If you don’t swim, then you should add it to your self-care routine. For one, it’s probably a good skill to possess for the obvious reason, that you never know when you find yourself in a situation where your life depends on it. And 2, aside from learning a new survival skill, swimming is a great exercise. Swimming is in a league of its own because you are entering into a different environment, actually more like a totally different planet A planet where you can’t breath and gravity is almost nonexistent. This feeling of weightlessness opens up doors to experimenting with forms of exercises and stretches that are impossible to do outside water or are too intense on your body and joints. Swimming is not the only thing you should do when in water, but has to be mastered first.
How to max out the pool without swimming
Underwater sprints and runs
Running when submerged is a trip! When you run underwater you can feel the resistance of the water going both ways, when you lift your legs up, as well as when you drop em back down to the floor of the pool. You can do more extended ranges on the high knees run or the heel-to-butt. And, it is all done without the pressure that earth’s gravity puts on your knees.
Underwater shadow boxing
There is no better way than to fine-tune your form for any combat sports. Only underwater can you precisely practice the form of your kicks and your spinning elbow. A strong foundation for any martial arts or boxing lies in the flow of your form, and underwater is where you will be able to precisely fine-tune it.
Form is everything
As with the previous example for combat sports practitioners, water will assist you in perfecting your form of any sport. Can’t hold your yoga pose in class? Practice and perfect your yoga stances underwater. Sometimes certain poses feel uncomfortable in the earth’s atmosphere because your stance is incorrect and tiny parts of your body need extra extension and stretch. And water will help you achieve those perfect poses. From gymnastics to dancing to skiing, time underwater will improve your form in any sport.
Planet Water is made for stretching
Looking for the perfect place to stretch? Welcome to Planet Water, a stretchers paradise! Aiming to kick higher? need more flexibility for your break-dance routine? How about the full split you said you wish you could do? Hop in the pool and get busy! The place to stretch is underwater, no other environment comes even close. The absence of earth gravity is perfect for people who want to improve on their stretching game.
Rehab your injuries the right way
When you’re in the game of self-care in a serious way then injuries will happen from time to time and the absolute best place to rehab your ouchie is nowhere else but underwater. Get your flexibility back, rehab your strains, and rebuild muscle around your joints without pressure exposure.
Best beginner swimming styles
I will dive deeper into the subject of swimming in a future article. But for the rookies out there I suggest starting and perfecting the breaststroke and what I call the Jellyfish backstroke, aka elementary backstroke. Once you master those 2, then you can move on to freestyle, backstroke and butterfly.
Daniel Florian
