the job, mocking his family’s plumbing business.
Bovino also tagged Chris LaCivita, a top Trump campaign manager, along with Wiles in a post on May 31 referring to clashes between agents and demonstrators outside Delaney Hall, an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey.
“Day 9 of the riots and people like @SusieWiles47 and @ChrisLaCivita are steering the president toward caving to anarchists instead of the strong immigration enforcement voters demanded,” he wrote.
A little over half of U.S. adults (52%) said the Trump administration is doing too much to deport immigrants who are living in the country illegally, according to a Pew Research Center survey of 3,592 U.S. adults conducted April 6-12.
However, compared to October, slightly more Americans now say the administration is doing “too little” to deport immigrants who are living in the country illegally (15% now vs. 10% in October).
Southwest Montana Health Care Directory
