Ugh, the thought of just walking outside in the heat makes your pours decide to open up and release your sweat onto your clothes. We have all been there, those summer days when the heat doesn’t seem to simmer down and the thought of being outside sounds like the worst idea. We get it, you have been enjoying the nicer weather and taking advantage of it by working out outside, but when the heat just gets too high the thought of working out becomes a hard no. These are the days when you can still technically workout outside but you take your workouts to the pool. Any pool will do, it can be inside, it can be outside or it can be just some open water. Just be sure you have permission to be in the water and that you feel safe enough working out in the water, under toes can ruin your day super quick.
Here are 3 pool exercises to stay fit in the heat (or really any time of year). Plus, working out in the pool can be a great way to shed some weight, strengthen your muscles and all while performing them with low impact on your body.
Kick Drills
Hello, legs on fire! Kick drills are a sure way to get the legs in your muscles burning in no time.
You will want a kickboard or some type of floating raft type object to hold on to. While holding a kickboard in front of your body at arm’s length, keep your core muscles tights and flutter your legs up and down while trying to keep in line with your body and as straight as possible. Flutter kick the whole length of the pool while focusing on flexing your foot past 90 degrees.
Another great variation to the flutter kick is the frog kick. To frog kick, bend your knees and bring your feet together by drawing your legs up toward your body. You should feel like your legs look like frog legs in this position. Then straighten your legs as far as you can, and then quickly bring them back up again. Continue for the full length of the pool or however long you can keep at it until you start feeling muscle fatigue.
Water Running
Water running isn’t just for injuries anymore. And we shared an article recently about why, which you can find here. Water running provides the high-intensity cardio aspect of running without the punishing impact of striking on a hard surface of the cement or wherever you like to run. Water running is essentially just like running on the land except your form is slightly different. You should be submerged so that at least your head is out of the water. If you want it to be less challenging you can keep your chest and arms out of the water too. To water run though, make sure your back is straight; your arms bent, and your hands balled into fists as you pump them through the water. You’ll want to just run as hard as you can. Try 3 rounds of 5-minute running intervals.
Leg Raises
A great thing about the water aside from the fact that it keeps you cool is that it can provide some great resistance. As you may already know leg raises are great for the core and challenging on their own, but add some water and you have a killer exercise. The bonus with this one is that it will work your leg muscles too.
Stand with your back against the side of the pool, and your arms extended backward holding the edge of the pool. To perform the exercise pull your legs up toward the surface, while keeping them together until they’re extended straight out in front of you. Then move your legs outward to a V-position, then back together and then back down to the starting position. Keep your movements controlled, engaging your abs and glutes to move your legs through the water.–continue pulling them up, out, in and down for 3 sets of 20 reps.
