Re: swimming AND Aquatic therapy

[Guest guest]

Hi Deni,

Wow, great career you have! If you haven't read my former posts #21328

or #21298, that sort of explains how I use the board. Like I said, the

one I am using is round, like a big pizza, and is really for land use.

But, I sink it to the bottom of the pool - in a corner, for some control

over the exercise. It is about the 3rd or 4th movement I do after

getting in the pool; we start with walking, frontwards, then sideways,

then do some squats, then I was doing 'toe-ups' on one of the steps -

hanging my heels off, then up on my toes, warming up the legs. Then the

balance board. I am in a SwimEX pool, so there's usually 1 or 2 others

with me doing their routines and they have control of the current (up

high, 5 -7 mph) because they are jogging or other.

I am in the opposite end of the pool, working my feet, legs, etc. on the

balance board. At first, I had to brace myself with my hands on the side

of the pool for all the balance board work. Now I don't need to.

But then the hardest part is to bring the board out aways into my end of

the pool (away from the corner and wall, and balance on it with this

current going against me. I have better balance when I turn around and

the current is behind me, because I can still stand on it, and just lean

a bit back into the current. My arms and hands are supposed to be across

my chest or over my head, making my feet, legs, lower torso do the work.

Then my routine continues with arm/hand weights, step-ups, jogging,

something called the 'dead bug' (facing into the current, 1 leg comes

up, high knee, then swing knee out with hip, but not moving hip. (hard

to describe!) In between all this if I need to I just stretch out prone,

or stretch legs for a few seconds.

Then comes hip/split/stretches - stretching out over the width of the

pool with my feet on the sides - then walking on the sides like that

down and back. (I have kindly named this one the 'crab walk' because it

reminds me of those crazy crabs in the sand that move every which way.)

Finally, after all that, and I am left alone in the pool, I get to do

laps we are testing me at the various currents with my modified crawl

stroke - not as much pull on the left keeps me centered in the pool -

quite a revelation.

I'd love to hear some of the aquatic exercises you do / or instruct. My

current instructor has a degree in RT (Recreational Therapy) and

believes is making aquatics fun - and it is! We also have music on

sometimes. My only complaint - I'd like to do this workout 5 days a

week! Since the pool is shared with the PT patients, we can't, but come

spring a new pool will be added and more people can take advantage, also

more hours will be available for this general aquatics conditioning.

~ Gretchen