Sunday, December 30, 2012

Aquatic Exercises For Body building Individuals

Aquatic Exercises For Body building Individuals


by Christian Lawrence


Water; so smooth and refreshing... no wonder it is termed the fountain of life. I totally concur. I remember sometime ago once I wrote on a similar topic, I said something about never having seen a fat swimmer (i mean professional swimmers; I do know we see a variety of in the local pools today). Same goes for a swimmer with persistent lower back pain (yeah right! Pretty ironic, isn't it?). Most of lower-back pain issues are caused by strained muscles or ligaments, and though often painful, usually resolves by itself. Structural problems in the spine, such as herniated discs, sometimes require surgical intervention. Swimming offers a non-weight bearing environment in which to exercise the bigger muscles in the back and also the smaller muscle groups which help support them. Proper stroke technique prevents swimming-related injuries, and stroke drills and kicks help relieve tense muscles. This lower back exercise also has low-impact consequences involved as it does not put any direct stress, twisting or rough contact on your back as other sports may do. While limiting pressure and extra pain around the back, swimming exercises also can assist to strengthen a weak back.

Exercising in water is really a safe approach to workout without putting stress on your joints. The buoyancy produced from in a pool of water about your neck will support 90 percent of the body weight, according to Spine-Health, a web-based resource for back and neck pain. This can take pressure away from the lumbar spine of one's lower back. You're able to do stretching and strengthening exercises in a pool. Walk round the pool or swim for a couple minutes to warm up your muscles before exercising and walk around between stretches. For spine problems, swimming using a sidestroke or backstroke in your exercises are recommended to prevent causing lower back pain when you swim. You need to prevent back injury when executing this lower back exercise by making sure your positioning is correct. Engage your ab muscles when you swim in the front style, and keep the head in a straight line with your body, not cranked up to look toward the sky or ceiling.

Being a swimmer (pro or perhaps not; provided that you are in water, you happen to be swimmer), so as a swimmer, weight training is vital and also your focus need to be on developing strong muscles with high endurance capabilities. You need to aim for higher repetitions (perhaps 15 or more), with low or moderate weights. Train this way for just two sets then train heavier on your own last set, with six to 10 reps whilst keeping it steady, to increasingly gain strength. Some parts of your body that relates with all the lower back and are also impacted by swimming are;

The Biceps and Triceps

Inside the pool, you are working your biceps and triceps while you pull the water using your arms, forcefully working against the resistance in the water. Experts recommend completing standing bicep hammer curls and seated dumbbell curls to primarily concentrate on the biceps. Complete your curls with your elbows tight on your sides and take control of your weight slowly up and down. Triceps overhead extensions and dips target train the backs of your arms. Triceps dips must be completed using a bench with straight legs or knees bent for an easier approach.

The Lower Body

The glutes, quadriceps and hamstrings all are engaged in swimming. Regardless if you are freestyle kicking or using a breaststroke kick, your lower body actively works up against the resistance of the water. The seated hamstring curl machine will concentrate on the backs of your thighs to build strength and complete the leg extension to train your quadriceps. Squats will actively engage virtually all of the muscles of the lower body to build strength. Squats can be performed either with or without weights.

The Core Back

Core strength is vital in swimmers. Target train your core with yoga moves. YogaJournal.com suggests doing plank pose or boat pose to interact with the whole midsection to develop strength. Plank pose is similar to holding the very top of a pushup. Draw your navel in and engage the core by keeping your body in a single line. Boat pose begins when you sit back and extend your legs out 45 degrees in front of you. Holding this static move, place your hands above the floor and out over your sides. Aim to hold both poses for 30 seconds, completing each exercise three times.

So having known these, I suppose you'll need exercises that may help you effectively address the issues you've with these lower body parts, here goes;

The Backstroke

To try and do the backstroke, move backward through the pool gliding lying on your back, propelling your body by producing large, circular backward motions with the arms. Commence with your right arm, bringing it up and back to enter into the water next to the head then follow in the same way together with your left arm. Kick your feet lightly using your knees slightly bent to keep your body moving forward in a straight line.

The Sidestroke

Work your lower back gently with a sidestroke. Get in a relaxed position in the water on either side of your body with your lower arm extended underneath the head and your upper arm alongside your upper thigh. Draw the knees in toward the body and move your lower hand in toward your shoulder and your higher hand in toward your chin. Propel your whole body in the water by kicking your legs out and digging in the water with your upper hand.

The Dolphin Kick

Turn on to your back and perform dolphin kicks, pulling and pushing using the core muscles in your abdomen. Use an undulating hip motion to flex and contract back muscles. Repeat with and without swim fins. Carry out the similar exercise while you're on one side. Only perform Dolphin kick sets when your lower back is healthy and pain free.

The Aquatic March

Another water exercise that targets the lower back involves marching in position. Always keep your spine straight. Begin with the feet firmly on the floor and shoulder-width apart. When marching in position, lift one leg up at a 90-degree angle. Lower it back in the ground and lift the other leg. Alternate the legs for 20 seconds. When returning your foot to the floor on the pool, avoid pounding or slapping it down.

The Water Pull

Swimming will work out the big muscles in the chest, back, and also the legs. Overuse or weakness of muscles used to rotate the body in freestyle brings about lower back pain. Pulling freestyle means swimming with your legs isolated trailing behind. It changes the swimmer's position in the water somewhat, and eliminates any painful movements associated with the flutter kick. By using a pull buoy keeps legs from sinking and helps keeps the entire body elevated in the water. Keep a streamlined position and also your head steady. Take very long strokes, counting the strokes per length. Pull four laps of a 50m pool, or eight laps of a 25 m pool. Reduce the number of strokes per length while focusing on elongating the body and stretching out the muscles within your lower back.

Vertical Exercises

Vertical kicking forces the swimmer to keep balance within the water and also to use leg and supporting abdominals to hold upright. Perform flutter or freestyle kick, keeping your arms out of the water in an 'I surrender' position. Kick for one minute. Then, keep legs still and scull along with your hands to keep over water. Sculling means making continuous circular movements with the hands, palms face upon the water. Bring your knees up and extend the feet so that the legs are perpendicular to your torso. Retain the position for a moment then continue. Repeat for just one minute.

The Knee-to-Chest

A knee-to-chest exercise involves stretching and strengthening the muscles in the hips, legs and lower back. Doing the movements involved underwater reduces tension and provides slight resistance, which can be beneficial to reducing low back pain while toning muscles. Begin with standing on your left leg. Raise your right leg off the ground, bending your knee. Holding on to the side of the pool, slowly straighten your right leg. Hold this position for Ten seconds and return your foot towards the floor. Repeat using the left leg.

The Front-to-Back Leg Swing

Another beneficial workout is the front-to-back leg swing. This exercise stretches the low back and also involves your hips, knees and thighs. Stand with your left side facing the side of the pool. Keep your legs shoulder-width apart. Holding on to the edge, slowly extend your left leg straight out. Continue to keep your toes facing upwards and hold this position for five seconds, and then slowly swing your leg straight back behind you. Pause for five seconds. Repeat Ten times, and then go on to right side.

On the final note, if you have any indications of fatigue while you are doing any one of these aquatic lower back exercises; stop and seek medical assistance immediately. For precision, some of the indications of fatigue include trouble breathing, dizziness, feeling flush, nausea, weakness, irregular heartbeat, chest pains, confusion and disorientation. Begin your workout routine slowly. Take frequent breaks every 15 minutes to avoid injury and also to give your muscle tissue time for it to recover.




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