Christine Alexander is the author of 2 books on water exercise each published by Human Kinetics.
Water Fitness Progressions (2019) was written for water fitness instructors and aquatic personal trainers. It describes how to use periodization to help class participants and clients progress in their level of fitness. It contains lesson plans that illustrate how to progressively increase intensity for both cardiorespiratory endurance and strength training.
Water Fitness Lesson Plans and Choreography (2011) was written for water fitness instructors. It has 36 class ideas for shallow water exercise and 36 class ideas for deep water exercise. Individuals may find the exercise descriptions and photos useful for building a personal exercise routine.
I have visited many aquatic centers and all of them have noodles. Noodles are affordable and versatile – it is amazing how many things you can do with noodles! You can use them for upper body strength training, lower body strength training, core strength training and balance. And they are just plain fun to use! This article is not an exhaustive list of all the things you can do with noodles, but perhaps there are a few here that you may not be familiar with.
Hold the Noodle in Your Hands. When you hold the noodle in your hands, you want your hands to be shoulder distance apart. If the hands are too narrow, the shoulders are rounded. If the hands are too wide, the shoulder blades are out of neutral. In this position you can:
Push down in front for the shoulders
Row for the upper back
Do a triceps extension
Push forward for the chest and triceps
Push ups for the chest – in a lunge position, a plank position, or suspended
Yoga plank for core strength and stability
Plank scissors – lift one leg toward the surface of the water and lower
Fall forward, tuck and stand up for core strength and fall recovery
Burpees – from a plank position, hop into a squat, jump up, squat and hop back into a plank position. In deep water you would flutter kick with elevation instead of jumping up. Click Burpees for a video demonstration.
Hold the Noodle Like a Rainbow. In this position you can:
Push and pull the ends with cross-country ski, for the chest, triceps and upper back
Touch the ends together with jumping jacks for the chest
Hold the ends together and press the noodle under water for the lats and shoulders
Hold the Noodle with One Hand. In this position you can:
Swing the arm with cross-country ski for the shoulders
Lat pull down with jumping jacks for the lats
Plunge down at the side for triceps
Yoga side plank for core strength and stability
Side Plank Pliers – lift the top leg toward the surface of the water and lower
Side fall, tuck and stand up for core strength and fall recovery. Practice turning to fall forward since falling sideways on land can lead to hip fractures while falling forward and landing on forearms is safer.
Wrap the Noodle around Your Waist. In this position you can:
Perform a rotator cuff sweep
Wrap the Noodle around Your Back. This is a stable position for suspended moves. You want to position the noodle mid-torso, just below the shoulder blades. The noodle can cause shoulder impingement if it is right under the arms and potentially damage the nerves in the armpits. Place your hands on the ends of the noodle to keep it below the shoulder blades. In this position you can do:
Suspended kicks for the quads and hamstrings
Suspended jacks for the inner and outer thigh
Bicycle for multiple leg muscles
Waist twist for the obliques
Pilates Single Leg Stretch for the core – Bend one knee and lift the opposite leg (see photo above)
Flex one foot and lower it towards the floor, point the toes and lift it back toward the surface for core strength
Stretch the arms out to the sides and go into a side-lying position. In this position you can do side-lying cross-country ski, side-lying bicycle, side-lying bicycle in a circle, and side-lying bicycle reverse pedal in a circle.
Sit on a Noodle Like a Swing. In this position you can perform many of the same moves as with the noodle around your back, but it is more of a challenge to balance. In addition to kicks, jacks and bicycle, here are some other things to try:
Mermaid – unison kick, like pumping your legs in a swing
Bicycle with one leg
Kick one leg across and sweep it out to the side
Extend the legs and point and flex the feet
Hip hike for the obliques
Brace the core with arms down at the sides and make turbulent hand movements
Sit on the Noodle Like a Bicycle. Be sure to sit in the center of the noodle, If you sit too far back, the noodle will be in your face and you may tip backwards. If you sit too far forward, you may tip forward. Sitting on the noodle like a bicycle you can:
Bicycle travel forward
Reverse bicycle travel backward
Seated breaststroke and reverse breaststroke – arms and legs perform the same move
Pelvic floor exercise – lift your pelvic floor off the noodle for 10 seconds
Cross your ankles in front and row
Rowing crew – partners position themselves one behind the other; the one in back puts the back end of her partner’s noodle between her knees; both partners row. This can be done with 3 or 4 people.
Centipede – partners position themselves one behind the other; the one in back holds the end of her partner’s noodle with both hands; both partners bicycle. This can be done with 3 or more people.
Stand with One Foot on the Noodle. In this position you can:
Standing leg press for the quads and glutes
Hip extension for the glutes – Don’t lift the foot too high or the noodle will slip off the foot.
Balance with one foot lifted in front or extended to the back
Cross-country ski or jumping jacks with one foot on the noodle for a balance challenge.
Stand with Both Feet on the Noodle. In this position you can:
Use the noodle as a stair climber – alternate lifting one foot at a time
Squat for hamstrings
Reverse squat – from a squat position lift the feet to take the noodle off the floor and press it back down
Surf – lift the feet to take the noodle off the floor and balance; add a breaststroke or a reverse breaststroke for even more of a challenge.
Partner Moves. Rowing crew and centipede are partner moves. Here are some other partner activities you can do just for fun:
Partner cross-country ski – each partner holds one end of both noodles; push and pull the noodles while skiing. It takes coordination.
Partner jumping jacks – each partner holds one end of both noodles and sweeps the ends out and in. This is another move for coordination.
Rickshaw – partners line up one behind the other with the noodles under their arms. The partner in front runs and the partner in back tucks her feet in a seated position to enjoy the ride (see the photo to the right)
Partner bicycle – partners line up one behind the other. The partner in front wraps the noodle around her chest with the ends behind her; she becomes the handlebars. The partner in back sits on her noodle like a bicycle and holds the ends of her partners noodle. The partner in front runs and the one in back bicycles. In deep water, both partners bicycle.
Noodle Assisted Stretches.
Hamstring stretch – the noodle is under the thigh
Inner thigh stretch – Yoga Tree Pose with the noodle under the thigh
Chest stretch – straddle the noodle, grab the back end of the noodle with both hands and push it under water
Triceps stretch – straddle the noodle with the back end high, grasp that end with one hand keeping the elbow up
Oblique stretch – lateral flexion holding the noodle overhead like a rainbow
You may know other things to do with noodles. Put your ideas in the comment box below. I’d love to hear them!
If you want a great workout in the pool, you can’t do better than deep water running. More research has been done on deep water running than on any other form of water exercise. Improvements in cardiorespiratory endurance and high calorie expenditure are well documented benefits. Deep water running can be practiced by everyone from elite athletes to water fitness class participants. Like every type of exercise, it should be performed with good form. That means that the spine is in neutral alignment, you are using a knee up/foot down motion, your shoulders are flexing and extending, your elbows stay bent and you are pulling them back so that your hand reaches your hips, your chest is erect, your shoulders are relaxed, your chin is level, and you are looking forward. In this position you are able to fully expand the lungs allowing your working muscles to get the oxygen they need. Click on Correct Form to see a video demonstration.
There are however some common mistakes in deep water running. The mistake I see most often is leaning forward, as in the photo on the right. In this position the water hits the chest first and slides down the torso, removing most of the resistance, and therefore most of the intensity. In addition, the position causes spinal compression, which means that the front edges of the vertebrae are touching. This can cause microfractures in someone with osteoporosis. There are also some common mistakes with the arm movement. These mistakes include swinging the arms across the chest, flexing and extending at the elbows, and not bringing the elbows back far enough. The shoulders should remain stationary, and not rock forward and back. The head should also remain level, and not rock from side to side. Click on Common Mistakes to see a video demonstration.
You can combine deep water running with assisting and resisting arm patterns to add muscular endurance training for the upper body. Some examples are (1) Crawl stroke, an alternating reach and pull motion; keep the arms under water where the resistance is. (2) Row, which is reaching and pulling with both arms together. (3) Double-arm press-down, which means stretching both arms out in front and pressing them down. (4) Breaststroke, which should be performed with the thumbs up to avoid combining internal rotation and horizontal abduction, a movement that is hard on the rotator cuff. (5) Rotator cuff sweep, which means keeping the elbows down near the waist and sweeping the hands out with the thumbs up. For more information on upper body exercises with deep water running, see Craig Stuart’s article “Wave Run” in the January-February-March 2026 issue of Akwa Magazine. Click on Upper Body Exercises with Deep Water Running for a video demonstration.
Deep water running can be performed at several intensity levels, depending on your goals. The basic deep water run is perfect for a water fitness class. Take it to a sprint if you wish to work harder or you are training for a 5k run. A power run is more intense, and can be used for intervals. Click on Increase Intensity for a video demonstration.
Although you do not run backward in daily life, traveling backward in the water is a good way to strengthen the back. For that reason I like to include some backward travel when I am doing a deep water running class. Again, good form is important. Participants frequently let their legs float up so that they are in a seated or semi-reclining position. This takes a lot of resistance out of the exercise, and the spine out of alignment, causing the spinal compression we wish to avoid. With the feet under the body, use a scull, a push forward or a reverse breaststroke to travel backward. Click on Travel Backward for a video demonstration.
I love deep water running. Try it out and you may love it too. See you in the pool!
As water fitness instructors, we know that the safest position for exercise is with the spine in neutral alignment. But we don’t always see that in our class participants. Perhaps they had an injury, or surgery, or years of habitual movement patterns that changed their posture. Or perhaps they have poor body awareness. You might notice shallow water participants leaning side to side as they jog, or curling forward while traveling backward, or waving their arms aimlessly during upper body moves. You might notice your deep water participants flailing in an effort to stay upright, or traveling when they are trying to stay in place and staying in place while they are trying to travel. What all these participants need to learn is how to engage their core muscles and stabilizers before activating their prime movers. The technique for teaching this is called the Heavy Concept.
The Heavy Concept: Activating Core with Neuromuscular Retraining is a new book by Christine Alexander and Ruth Sova.
Stabilization is the ability to maintain balance and control during movement. This requires coordination between the muscles, tendons, and ligaments that support the joints. When you perform any type of movement, the prime movers, or agonists, are primarily responsible for creating the movement. The antagonist muscles oppose the movement of the prime movers. There may also be some muscles that assist the movement. The stabilizer muscles provide support and stability to the prime movers. The muscles of the core, including the transverse abdominis, multifidus, gluteus medius, and pelvic floor muscles, function as stabilizers in nearly every movement. Ideally the stabilizer muscles fire first, that is, movement begins from the inside, ensuring that the movement is executed with proper form.
To help your participants become aware of their stabilizers, ask them to stand (or suspend in deep water with a flotation belt) with good posture and imagine that they want to lift one knee, but the knee is so heavy that they are unable to lift it. As they continue to try to lift their “heavy” knee they will feel their deep core muscles activating. Have them overcome the heaviness ever so slowly, taking 3-6 seconds to smoothly lift the knee. Repeat 4-6 times to help cement the feeling of stabilization. Then as they begin jogging ask them to continue to be aware of the core stabilizers working.
The process also works in reverse – called Reverse Heavy. Have participants lift one knee, then imagine it is held up with surgical tubing. Ask them to try to lower the knee against the surgical tubing even though they are unable to do so. Again they will feel their deep core muscles activating. Take 3-6 seconds to slowly lower the knee, and repeat 4-6 times before beginning to jog. Although you cannot use the technique for an entire water fitness class, using it once or twice at the beginning of class will gradually train participants to begin to move from the inside out. You might also occasionally ask them to check in with their bodies to confirm that the core muscles are still firing first.
You can vary the technique with every class because the Heavy Concept works with any joint in the body. For the spinal stabilizers, stand (or suspend in deep water) and imagine all four limbs are sunk in concrete up to the elbows and knees. Ask participants to try to shift their weight in any direction (or lean diagonally in deep water) and feel the cylinder of stability around the spine. Slowly overcome the resistance in tiny, perfect movements. For the deep hip stabilizer muscles try to lift a straight leg forward. The torso will want to lean back, but use the brain imagining Heavy to prevent it. Use Reverse Heavy to lower the leg. For the shoulder stabilizers (rotator cuff muscles) perform any shoulder movement – flexion, extension, abduction, adduction or rotation imagining that the arm is too heavy to move. You can even use the technique with the neck stabilizers.
Over time, with practice, participants will become more aware of activating their stabilizers first, and their posture and form will improve. This will carry over into daily living, improving balance, reducing fall risk and allowing participants to perform daily tasks with confidence. Check out Ruth Sova’s Promo video. The book is available in print or as an e-book. To order the print book click on The Heavy Concept. To order the e-book click on The Heavy Concept e-book. The introductory price is $24.95. it will be $29.95 after the introductory special.
It’s a brand new year and many of us made a resolution to exercise more. We all know that exercise has many benefits for our hearts and lungs. Did you know that it also reduces your risk of dementia later in life? The best exercise is one that you will actually do, so pick something that you enjoy. For me, that is water exercise, hands down!
The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 30-60 minutes of moderate intensity exercise five days a week, or 20-30 minutes of vigorous exercise three days a week. So it is important to know how hard you are working. That’s not so easy in the pool. Immersion in water relaxes your blood vessels so that stroke volume increases, that is, your heart pumps more blood to the working muscles with each beat than it would on land. Hydrostatic pressure compresses all body systems, including the blood vessels, which means the heart doesn’t have to work as hard to return blood from the limbs back to the heart. Therefore your heart uses fewer beats per minute while exercising in water (called your aquatic deduction) than the equivalent intensity on land. You can measure your heart rate on land and in water and use formulas to determine your target heart rate. All that is too much trouble for most people, including me. Instead, many of us wear fitness watches. These do not take your aquatic deduction into account to accurately tell you how hard you are working, but they can tell you whether your heart rate is increasing or decreasing. I use my fitness watch to give me a general idea and then combine that with a rating of perceived exertion.
The Rating of Perceived Exertion is a method of assessing effort, strain, discomfort, or fatigue experienced during exercise. Research has shown that although this method is subjective, it is fairly accurate. The Aquatic Exercise Intensity Scale was developed to take into consideration the unique aspects of training in water. it uses a scale of 1-10 to help assess intensity levels.
No effort at all (lying down).
Extremely little. Your heart rate is near resting.
Very easy. You are comfortable but breathing a bit harder.
Easy. You are working a little bit, and you could do this all day without any problems.
Somewhat easy. You are working a little harder, but you can still talk easily and sing.
Moderate. Your breathing has increased at a noticeable level. You can still talk, but not sing.
Somewhat hard. You now have to breathe through your mouth. You can still talk, but you don’t really want to.
Hard. Your heart is pounding. You can grunt in response to questions, but you can only keep this pace a short time.
Very hard. Your breathing is rapid and so is your heart rate. You can’t do this much longer.
Maximum effort. All you can think about is how much you would like to stop because you can’t go any further.
If you are wanting to do 30-60 minutes of moderate intensity exercise five days a week, you would work at level 6 to 7. To work at level 6, use long levers at full range of motion. To work at level 7, increase the speed of your movements without decreasing the range of motion. If you are wanting to do 20-30 minutes of vigorous exercise three days a week, you would work at level 7 to 8. To work at level 8, add acceleration and power to your movements.
If you are just starting out. It is common to go all out in your enthusiasm to begin a fitness routine. But if you have not exercised for a long time, you can easily overdo it, and suffer from muscle soreness, fatigue or even sustain an injury. It is better to focus on form (maintaining good alignment) and performing the exercises correctly at first. Work at a somewhat easy level. After you have gotten comfortable with that, then start to increase your intensity gradually. Your goal is to make your exercise routine a life long commitment.
For many people (and that includes me) working out in the water is perceived as fun. Adding some exercises or activities with a ball makes a class seem like play. Balls and fun just go together. I like to include fun activities occasionally as a mental break from the hard work of doing cardio, intervals and strength training throughout the year. During the holidays at the end of the year, when there is often so much shopping, baking, decorating, and entertaining stress, I like to tone down the training a bit and spend more time on fun and games. These can be relay races, obstacle courses and a variety of things with noodles, but nothing brings out the smiles like walking into the facility with a bag of balls.
You can find inexpensive play balls at discount and dollar stores. You want them to be approximately volley ball size. Take a little air out of them so that participants can grasp them, otherwise they can be hard to manage. You can do strength training exercises with balls. Push and pull them while jogging, lunging or squatting. Push them across the midline of the body or sweep them from side to side. Push them down under the water with a jacks tuck or Cossack kick. Put them between the legs and squeeze them for inner thigh work. With the ball between the legs go suspended and travel with breaststroke or reverse breaststroke. Use them for hand exercises. Squeeze with all five fingers to improve grip strength, or squeeze one finger at a time. For finger flexibility lift one finger off the ball at a time.
Then there are the games!
Eye-Hand Coordination. Have the class stand in a circle. Give them 1-3 balls to toss around the circle. Periodically add another ball to make it more challenging. Call out “Switch” and they must change from passing the ball clockwise to counter clockwise, or back to clockwise.
Pass the Ball. Form a circle with an even number of players. Every other person is on the same team. Give one ball to a player on one side of the circle and a second ball to a player on the opposite side of the circle. On signal, pass the ball from one team member to the next in the same direction around the circle. The first team to have their ball overtake the other team’s ball wins the game.
Ball Toss. Partners stand 6 feet apart with one ball between them. They toss the ball back and forth. Periodically have them take a step backward to increase the distance the ball is tossed.
Batting Practice. Partners stand 6-8 feet apart. One partner has the ball and the other has a kickboard. The one with the ball tosses it to the other who bats it back to the pitcher. Then they trade the ball and kickboard and change roles.
Walk the Dog. Divide the class into 2 or more teams, depending on the size of your class. You don’t want to have too many people standing in a line waiting for their turn. Give each team a ball and each person a noodle. Each person in turn keeps one end of the noodle in contact with the ball while walking to the turning point and back, where they hand off the dog to the next player in line. The first team to complete the relay wins.
Waiter Relay. Divide the class into 2 or more teams, depending on the size of your class. Give each team a ball and everyone a kickboard. The first person on each team balances the ball on the kickboard while walking to the turning point and back, then hands the ball off to the next person on the team. If the ball falls off the kickboard, that team member has to chase it and return to where they lost the ball. The first team to complete the relay wins.
If you have some other ideas for games with balls, put them in the comments section below.
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