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Sunday 6 March 2022

Pivot your pool to a gym with five simple accessories: Poolfit

Pivot your pool to a gym with five simple accessories!

Enter Poolfit.



YES!

Pivot your pool to a gym with a few fun accessories. Aside from keeping you cool, aqua fitness sessions can boost your workout's benefits.  

 

Until recently, I didn't know much about aqua fitness. However, I was lucky enough to experience some deep-water workouts with the fitness streaming app Poolfit.


Aside from having an inexhaustible number of expert-led workouts (over 125!), it has really detailed blogs and advice on how to exercise safely in the pool, as well what equipment you need to pivot your pool to a gym. 

I had a chat with Poolfit’s founder and certified training specialist and consultant with the Aquatic Exercise Association (AEA), Mark Grevelding about how to turn that refreshing dip into a really fun workout.




Pivot Your Pool With A Buoyancy Belt

So, this was Number One on my aqua-fitness shopping list. Buoyancy belts, AKA Floatation belts, are used for deep water workouts, where you need to remain afloat to do the routine. Such workouts might include Deep Water Running or Walking.

There's also a workout called Deep Core Express, which is great for toning abdominal muscles, as well as helping to strengthen your back and spine (safely, thanks to the support the water offers...). 

"The floatation belt is used firstly for safety," says Mark, "but equally as important, to provide maximum core recruitment. It also keeps you vertical while you workout, so your arms and legs are free to complete the exercises in each routine." 

Aqua Foam Dumbbells

Few things pivot your pool to a gym like these beauties. While they're super lightweight when used on land, add water and you've got equipment that packs a resistant, strength-building punch. 

"They interact with the water's buoyancy," explains Mark. "So, when you push them downwards they encounter resistance, which is the opposite of weighted equipment, which encounters resistance when moved upwards.”  

Similar to a workout in the studio, not all muscles can be targeted with foam dumbbells.  “If you do an arm curl with weights in the studio, only the biceps are targeted, and if you do an arm curl with foam dumbbells in the pool, only the triceps are targeted,” explains Mark.

The good news is that you can switch to using no equipment or to using drag equipment and both sides of the muscle are worked by the water’s resistance.

Use Your Noodle

There are a number of exercises that incorporate pool noodles, and give you the same kind of results you would expect at the gym. These range from yoga asanas, to core exercises, right through to total body workout routines.

Noodles can also be used for an Upper Body Workout or you can recreate Leg Day in the pool.

"For a more challenging workout, you can choose a denser noodle, which doesn't have a hole in the centre," suggests Mark. "If you're new to aqua fitness, I'd recommend using a less dense noodle that perhaps has a hole in its centre." 

Add Some Webbing

Webbed gloves are a fantastic way to increase drag when you're working out your upper body in the water. Just as a duck's webbed feet help propel it through the pond, your webbed gloves will create similar drag that also adds momentum to  your movement. 

"They will increase resistance, making your muscles work harder," explains Mark. 

Think: improved muscle tone in your arms and shoulders and altogether better posture. 

A Splash Proof Device Case And Stand

These are likely your most important items when you want to pivot your pool to a gym. After all, we all know water is like Kryptonite to devices. I picked up a really great waterproof iPad cover from Wild Earth, and a super stylish folding aluminium stand from the Apple Store.

From there, all you need to do is stream the Poolfit workout of your choice using your WIFI or Bluetooth, or download them before you hit the pool so you can tap, watch and workout anywhere, without the need for WIFI!

What are you waiting for?

See what Poolfit is about right HERE.