Pool Exercises?

JoanQuilts - I belong to a water aerobics class at the local rehabilitation hospital. All the ladies are older, or have some sort of disability that keeps it from being too strenuous.

The therapy pool is 4' deep, and is heated to 94 degrees. Wonderful on stiff, sore joints! (Not sure how it would affect hot flashes, though.)

We start by just walking around in circles. Then we side-step in the opposite direction. Changing directions again, we walk backwards.

We run in place as fast as we can, pumping our arms back and forth.

We slow it down, and do cross-country skiing underwater (arms and legs).

We do half-jumping jacks.

We do "kick the soccer ball" under water.

We jog in place and punch our arms down by our sides, then out to each side.

We clap our hands, using wide arms, under water.

We do high kicks underwater.

We go to the side of the pool and hang on to the bar, so we can do leg raises out to the side, front, and back. Switch legs and do the same.

We hang on to the bar, raise up our bodies in the water (need good core muscles for this) and do scissor kicks, then flutter kicks, then knee to chest raises, then a bicycling movement.

We grab either foam boards or plastic paddles and push them back and forth, up and down, do the washboard motion, and under our arms up and down.

Finally we go back to the bar and do calf stretches, hamstring stretches by hoisting a leg up onto the bar,  and quad stretches by bending one leg backwards and grabbing the heel.

Then do some neck stretches and rolls, shoulder rolls, and a great big stretch and we're done.

I know I must have left something out, but in the water I can run faster, jump higher, and move better so much more than on dry land!

The worst part is walking up those steps to get out of the water. It feels like you are gaining 100 pounds with each step.

Have fun at the pool!