Why Water Workouts are Perfect to Stay Fit This Winter

When the weather turns cold it can be harder to motivate yourself to exercise and there’s a reason for that. When your body is warm, it’s better prepared for exercise which can lead to fewer injuries. For example, you’ll have dilated blood vessels leading to better circulation. Your muscles and soft tissues will be more relaxed allowing for a good range of movement and muscle contractions helping prevent strains. When you’re cold your nerves don’t fire as well as normal so exercise can feel much more difficult. 

That may work for some people, but we’d rather enjoy our exercise, which we definitely do when we’re in a warm pool. For those with conditions causing muscle and joint pain and fatigue, they’re likely already feeling more pain in colder months. Submerging in a warm pool can provide pain relief by soothing muscles across the body, making the exercise feel more manageable once you’re in. 

If you’re combining your water workout with a walk home in the cold or another outdoor workout, research has shown that being warm, like in the pool, first improves endurance. This is likely due to the improvements in muscle and circulation we mentioned above. 

How Water is Ideal for Joints, Especially in Cold Months 

Water is a perfect environment for exercise as it provides both buoyancy and resistance. The resistance builds strength training into the workout helping keep muscles strong. As it’s harder to stand upright in water than on land, you’ll also strengthen your core. The buoyancy on the other hand supports a significant percentage of your body weight. This means that aquatic fitness causes less impact on joints compared to a land workout. As we said above, conditions like arthritis are worse in colder months so this provides a great option to keep up fitness when other forms of exercise would be too intense. The buoyancy and resistance combination also allows for a wider range of movement when in water. This helps gently test the joints and build flexibility with some body mass supported. 

Water fitness provides cardio without the running and jumping that many other cardio gym classes include. These actions send shocks through the joints especially the knees, so if you’re already struggling with your joints, they could be inaccessible to you. Aquatic fitness helps you access cardio that you don’t suffer for to keep on top of your heart health. The combination of cardio and strength that aquatic exercise offers, as well as the potential to burn up to hundreds of calories, means you’re likely to lose weight if done regularly. Weight loss will ease the pressure on joints which could lead to some improvement of symptoms. 

Tips on Getting Started With a Water Routine This Winter 

Aquatic fitness in a warm pool is the perfect way to keep active in colder months for all the reasons we’ve noted here that make it more accessible. Many people struggle with low mood or increased mental health symptoms in winter, likely due to the reduced hours of sunlight. Staying active in a way you enjoy like water fitness can help improve mood in the winter due to the endorphin release that comes with regular exercise. As exercising also boosts your cardiovascular and immune systems, you’re likely to notice an improvement in your overall health. We all feel low when we’re down with yet another winter bug so anything you can do to prevent them will improve your mental and physical wellbeing. Joining in a group class is fun, which boosts mood, and helps build the social connections we can let slip in winter as we hide in our homes. 

If you’re new to water fitness, as with any exercise it’s best to start slow. You’ll be using muscles just to stand up and walk in the water so don’t expect to be doing a full workout in your first session. Focusing at first on moves like scissor kicks will help your core strength and improve your aquatic fitness abilities and stamina. Joining a beginner’s group or booking an appointment with a water-based personal trainer will help you to avoid overdoing it and build at a good pace for your body. 

If you’re particularly sensitive to temperature changes, focusing on cardio in your water sessions will get your blood pumping and help keep some warmth as you go back out into the cold. This could mean running on the spot in the water, jumping jacks, or marching and bringing your knees up high. Make sure you’ve dried your hair and brought a warm outfit to help make the adjustment a little easier.

At Aquatic Performance Training, water exercise is our passion. If these benefits and tips have made you curious, find out more about our aquatic classes here.