Search Results for: Shoulders

Take Care of Your Shoulders

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What are the Rotator Cuff Muscles? - Brace Access

We don’t usually think about our shoulders, but we use them all the time to do things like lifting a bag of groceries, opening the car door, wiping the kitchen counter, picking up a child, lifting a drink, combing our hair, reaching behind our back to thread a belt through the loops and more. Two major bones of the shoulder are the humerus or arm bone, and the scapula or shoulder blade. The four muscles of the rotator cuff stabilize the shoulder joint or keep it in its proper position. Muscles in our chest and back and the deltoids on top of the shoulder are responsible for moving our arms in all the multiple directions they are capable of. Our shoulders are complex and amazing!

Rotator cuff injuries are common and increase with age. Fifty percent of adults over 60 have rotator cuff tears. Thirty-four percent of adults who have rotator cuff tears have no symptoms. For more information about the causes and treatment of a rotator cuff tear, see this article from the Mayo Clinic. It is a good idea to take care of your shoulders by keeping your muscles strong before an injury occurs. The water is an excellent place to do this because buoyancy decreases joint compression and allows better muscle function and relaxation. When the shoulders are submerged, circulation increases which assists in removing toxins and bringing in nutrients. Start by relaxing the shoulders. When your shoulder blades are flat, the rotator cuff is in good alignment. With your arms by your sides, turning the palms forward helps to bring the shoulders in good alignment. Some shoulder exercises to try in the water are:

  • Lat pull-down. Hold resistance tubing overhead and pull the ends down to the sides.
  • Jumping jacks with the thumbs up.
  • Breaststroke with the thumbs up
  • Rear delt fly. Pull the ends of resistance tubing apart at shoulder level.
  • Shoulder extension. Bring the arms in front of the body at the surface of the water and press down. You can add resistance with drag equipment, such as paddles. Or hold resistance tubing at the surface of the water with one hand and pull the opposite end down with the other arm.
  • Cross-country ski with the palms facing forward.
  • Rotator cuff sweep. Bring your elbows down near, but not glued to, your waist. Sweep your hands out to the side and back to center. Or keep your hands out to the sides and walk backwards.
  • PNF. (1) Bring one fist to the opposite shoulder then sweep it diagonally out to the side near the hip with the palm facing back. (2) Bring one fist to the opposite hip then sweep it diagonally up to the side with the palm up, as if pulling a sword out of its scabbard and brandishing it.
  • Figure eights to the sides, to the front, or one arm at a time.
Do not hang from dumbbells
Do not position noodle too high
Do not position dumbbells in arm pits
Do not breaststroke with thumbs down

In addition to strengthening the shoulder, there are some cautions to help you avoid an injury. Look at the drawing of the shoulder bones. The head of the humerus is like a golf ball sitting on a tee (the glenoid cavity). This allows the shoulders to be extremely mobile, but they are not designed for weight bearing. Therefore, do not hang on walls, because then you are using your shoulders to support your weight. The photos demonstrate some other things NOT to do. You want to avoid impinging the shoulder, which means pinching the tendons of the rotator cuff. Impingement occurs when you hang from foam dumbbells with the arms extended to the sides and when you are suspended from foam dumbbells in a reclining position. Using a noodle around the torso can also cause impingement if it is too high. Position it mid-torso, just below the shoulder blades. Do not hang from foam dumbbells under the armpits as it damages the nerves in the armpit. Always wear a deep-water belt when using foam dumbbells in deep water. Keep your feet on the pool floor when using foam dumbbells in shallow water. Keep your shoulders relaxed while working with foam dumbbells. Impingement occurs when using the equipment with shoulders shrugged. If you have difficulty holding the dumbbells under water without shrugging the shoulders, use a smaller set of dumbbells, or switch to webbed gloves. Another instance of impingement occurs when the arms are extended to the sides with the shoulder internally rotated, that is with the thumbs down. That is why the breaststroke is done with the thumbs up. Yes, swimmers do the breaststroke with the thumbs down, but they are in a horizontal position, not in the vertical position of exercisers in a water fitness class. Be careful about bringing your arms too far back when doing a breaststroke. This exposes the head of the humerus, risking an injury. Keep your hands within your peripheral vision, unless you are doing a slow stretch.

Overhead reaches are functional, but do not sustain them for too long. The shoulder muscles fatigue quickly, so take a break after a few repetitions, or alternate arms. Do not bring the arms in and out of the water. As the arms break the surface, the resistance is suddenly gone, and the movement becomes ballistic. When you hold your arms out to the sides, do not continuously maintain a position between 80 and 120 degrees, because that can cause bursitis. It is better to have the arms at a 70 degree angle. Fast arm circles overload the small shoulder muscles. Slow the arm circles down. When holding a noodle in the hands for upper body work, it is best to have the hands shoulder distance apart. If the hands are too narrow, the shoulders are rounded. If the hands are too far apart, the shoulder blades are no longer neutral. Triceps dips with the noodle behind the back are also hard on the shoulders, and there are many triceps exercises that are more effective.

Take care of your shoulders so you can continue to lift those grocery bags, open the car door, wipe the kitchen counter, pick up a child, lift your drink, brush your hair, and reach behind your back to thread your belt through the loops without pain.

Resources:

Ruth Sova, MS – Shoulders Mini Session 9-8-22

Pauline Ivens, MS & Catherine Holder, PT Do No Harm 2011

See you in the pool!

Author/Instructor Photo
Chris Alexander

Shoulders / water fitness

Deep Water Running

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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!

Author/Instructor Photo

Chris Alexander

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deep water / Running

Improve Your Stabilization

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by Ruth Sova and Chris Alexander

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.

When we were born, we all moved from the inside out. Eventually our bodies found it was easier to move from the outside in. Our superficially placed muscles fire first when we are being efficient or mobility focused. When we are safety or stability focused, our deep tissue muscles fire first.

Our bodies want to be efficient, so they often find the easiest way to do things. The easiest, most efficient way to lift your arms during ‘the wave’ in the stadium is to propel your head forward. The safest way is to stabilize your core so only the arms move. The easiest, most efficient way to lift your knee up high is to propel your torso forward. The safest way is to stabilize the torso before lifting the knee.

Other common efficiency examples you’ll see or feel:

  • Rib flare and lumbar extension to reach overhead instead of letting the thoracic spine/ribcage mobilize.
  • Knee collapse (valgus) or foot collapse during squats and stairs because the hip isn’t stabilizing in the frontal plane.
  • Hip hitch or leaning the trunk forward during walking/running when the lateral hip can’t hold the pelvis level (Trendelenburg).
  • Neck tension and breath-holding when the diaphragm isn’t leading the breath, forcing accessory neck muscles to overwork.
  • Back rounding and twisting to pick objects up when the hips won’t hinge.

None of these mean you’re “broken”. It means your brain / nervous system chose a strategy that worked once and then it became automated. Habit, fatigue, aging, pregnancy/postpartum changes, and sport repetition—can prompt the body to find “workarounds” that feel efficient in the moment but quietly tax joints, tendons, and the nervous system.

Sometimes an injury or surgery can change the muscle firing sequence. When you injure a body part it will hurt to use the muscles around it, so other muscles get involved. This is called compensation. Your body should return to normal after healing, but it often doesn’t. You may end up with muscles that shouldn’t be involved firing for the rest of your life. When a joint that should hold can’t, the neighbor tries to move less or move too much.

The good news is that we can teach our bodies to choose safety, which means moving from the inside out (stabilize first). At its simplest: stability is controlled stillness—the precise amount of muscular co-contraction that lets other segments move freely. It is not “rigid bracing all the time.” It’s dynamic and follows two steps.

The first step is the breath. Real core stability starts with the pressure system inside the torso. When the diaphragm descends on inhale and the pelvic floor responds, the abdominal wall and deep spinal muscles (transversus abdominis, multifidi) create 360° intra-abdominal pressure that supports the lumbar spine like an internal airbag. Exhalation then organizes the ribcage over the pelvis so force transfers cleanly from the ground up through the hips, trunk, and shoulders. This is why “stack your ribs over your pelvis and breathe wide into your sides and back” is such potent coaching; it sets the platform before you move.

Step two is brain entrainment. Brain entrainment, also called neural entrainment, is a phenomenon where the brainwaves synchronize with external stimulation. It is how the brain picks movement patterns (helpful and not). Your brain has two top priorities: safety and efficiency. If a pattern feels safe and lets you accomplish the task quickly, your nervous system will favor it … even if it steals stability from one place to create motion somewhere else. Practice engrains these choices into durable habits. Some habits are protective and powerful; others become compensations that limit performance or invite overload. Therefore, it is necessary to relearn stabilization.

The Heavy Concept is an excellent technique for relearning stabilization. It puts the focus back on the synergistic and stabilizing muscles and takes it away from the prime mover. Here’s an example. While you are sitting, do 4 alternating knee lifts. You probably will notice that your body rocks either side-to-side or forward and back. Now imagine that someone has super-glued your foot to the floor. Try to lift it. It won’t come up but continue trying harder (without letting the body lean). What you did was activate the deep tissue trunk/core muscles, the stabilizers. Next, imagine that you are slowly overcoming the super-glue as you lift your leg. The Heavy Concept is neuromuscular retraining.

Another re-education option is to organize from the center out (a 60-second reset)

  1. Stack: Stand with ribs over pelvis, soft knees, long back of the neck.
  2. Diaphragmatic 360° breath: Inhale through the nose, expanding low ribs, sides, and back; exhale through gently pursed lips to feel the lower ribs glide down without crunching.
  3. Set pressure: On the end of the exhale, keep a gentle 15–20% abdominal tone (not a hard brace) while you begin the next inhale.
  4. Move: Keep this quiet pressure while you hinge, reach, step, or perform any exercise. If you lose it, reset.

There are exercises you can do to strengthen the stabilizers. On land the exercises typically challenge the body in an unstable environment, such as on a stability ball. But the water is a dynamic environment, making it ideal for stability challenges. Here are some examples:

  • Knee lifts using the Heavy Concept
  • Yoga plank on a noodle. Try lifting one leg toward the surface.
  • Yoga side plank on a noodle. Try lifting the top leg toward the surface.
  • Single leg stand. Try extending one leg forward as you stand on the other foot. Or raise one or both arms overhead.
  • Single leg squats.
  • Fall forward, tuck your feet under you and stand up.
  • Fall sideways, tuck your feet under you and stand up.

You can practice stabilization using the Heavy Concept in daily-life situations:

  • Lifting the dog/groceries: imagine that they are heavier than they actually are and you should feel deep tissue muscles in the torso engage.
  • Stairs: As you shift your weight up, imagine that your body is incredibly heavy and you should feel your core engage.
  • Reaching high: imagine that it’s really hard to lift your arms, and you should feel your shoulder blades depress.

The benefits of improved stabilization include reducing the risk of falls, reducing the risk of suffering from an injury, improving your brain-body connection, increasing your overall body awareness, and quicker reaction times. Stabilization isn’t about bracing harder, it’s about breathing, stacking, and timing so that the right parts hold while the right parts move. Nail that first, and the Heavy Concept will feel intuitive: add the right kind of “heavy,” and your brain upgrades the pattern for keeps.

See you in the pool!

Author/Instructor Photo

Ruth Sova and Chris Alexander

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Balance / Fall Prevention / Stability

Pool Equipment: Dumbbells

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Foam dumbbells (or hand buoys) are another popular piece of pool equipment, along with noodles. Before companies began making equipment designed for use in water exercise, instructors used empty milk jugs! I’m glad those days are gone. Nowadays, there are many companies producing foam dumbbells. Here are a few examples of what is available:

Hydro-Fit. Craig Stuart told me that he made his original Hydro-Fit Hand Buoys on his dining room table. His goal was to create some kind of resistance equipment that took advantage of the properties of water. Today’s Hydro-Fit dumbbells are made of premium quality Ethafoam® and feature cushioned hand grips and sturdy construction for lasting durability. I like that the bar part of the dumbbells are made of a soft material that does not deteriorate in chlorinated water.

Swim Outlet. A variety of other brands of foam dumbbells is available on Swim Outlet, including Sporti, Speedo, AquaJogger and also Hydro-Fit. Of course you can find lots of other brands on Amazon.

Class participants love dumbbells! If you Google “pictures of water exercise” you will find lots of photos of smiling participants waving their dumbbells in the air, or hanging from dumbbells extended to their sides. In facilities that store their equipment in bins on the deck, it is not unusual to see a participant grab a pair and spend the entire class pushing and plunging (as Mark Grevelding says). But let’s get serious for a moment. Dumbbells made of foam weigh very little, and waving them in the air is not an effective exercise. Buoyancy pushes the dumbbells toward the surface of the water, therefore the resistance comes from pushing them toward the pool floor. Pushing dumbbells underwater requires the shoulder stabilizers (mainly the rotator cuff muscles) to engage. Performing the exercises incorrectly by hunching the shoulders or hanging from dumbbells extended to the sides causes shoulder impingement, which may lead to a rotator cuff tear. Pushing and plunging for an entire class overuses the shoulder stabilizers and may also lead to a rotator cuff tear. So many senior adults already have rotator cuff tears that it makes sense to be intelligent about using the equipment safely. For more information on shoulder safety see my post on Shoulders.

Using Foam Dumbbells. Select dumbbells the right size. If your participant has trouble pushing them underwater without shrugging the shoulders, go to a smaller size. After every strength training set relax the shoulders. People often grip the handles hard while using dumbbells, so ask them to stretch their fingers as well. Exercises that push the dumbbells toward the pool floor include lat pull-down (should adduction, click the link for a short video demonstration), double arm press-down (shoulder extension), and triceps extension. If you lean forward in a lunge position, you can also do a chest fly (horizontal adduction) and push-ups. Exercises that sweep the dumbbells just below the surface of the water, such as a row or a rotator cuff sweep, require the shoulders to contract isometrically, which is okay if the reps are limited. For the legs, you can hold the dumbbells down by your sides, and do squats, lunges, and calf raises. The muscles used for all these exercises are the opposite of those same exercises with weights on land. That’s a pretty short list. Fortunately, there are ways to vary your use of foam dumbbells.

Use One Dumbbell. If you use just one dumbbell, you can perform an exercise with one hand, then pass the dumbbell to the other hand. That way one shoulder gets a break while the other shoulder works. With the dumbbell horizontal you can put one hand on each foam end, pushing or plunging with reduced resistance on each shoulder. Or do a rotator cuff sweep side to side. Hold the dumbbell vertical with both hands on the handle and sweep it in circles or figure eights.

Perform Eccentric Contractions. To focus on eccentric contractions, push the dumbbells quickly toward the pool floor, then slowly control the movement toward the surface of the water. Eccentric contractions have the reputation of being better at building strength than concentric contractions, which occur when pushing the equipment toward the floor, but this is a misconception. Nevertheless, focusing on eccentric contractions adds variety to your strength training session.

Use Dumbbells of Two Different Sizes. Most of us have muscle imbalances, that is, we are stronger on one side than the other. Right handed people are more likely to have a right arm that is stronger than their left arm, and the opposite is true for left handed people. Try using a larger size dumbbell with your weaker arm and a size smaller with your stronger arm to help correct a muscle imbalance.

Use Dumbbells as Stabilizers. In shallow water, you can use the dumbbells as stabilizers to practice fall recovery. Hold the dumbbells together in front of you and fall forward, then tuck your feet under you and stand. Or hold the dumbbells out to the sides and fall sideways, then tuck your feet under you and stand. This practice teaches a participant what to do if they lose their footing in the pool, and they will automatically recover from a fall, even if they do not have dumbbells in their hands. Foam dumbbells can also be used as stabilizers in both shallow water and deep water for the plank and side plank. In deep water, use the dumbbells as stabilizers for side to side (side shoot) and for abdominal pike and spine extension. Click on the links for short video demonstrations of both exercises. Do not do these exercises with dumbbells in shallow water, because then you would be hanging from the dumbbells by your shoulders. In deep water, you are wearing a buoyancy belt for support.

You can find lesson plans using foam dumbbells in both shallow water and deep water in my book Water Fitness Progressions. For the safety of your participants, don’t do an entire class with dumbbells. Alternate upper body strength training with exercises for the lower body, or do a circuit alternating strength training with cardio. Relax the shoulders between sets. Stretch the fingers, or do finger exercises such as finger extensions, thumb circles or cat claw. Or shake out the hands to relieve the tension in them.

See you in the pool!

Author/Instructor Photo

Chris Alexander

One response to “Pool Equipment: Dumbbells”

  1. Kay Barnett Avatar
    Kay Barnett

    Great as always!! I needed this as I am teaching both shallow water as well as deep water classes
    every other day!! So in order to keep my mind concentrating, I use the same play list 2 days in a row, but reshedule moves for each “record” according to shallow or deep exercises!! It has helped
    because some moves just do NOT transfer between deep and shallow!! I am so glad that you mentioned the shoulder because many of my participants have shoulder issues!!
    As always so good to get information from you and such great reminders of the great twice a year
    trainings we used to have ….all H20 members who joined!!

    Reply

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#BuoyantEquipment / #Foam Dumbbells  

Pool Equipment: Noodles

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Nearly every pool has noodles. They are inexpensive and available every summer in many different kinds of stores. They come thick or thin, with or without holes in the middle, and in many different colors.

You can also spend more for denser noodles from Hydro-Fit or square Sqoodles from AquaJogger. These provide more buoyancy, resistance and support than the regular pool noodles.

The uses for pool noodles are almost endless. Hold them in the hands for upper body strength training. Sit on it like a swing, wrap one around your lower back, or ride it like a bicycle for suspended exercises. Recline on the noodle lengthwise for crunches. Stand on a noodle for lower body strength training and balance work. Noodles are also great for partner work. If you have more than one type of noodle to choose from, the noodle you use for a specific exercise will depend on your goals.

Upper Body Strength Training.

if your focus is muscular endurance, use the smaller noodles and perform more reps. If your focus is muscular strength, use the more buoyant noodles and perform fewer reps. Hold the noodle with your hands 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. Some exercises you can do are row, push forward, push down, triceps extension, push-ups leaning forward with the toes on the floor or suspended, and burpees. For a video demonstration of how to do burpees in deep water, click burpees. In shallow water, jump up instead of flutter kicking to elevate the shoulders. Use one hand to press a noodle down, or perform jumping jacks or cross-country ski. Hold the ends of the noodle like a rainbow and touch the ends in a chest fly, or hold the ends together and perform shoulder flexion. Wrap the noodle around your waist, hold it in that position with your elbows and perform a rotator cuff sweep.

Suspended Exercises.

For suspended exercises, a smaller noodle will work, but the denser noodles provide more support. Sitting on a noodle like a swing challenges balance. In this position you can perform seated kicks, unison kicks (mermaid), seated jacks with legs straight, bent knee jacks, seated leg press, bicycle, flutter kick, point and flex the feet, and hip hike. You can do most of the same exercises with the noodle wrapped around your lower back (also called positioned in a posterior sling) which provides more stability. Do not position the noodle in the arm pits because that causes impingement in the shoulder joints which may lead to a rotator cuff tear. With the noodle wrapped around the lower back do a waist twist instead of a hip hike. Try a Pilates move, such as single leg stretch (see the center photo). Stretch the arms side to side and you can do side-lying moves such as bicycle, jog, flutter kick and cross-country ski. If you want to do suspended travel, sitting on a noodle like bicycle is the way to go. You can bicycle, or reverse pedal to go backward, and travel with seated jacks, seated kick and cross-country ski. Cross the ankles and row using only the arms for canoe races.

Recline on the Noodle.

If I’m going to do crunches, this is the noodle position that I prefer. Reclining on the noodle puts you in the correct position to perform crunches. Focus on bringing your chest toward your knees which contracts the abdominals rather than bringing your knees to your chest which works the hip flexors. Participants with osteoporosis should not do crunches because forward flexion compresses the discs of the spine and may cause microfractures. This is why I seldom do crunches with my classes. More often we focus on core stabilization. Put the noodle between the knees, then raise and lower the knees until you find neutral.

Stand on the Noodle.

With lower body strength training, the smaller noodles are best for focusing on muscular endurance, and the more buoyant noodles are best for improving muscular strength. The Sqoodle is easier to manage under the feet because of its flat surfaces. Put one foot on the noodle and perform a leg press in front to work the quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves. Perform a leg press to the side to work the inner thigh. Keep the leg straight and perform a small hip extension for the glutes; the noodle flies out from under the foot with a larger hip extension. Perform squats standing on the noodle with both feet. Do a reverse squat by lifting the feet (and the noodle) off the floor. Lift one foot at a time and use the noodle like a stair climber. Stand on the noodle and drop the toes to the floor for the calves and the heels to the floor for the tibialis anterior. Balance with one foot on the noodle and the other leg lifted in front or extended to the back.

Partner Work.

Noodles are great for partner moves. For a partner bicycle ride, have one participant sit on the noodle like a bicycle while her partner wraps the noodle around her chest, becoming the handle bars. The partner in front runs while the one in back bicycles. Make a train by having four or more participants wrap their noodles around their chest; the ones in back hold the ends of the noodle of their partners in front. The partner in front is the train engine. Everybody runs to one end of the pool, Then the train engine goes to the back of the line to become the caboose, and a new engine leads the train back to the starting point. If you have several trains, turn it into a race, and keep going until everyone has had a turn being the engine. A variation is to have four or more people straddle their noodles and put the ends of the noodle of their partner in front between their knees. Now you can have crew boat races with everyone rowing. Let the last person in the boat call out the strokes. Create a centipede by having everyone straddle their noodles and get in a line one behind the other. Each person uses their hands to hold the end of the noodle of the person in front. Everyone bicycles while the person at the head of the line performs a breaststroke and leads the centipede in circles, or spirals or zig zags.

This list of noodle exercises is not exhaustive. You can find lesson plans with noodle exercises in both of my books, Water Fitness Lesson Plans and Choreography and Water Fitness Progressions. The first book is out of print, but you can find copies on Amazon, or get it as an e-book. If you have a favorite noodle exercise, put it in the “Leave a Reply” box below.

See you in the pool!

Author/Instructor Photo

Chris Alexander

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#BuoyantEquipment / #PoolNoodles