My love affair with water began at an early age. My father, being a huge beach goer, taught my brother's and I to swim at the age of five. When I was ten years old my mother sent me to a church camp for a week in Ohio with her cousin's children. We stayed in a cabin, hiked in the woods, played volleyball. There was a concession stand where on Friday we were able to spend some of our own money on candy and treats, which at age ten was a dream come true. My favorite memory about the camp though, was that we got to swim in a lake.The camp had a swimming competition in the lake where I won my first event. So began my love affair with open water swimming; who knew I would still be competing in open water thirty years later?
One of the many benefits of multi sport is the cross training. I can take a step off the pavement and hit the water. There are many benefits of training in water. Today, I had the privilege of using one of the HydorWorx pools as part of my training. The 7"6 wide by 14' long pool provides high powered jets to swim against, giving a swim that simulates open water swimming. The pool is also able to provide an incredible run workout.
The HydroWorx pool offers an underwater treadmill, much like a land treadmill, you can power your speed and run for as long as you like; the difference is with the underwater treadmill you feel like you could run forever. There is virtually no impact. I was able to use the jets in the pool to include resistance to my workout, and at 6-mph, for one hour, I was able to get a run workout in without actually pounding my body. My knees and hips thanked me, and after one hour I was ready for more, but my time slot was over. When I run on the pavement rarely do I feel like doing more.
While I was running on the HydroWorx treadmill my mind flashed to last week when I was driving over to train at Messiah College. I was trying to fit in a quick run after work. I passed a very large man running down the road near the college. I didn't know him but I wanted to stop and give him a hug. The man looked to weigh somewhere around 300 pounds. There he was trudging down the road, one step at at time. He was not able to go fast, in fact his run looked like a mere step up from walking. His large body was doing the very best it could.
There were many reasons I wanted to hug him. First to encourage him, second to say I admired what he was doing, but last to comfort him because carrying around 300 pounds had to be painful. I realized at that point that the HydroWorx pool could help many obese people get into shape without the pain. By running on one of the underwater treadmills you are 80% weightless and can burn as many calories as on a traditional treadmill without the impact.
I wondered how long this very overweight man might keep up with his running. According to an article by Robert Kokoska for Ezine, the very obese have a difficult time going to regular gyms because the equipment is designed for the maximum weight of 250 pounds. The bottom line is that it would be difficult to maintain an exercise regimen if you are very over weight because of the stress added to muscles and joints, but if you were weightless in a pool than the chances would be higher that you'd stay with a program because it wouldn't hurt.
I love to watch the show The Biggest Loser. While the routines the trainers put the contestants through are very inspiring, it is very unrealistic for an obese person. Putting so much physical stress on an obese person has many risks involved. Have you ever noticed the disclaimers before and after the show? Showing someone exercising in a pool doesn't make for interesting television, but the reality is water could revolutionize weight loss!
The power of water is amazing; our bodies need it to survive, we need it to grow things, we are made of water, we can use it for energy, we can exercise and rehab our sore muscles in it and we can lose weight by working out in it. Water is one of the reasons I love triathlon; I am able to excel because of my ability to swim.
Check out HydroWorx website at http://www.hydroworx.com/ where you can learn more about the different products they offer and who is using their pools and why it just works!
Tri On!
Kelly
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