34 Videos of Water Exercises You Can Do in Your Home Pool

Here we set out some exercises to get you started in the water — thirty-four videos in all, covering what you can do in your home pool.

The exercises fall under five headings

• Movement
• Balance
• Strength
• Plyometrics
• Cardio

How should I get started when training in the water?

Whatever water you plan to exercise in, a warm-up and a cool-down matter. Warm up with at least five minutes of low to moderate intensity cardio. At the end of the session, bring your heart rate down slowly with low intensity exercises.

If you are wondering how much exercise you should be getting in general, our other posts cover the physical activity guidelines.

Movement

Set out an area in the water and work through each walking pattern in turn.

Balance — 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 repetitions

Strength — 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 10 repetitions

Plyometrics — 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 10 repetitions, or 30 second circuits

Cardio

For example, circuits of 30 seconds to a minute of exercise with 15 seconds of rest, increasing as you tolerate it.

• Walking in chest deep water.
• Flutter kicking circuits with a flutter board, or with your hands on the side of the pool.
• Eggbeater and treading water circuits. Use a pool noodle for support as required.
• Swimming — breast stroke, front crawl, back crawl, butterfly.

How do I make the exercises easier, or harder as I improve?

Most importantly, be creative. You can:

• Adjust the speed of your movements against the water's resistance
• Increase or reduce the surface area of your equipment to change the forces
• Choose movements that change the resistance of the water
• Add weight, or increase the tension of your resistance band
• Play with buoyancy — deeper submersion makes balance harder
• Adjust your base of support — feet together is harder than a wide stance, and tandem walking heel to toe harder still
• Close your eyes. Taking visual feedback out adds another layer of challenge — though not in the deep end

Resources

• Brody, Lori Thein, and Paula Richley Geigle, editors. Aquatic Exercise for Rehabilitation and Training. Human Kinetics, 2009.
• Layne, Melissa. Water Exercise. Human Kinetics, 2015.

Written by Gavin Parsons, Physiotherapist.