I teach two different water aerobics classes in Urbandale Community Pool (suburb of Des Moines, IA). If you are ever in the area, send me a message on my cheer board and I’ll get you a one-time pass to try out one of my classes. To get you started working out in the water, however, (and as a teaser) I’m blogging several of my workouts. Hope you enjoy them.

Workout Disclaimer - As with all exercise, please consult your physician before beginning a new program. I do not know you or your limitations and have not made adaptions in this workout. Understand your physical limitations and listen to your body. Stay hydrated and take short water breaks as necessary. When working out in shallow water, chest height is generally the most comfortable. Try different depths to see what works for you. Those with joint issues should go a little deeper. Personally, I work out anywhere from rib cage height to armpit height depending on the particular exercise. Also, remember to get down on your whole foot. Due to buoyancy, many people new to working out in the water will stay on their toes/balls of their feet for most of the workout. This is like working out in high heels which most would agree is not good. You can land on your toes/ball of the foot, but let your heels come down to the pool floor as well.

For most water exercises, your arms are either in or out of the water. You don’t generally cross the surface plane of the water in one exercise. For instance, while doing jacks, start with the arms at your side and bring them to the surface of the water rather than overhead. During class, I have access to many types of exercise aids. I have listed them in the workout. If you don’t have the particular item I list, leave it off, be creative or drop me a note on my cheer board and I’ll suggest free/cheap alternatives you can use. Below the workout, you’ll find a list of definitions or exercise descriptions for things I think you might not know. If I leave one out, comment and let me know. Enjoy!

Shallow Water Tabata Combo Class (I do this type of class once or twice a month. It has a longer than normal time frame for intervals. I’ll try to post some of my regular Shallow Water Classes as well.)

Music:  Two CDs – one at 135-140 bpm and Turbo Tabata

Equipment Used:  Buoyancy Barbells, Noodles, Resistance Gloves, watch/timeclock

 

Warm Up – 6 mins

  • Trunk Twists; Lunge Walk across pool forward, backward, and laterally; XC Ski; Jacks; Jogging

Combo 1 – 6 mins

  • Face Right XC Ski x8 moving forward, Face Front XC Ski x8 stationary w/arms moving together – Repeat Left
  • Face Right XC Ski x8 moving forward w/right hand on hip, Face Front XC Ski x8 stationary w/no arms – Repeat Left
  • Face Right XC Ski x8 moving forward w/butterfly arms, Face Front XC Ski x8 stationary w/jack arms – Repeat Left
  • Face Right Elevated XC Ski x8 moving forward, Face Front Elevated XC Ski x8 stationary w/no arms – Repeat Left
  • Face Right Level 3 XC Ski x8 moving forward, Face Front Level 3 XC Ski x8 stationary w/no arms – Repeat Left

                (Repeat/Cut as necessary)

Moving Side to Side Across Pool – 45 seconds each

  • Jump Forward with large arm sweep
  • Jump Laterally with large arm sweep
  • Sprint
  • In & Out w/ arms held out in front above the water
  • Lateral foot fire shuffle with basketball jump shot at mid-pool and sides of pool
  • Jump Backward with large arm sweep
  • Jump Laterally with large arm sweep
  • Sprint
  • In & Out w/ arms held out in front above the water
  • Lateral foot fire shuffle with basketball jump shot at mid-pool and sides of pool

Tabata 1 – Straight Leg Kicks to front (get them up as high as you can)

Tabata 2 – (Gloves on, if they’re not already) alternate each 20 sec work phase – Bicep Curls and Butterfly Presses in Level 2 position

Tabata 3 – Star Jacks

Tabata 4 – Single Leg Karate Kicks (alternate legs each 20 sec work phase)

Combo 2 – Sitting on noodle – Straddle style is easier, Swing style is more challenging – 4 mins

  • Breaststroke arms across pool (remain in upright, seated position and legs still, thumbs up is easier on the shoulder than a traditional thumbs down position)
  • @ wall – 15 Russian Kicks, knees together
  • Reverse Breaststroke arms across pool (remain in upright, seated position and legs still)
  • @ wall – 15 Russian Kicks, knees more than shoulder width apart

                (Repeat/Cut as necessary)

Core – 8 mins

                Honestly, without demonstration in this section, I’m not sure I can adequately describe my core routines. YouTube some water core exercises. You can also try planks, side planks, or burpees with the noodle.

Stretching – 7 mins

                Again, without demonstration, this would take lengthy description. Start at your feet and work toward your head making sure to stretch each muscle group. If you’ve been doing any sort of workout videos, you probably already know most of these.

 

Definitions/Descriptions

Laterally – moving sideways while facing front

Elevated – exercise is performed while propelling yourself up and out of the water

Level 1 – standard default – exercises performed at chest height. All exercises above are performed at Level 1 unless stated otherwise

Level 2 – bend knees and crouch down so that your shoulders are in the water, this level reduces impact and increases range of motion, if any exercise is too hard on your joints you can perform it as a level 2 exercise

Level 3 – start in level 2 with your shoulders wet, then lift your feet off the pool bottom, perform exercise without touching bottom (easier, but not necessarily better, to do if you move deeper), level 3 exercises tax your core muscles and arms more heavily, some are VERY hard

Foot Fires – small, quick steps performed in a squat position

In & Out – picture a tire or ladder run, step right leg out, left leg out, then right leg in, left leg in

Tabata – HIIT intervals at 20 sec work phase as hard as you can go followed by 10 sec rest phase, repeated 8 times. Some tabata CDs will give you a 30 second water break after each set of 8.

Star Jacks – perform a jumping jack, then tuck your knees up to your chest and shoot out into a backfloat position, perform a jumping jack in that horizontal plane, tuck your knees up to your chest and shoot them back down to the floor and stand

Karate Kick – bring your knee up, then kick your leg out

Russian kicks – from a seated position on the noodle, kick from the knee down. Play with how you hold your feet to change which muscle group is used the most