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Water exercise equipment used to be limited to paddles, fins, and buoys. However, today’s extremely stressful lifestyle has thrust water workouts to the forefront of the American fitness movement. This in turn has spawned all kinds of water exercise equipment that maximize the unique resistant properties of water.
The Four Groups of Water Exercise Equipment
Not all water exercise equipment are created equal. Following is a quick run-down of the four basic groups of water exercise devices.
Flotation Equipment
One of the most exciting pieces of water exercise equipment is the buoyancy or water exercise belt, which suspends you vertically in the water, at shoulder level. The belt, simply by virtue of its design, tones your abdominal muscles because you have to use them to stay upright in the water. Moreover, it supports and strengthens your lower back.
Other examples of flotation equipment are kickboards and pull buoys.
Weights
These include hand weights, buoyancy cuffs, wrist weights, ankle weights, dumbbells, and bars.
Gear
These include hitches, water shoes, paddles, fins, gloves, and ankle ties.
The most practical water exercise equipment in perhaps the hitch or leash. It
increases resistance during stationary workouts and, at the same time, conserves pool space, since you stay vertical. The hitch is a bungee cord that attaches your buoyancy belt to the side of the pool so you can workout even in a lap lane used by another swimmer. The best thing about it is that it gives you a sense of personal space in a crowded pool.
Popular gear include water shoes (good cardio, endurance workout sans risk of impact-related injury), gloves (increases hand drag for upper-body conditioning), and fins (an all-time favorite for balance, streamlining, and better kicking technique).
Accessories
These include masks and snorkels, caps and headbands, ear bands and plugs, timers and MP3 players, and chamois towels.
A growing number of Americans, across all ages, have turned to water training for a relaxing, low-impact, yet effective alternative to traditional aerobic and weight-bearing workouts. As a result, the sports industry has been relentless in its pursuit of better designs for water exercise equipment. So take advantage of what’s in store in the market today!
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