Discovering my Inner Athlete
Moving to Florida and having access to a pool year round has allowed me to channel my inner athlete in the pool. My own workouts inspired the video, Pool Tabata & Jogging and my very first audio workout.
The Pool Tabata and Jogging Audio Workout is available as an audio CD in the Fitmotivation store – or as an audio download to video subscribers. Premium Pro subscribers receive the Pool Jogging & Tabata download for FREE and Basic Pro subscribers receive the download at 50% off the CD pricing.
PRICING
Audio Workout CD $18.00 Available in the Fitmotivation Store - video NOT included Audio Download $9.00 Available to Basic Pro Subscribers - video included Audio Download FREE Available to Premium Pro Subscribers - video included
Six more Audio Workouts will be produced in 2015!
This article was first published in the Summer 2014 edition of AEA E-News.
Revelation: something revealed or disclosed, especially a striking disclosure, as of something not before realized.
Here is my revelation: I just recently started working out in the pool and I cannot believe the results I am seeing.
Yes, this is my striking disclosure. The man who has spent the past 14 years teaching aquatic fitness and educating fitness professionals about exercising in the water has finally taken the plunge himself.
How is this possible? Well, I have worked out religiously in the weight room for the past 26 years, but never really had access to a pool for self directed exercise, save for the busy JCC and YMCA pools I taught at. Even if I had been fortunate enough to have a backyard pool for the two months of a northern summer, my only workout would have been running from bees, wasps, beetles and horse flies.
My pool drought ended in 2013 when I moved to Florida and rented a condo with access to a pool. Granted, I spent most of my time in a pool lounge chair for the first few months. However, I am now jumping in a few times a week for a quick 30-minute workout. The results I am experiencing are redefining what I previously thought were unrealistic goals for my aging body.
Waistline: Let’s face it; an aging body is often an expanding body. Nothing makes me more miserable than spending a day in tight shorts or pants. My shorts are definitely looser and I can see the difference in the mirror. Obviously adding any cardio to my weightlifting routine would help burn calories, but working out in the pool allows me to work HARDER in a shorter time. Long cardio sessions bore me to tears and I cannot run or do intense land activities because it hurts my body. In the water, I can go “all out” without any pain and exhaust myself in 20-30 minutes of intense exercise.
Aches & Pains: Every morning I wake up and think, “I wonder what body part will be in excruciating agony today?” My weight room workouts have really suffered over the years due to a litany of body part malfunctions – shoulders, knees, ankle, feet, hamstring and more. My body has been kinesthetically improving thanks to the water workouts. Weight room activities aren't hurting any more. My shoulders are more limber, my knees don’t bark on lunges and even that darn hamstring has been reduced to a whimper.
Endurance: Having established a preference many years ago for weight training over cardio, any cardio would improve my cardio-respiratory endurance. The pool workouts have clearly done so. Lately I have noticed I am holding up much better on the deck while teaching classes. Over the years I have been photographed kneeling on the deck many times. FYI: If you see me kneeling on the deck it usually means I am ready to DROP DEAD.
Sleep: Fortunately, I have always enjoyed a good nights sleep. But interesting to note, on the nights that I do pool workouts, “good” is taken to a whole new level. Picture your head hitting the pillow and then the unwelcome surprise of the alarm going off with no memory of anything in between.
My current favorite pool workout is a combination of shallow water Tabata drills and deep water running. A typical 30-minute workout might include three Tabata rounds (4 minutes each) interspersed with variations of deep water running drills.
The beauty is in the simplicity. The trend lately with High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) has made self-directed pool workouts much more doable and results oriented. In the water, I can push myself to anaerobic levels that I have not pushed myself to in a long, long time. It feels good because there is no pain. Best of all is the realization that I can push myself to these athletic aquatic feats far into my sunset years.
Revelation: So this is why my students like it so much?
Yeah, yeah, I know I am preaching to the choir here. However, sometimes it is easy to take for granted something you are always around. As an instructor, I have witnessed first hand how aquatic fitness can dramatically change quality of life, but now my personal experience has made me more clear on the how and why. Sadly, aquatic exercise is still ignored by a huge percentage of our population - but not for long.
According to the U.S. Census, by 2030 the 65+ population will double to about 71.5 million. AARP estimates that Baby Boomers will be turning 65 at a rate of about 8,000 a day over the next 15 years. From this we can conclude that we are all going to be very busy aquatic fitness professionals.
If you think classes are crowded now, get ready. This is a call to arms. Blessed are we for abundance cometh. The world needs us. We have no time for aching body parts or “tight clothing induced bad moods” - and we certainly can’t drop dead on the deck.
The pool is calling you. Get to a pool, get in, get moving and get ready to share this incredible fountain of youth. Discover your own inner athlete and then help others discover theirs.
NOTE: A 30-minute video was filmed and is available to view in both the Basic Pro and Premium Pro video categories. Workout notes are also available to download in both categories. AND – I recorded my first audio workout with this routine. The Pool Tabata and Jogging Audio Workout is available as an audio CD in the Fitmotivation store – or as an audio download to video subscribers. Premium Pro subscribers receive the Pool Jogging & Tabata download for FREE and Basic Pro subscribers receive the download at 50% off the CD pricing. Remember – there are no commitments or contracts involved with subscribing and watching videos. You can cancel or suspend your account at any time.