Pool Tools: Noodles

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Noodles

Back when I started teaching water fitness in the early 1990’s, the only equipment we had was milk jugs, which we held under our arms for support during suspended exercises.

Milk jug  Milk jug  What was wrong with that? Plenty! When the body is suspended from milk jugs, the shoulders are unacceptably loaded, the tendons are pinched, and nerve damage may occur in the arm pits (Ivens and Holder, Do No Harm, 2011). Fortunately, today we have better equipment options.

One of the oldest and most popular options is the pool noodle. It is inexpensive (around $3 to $5 each) which means most facilities can afford them, and there are many ways to use them. One way is to use them under our arms for support during suspended exercises, just as we did with the jugs. But if we hang from noodles under our arm pits, we risk the same shoulder, tendon and nerve damage that occurred with the milk jugs. To avoid that risk, position the noodle below the shoulder blades with the arms resting on top of the noodle in a position called “posterior sling.”                                                                                                                                                                         Adam noodle kick

In this position, we can do kicks from the knees, flutter kicks, bicycle, leg press, seated jacks and ankle flexion. Alternate the legs or work only one leg. The kick from the knee, bicycle, leg press and ankle flexion can be performed with the legs in unison.  For the core muscles, you can do a seated waist twist, and recline backward for crunches.

Sit on the noodle like a swing to do most of those same exercises, and you have added a balance challenge because this position is less stable. You can not do crunches sitting on the noodle like a swing, but you can hike the hip side to side to work the obliques. Try holding on to the noodle with both hands, with just one hand or with arms extended to the sides. Place the arms inside the noodle or outside the noodle for arm movements. Sweep one arm either out or in to turn in a circle.

Kathy straddle noodle

When greater stability is desired, straddle the noodle as if riding a bicycle. All the leg movements you do with the noodle in a posterior sling can be done while straddling the noodle, including reclining for crunches. Squeeze the noodle between the knees to add resistance on the waist twist. Try crossing the ankles and using the arms only. Now you can row, do the breaststroke or reverse breaststroke, unison arm swing, clap hands, and rotator cuff sweep. Bicycle with both the arms and the legs. Bicycle races are a fun way to end a class.

More on noodles in my next post. See you in the pool!

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Chris Alexander

 

 

 

 

Pool equipment / shallow water / water fitness

Holidays in the Pool

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Santa

There is a lot to do during the holiday season: shopping, wrapping presents, decorating, baking, holiday parties and more. You know your water fitness class participants need to maintain their exercise routine to help them manage the holiday stress, but sometimes exercise moves near the bottom of their priority list. Try some of the following ideas to make your water fitness class more festive and encourage everyone to keep coming:

Holiday Music. Break out some holiday music to get everyone in a festive mood. All the fitness music companies have Christmas music playlists for sale. Check out:

(1) Super Happy Xmas Step (128-130 BPM) and Xmas Buzz (135 BPM) at Yes Fitness Music www.yesfitnessmusic.com.

(2) Tis The Season – Best of Christmas Hits Remixed (130 BPM) and Christmas Hits Remixed (135 BPM) at Power Music www.powermusic.com.

(3) Core Christmas (128 BPM) and Christmas in Motion (135 BPM) at Muscle Mixes www.musclemixes.com.

Holiday Themed Games and Activities. Add fun activities at the end of your fitness routine to have everyone laughing and looking forward to the next class. Here are two ideas:

(1) Santa’s Sleigh Relay – Divide the class into two reindeer teams. Each person has a noodle around his or her waist. The team members line up behind Rudolph at the front of the line, holding the ends of the noodle belonging to the person in front of them. They run to the back of the pool and return. Rudolph then goes to the end of the line, and the second person in line becomes the new Rudolph. This continues until the original Rudolph is again at the front. The first reindeer team to finish wins.

(2) Twelve Days of Christmas – This Christmas song is perfect for add-on choreography. Select an exercise for each of the 12 days, for example jumping jacks for the Partridge in a Pear Tree and inner thigh lift doubles for the Two Turtle Doves. Sing or speak (if you do not have a good singing voice like me) the lyrics, doing each exercise 8X.

Costumes. This is the perfect time to wear your red swim suit, a Santa hat, a Frosty the Snowman top hat, a red nose or a hat with reindeer antlers.

Holiday Gifts. Show your appreciation for your class by giving them each a small gift. Some gift ideas include a Clementine tangerine, a tree ornament, a peppermint candy cane, a Christmas cookie, a package of hot cocoa mix, or some kind of homemade goodie. Here is an easy recipe if you would like to make your own treats:

Pretzel Hugs

Pretzel M&M Hugs

Ingredients: 70 mini pretzels, 70 Hershey’s Hugs (12 oz pkg.), red & green M&Ms

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place pretzels on the cookie sheet in a single layer then top each one with a Hershey’s Hug. Bake 4-5 minutes until chocolate is soft but not melted. Remove from oven and place one M&M in the center and press down to spread the chocolate. Chill for 5 minutes. Place several in individual baggies for each class participant.

Merry Christmas!

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Chris Alexander

 

 

holiday ideas / water fitness

Have Fun in the Pool

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Why it so much fun to exercise in water? It’s because getting into the pool means leaving the world of gravity and entering the world of buoyancy! Buoyancy is the upward force that water exerts on submerged objects. It makes you feel lighter. It takes the weight off your joints. It allows you to jump higher and land softly. It supports you and reduces any fear you might have of falling. It reminds you of the fun you had playing in the pool as a child.

Buoyancy is one of the properties of water that can be harnessed to increase the intensity of your exercise. Any movement toward the pool floor has to work against buoyancy. So instead of focusing on arm lifts, press those arms down, either from the front in a double-arm press-down or from the side in a lat pull-down. In a front kick, focus on pressing the leg down. When kicking side to side, focus on pulling the legs down toward center.

Buoyancy is not the only property of water that makes working in water different from working on land. Water offers more resistance than air and it slows movement quickly. This resistance is called drag resistance. If you increase the surface area you increase the drag resistance. You can increase the surface area by traveling forward with the arms stretched to the side or by traveling forward with the legs farther apart. Increase frontal resistance while traveling sideways by performing exercises that move front to back, such as cross-country ski.

When you push against the water, the water pushes back. If you push harder, the water pushes back harder. This hard pushing is called acceleration. If you push hard enough to double the speed of your movement, you have quadrupled the force. You can therefore control the intensity of your exercise by the amount of force you use with your limbs. It is important to maintain your range of motion with acceleration, since small moves are not as effective for increasing intensity.

When you move a limb in one direction, it will propel the body in the opposite direction. For example, if you sweep your arms to the right, the reaction is that the body moves toward the left. This is called action and reaction. Swimmers use this property of water with their swim strokes. In vertical water exercise we can take advantage of this property to increase intensity by using impeding arm or leg movements. Sweep your arms to the right and move right. Use an arm or leg movement that propels the body forward, but travel backward. Or use an arm or leg movement that propels the body backward, but travel forward.

It is important to understand the properties of water because they make aquatic exercise very different from working on land. They are tools that can be used to increase intensity. And they add to the fun of working out in the water!

See you in the pool!

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Chris Alexander

Benefits of water fitness / water fitness

Water Fitness Instructors Are Needed

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Do you take a water fitness class? Do you like to be in the front of the class so that you always know what is going on? Do you like helping new participants feel comfortable in class? Are you naturally outgoing? Have you thought about becoming a water fitness instructor?

I’d like to invite you to take my Water Fitness Instructor Basic Training class. It is being offered on October 21 and 28 from 10:00 AM – 2:30 PM at the McKinney Senior Pool, 1400 South College Street, McKinney, Texas 75069. Participants need to attend both days. It is an opportunity for you to learn what is required in order to teach a water fitness class. You will not have a certification at the end of class, but you will have a foundation to begin working toward a certification.

We spend a good portion of the first day on anatomy. It is important to know something about the muscles and to be familiar with movement terminology so that you will know what muscles you are using in any given exercise. That way you can plan a well-balanced water fitness class for your participants. The second day includes an open-book quiz to give you practice in using a chart to figure out what muscles you are using in a variety of exercises.

We cover good body alignment, because neutral posture is important for safe exercise. We talk about the fitness recommendations of the American College of Sports Medicine. You will learn ways to judge whether you are working in your target heart rate zone. Since you are exercising in water, you also need to know the properties of water that make water fitness different from land exercise.

Of course we will talk about how to plan a water exercise class. You will learn what the parts of a class are, how to increase and decrease intensity, how to use various types of water fitness equipment safely, and a variety of choreography styles. I also spend some time on contraindications, things to avoid because they might lead to an injury later on. You get a list of websites where you can go for equipment, choreography ideas and music, plus information on how to get certified and how to get continuing education.

I teach a sample class on the first day. You can keep the lesson plan for your own use later on. On the second day, you teach a 5 to 8-minute sample class to give you practice cuing and demonstrating exercises. After that you can get on the sub list for the McKinney Senior Pool. Or you can get started on your certification, so that you will be qualified to teach at any facility you choose. To see a list of facilities in the Dallas area that are looking for instructors, check out the Jobs page of the website of the Metroplex Association of Aquatic Professionals at www.maapdfw.com

If this sounds like something you would like to do, you can register on the McKinney Parks and Recreation website at https://webtrac.mckinneytexas.org On the Home page click the Search button. On the drop down window click Activities. In the Type window click Aquatic Classes. The class is listed at the bottom of page 2. The cost is $60 for McKinney residents and $65 for non-residents. All materials for the class are provided. Click on the address of the pool above for a link to a map to the facility.

I hope to see you there!

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Chris Alexander

shallow water / water fitness / water fitness instructor class

Training for Good Health

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healthy food  The Metroplex Association of Aquatic Professionals (MAAP) offers two continuing education trainings a year. Over the years, Meridan Zerner, MS, RD, CSSD, LD, a dietician with the Cooper Institute, has been the presenter twice. I like Ms. Zerner very much because her health and nutrition advice is easy to understand and follow. I pass the information that I got from her lectures on to my classes in my Tips for the Day.

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends that all adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardiorespiratory exercise a week for good health. You could exercise at a moderate intensity 30-60 minutes a day 5 days a week, or at a vigorous intensity 20-60 minutes a day 3 days a week. In addition they recommend that you do resistance exercises 2-3 days a week and flexibility exercises (stretches) 2-3 days a week.

Ms. Zerner said that the average 50-year-old woman who weighs the same as when she was 20, requires one fourth to one third fewer calories to maintain her weight. That’s why people tend to gain weight as they age. It’s a worthy goal to not gain any more weight. To prevent weight gain, ACSM says that you should get 150-250 minutes of moderate-intensity cardiorespiratory exercise a week. That’s an extra 100 minutes of exercise per week. There are health benefits to losing as little as 10% of your body weight. If your goal is weight loss, then you have to exercise more than 250 minutes a week. And once you lose the weight, you need to continue to get more than 250 minutes of moderate intensity cardiorespiratory exercise every week to prevent the weight from coming back. If that sounds daunting, it’s because it is!

Ms. Zerner says that a better plan than exercise alone is to combine diet and exercise. If you just diet, 25% of the weight you lose will be lean muscle. If you diet and do cardiorespiratory exercise, less of the weight lost will be lean muscle. Add in some resistance exercise and you will not lose – and you may even gain – muscle mass. A good way to combine cardiorespiratory and resistance exercise is to work out in the pool, performing the exercises with power in order to take advantage of the water’s resistance.

Recent research shows that weight loss is not easy, as if we didn’t know that already. A deficit of 3500 calories does not equal a pound lost as was commonly thought. But it’s still fewer calories in than calories out. So eat less. Every meal. Drink water. Cook because then you control what goes in your food. And get exercise every day.

See you in the pool!

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Chris Alexander

exercise for weight loss / water fitness