The Power of H2O

     Last weekend my family and I took a ski trip to the mountains of North Carolina. A mountain called Beech provided us with plenty of east coast skiing, even with all the warm weather. Sunday we ventured to another mountain, just six miles from Beech, called Sugar Mountain, where we skied comfortably in the high 30 degree sunny weather. December and January are months where I tend to spend more family time and take a little break from my usual triathlon training. Soon, I will be gearing up for my first race in April, but it is fun to switch the focus every now and then, and while downhill skiing is not the same as swimming, biking, and running, it is still an activity I love.
     Sunday turned out to be our best day skiing; bright sun and cooperative temperatures provided an enjoyable day; that is until I slid down some cement steps in my ski boots and bruised my tailbone. Ouch!
     I was able to rehab a bit Sunday night in the cabin's hot tub, but my mind was on the HydroWorx pool. I was miles away from being able to use it and I realized at that moment how much it really works. The hot tub was an okay alternative, but what I was missing was the attachment that the HydroWorx pool has that enables the user to blast water at an intense rate onto sore areas of the body. I kept trying to position myself on the hot tub jet, only to find myself frustrated, as I couldn't get the right angle.
     Last year, I had a sore knee and was able to run on the HydroWorx underwater treadmill and recover rapidly. I would recommend that land athletes try more water workouts. At one point or another we all have some type of injury or ailment and the power of exercising in water is amazing because you are virtually getting no impact on your joints and muscles.

    The HydroWorx pools are mainly found in physical therapy offices. Professional and college sports teams have access to the pools too, but even a YMCA in Randolph, NJ now has three of the portable X80 underwater treadmills in their facility. Featured recently in the news, the YMCA provided a boot camp class using the underwater treadmills as part of the workout, where participants rotated to different stations in a warm therapy pool. The workout was killer as they incorporated running, biking, and the use of exercise balls in a non-impact environment. This YMCA recognized that the HydorWorx equipment provides an excellent workout. Soon, I 'm sure we'll see more of the treadmills in gyms around the country. The fact that you can rehab and get a great workout without the stress is a key selling point of their products . Look for more of these classes and equipment at your local gym. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jCQGNdnpBI

Check out this cool video of the Randolph Bootcamp with the underwater treadmills.

Tri- On,
Kelly