2 Ways To Use Your Pool To Stay Fit

It's important to keep your swimming pool in good repair, and not just for recreational activity. There are many ways you can use your swimming pool to stay fit. Two great options are swimming laps, and doing water yoga.

Swimming

Swimming laps in your backyard is a great way to exercise. You don't have to go far to get a full-body workout. Here are just a few of the benefits of swimming:

• Builds Strength: Swimming builds strength and tones your body. The higher resistance in water versus on land gives you a better workout in the same amount of time you would spend running.
• Relieves Pressure: Another benefit that swimming has over other exercise is that it takes pressure off your joints, relieving pain and enabling you to exercise longer.
• Less Risk of Injury: Because your body is buoyed up and supported, there is less risk of injuring yourself while swimming than during other forms of exercise.

Water Yoga

If you have heard of water (or aqua) yoga, you are a step ahead of most pool owners. This emerging technique uses standard yoga exercises, but in a completely new way. In the water, you have to readjust your balance to hold yoga poses. Some poses become easier because the water supports raised legs, while others become harder because you have to reorient yourself.

Some benefits of water yoga include:

• Relieve Chronic Disorders: Water yoga has been found to benefit those with chronic pain disorders, such as arthritis and fibromyalgia. It also helps relieve arthritis pain and stiffness.
• Assists with Recovery: Aqua yoga is used for people who have sustained injuries by helping improve range of motion in the joints. The decreased pressure in the water helps your body relax and stretch better than it would on land.
• Relaxing Environment: The warm water combined with your exercises promote a relaxed environment. Your body's stress seems to melt away in the water as you are revived through aqua yoga.

There are many ways a pool can benefit you. Keep your pool in good repair so you can entertain on the weekends, and exercise on the weekdays. Be willing to experiment with new techniques, including water yoga as discussed above. If you are looking for more options, water aerobics and other aquatic programs are also available. Finding a routine that suits you is the first step to improving your health through swimming.