I have an above ground swimming pool and the water level comes about to my lower chest. I cannot swim, but last summer did ‘pool jogging’ as an exercise. I ran in the water around the outer edges of the pool. It had great advantages – I never got too hot, there was no stress on my joints, and the water resistance seemed like it worked my muscles.

I was wondering if you could tell me if what I was doing is good exercise or if you have any suggestions for other pool exercises I can do this summer.

Thank you for your help.

pool running/jogging is great exercise! ALot of athletes incorporate it into their training cycles to develop speed since the resistance of the water forces their legs to become more powerful.

As you mentioned, it is also good to exercise in the pool if sore joints are an issue ... I used to do my lunges in the pool after my kness injury since I could use a larger range of motion than I could if I was doing them on-land.

There are many exercises you can do in the pool using kick boards (float boards) as resistance. Pushing it straight down in front of you (the board starts flat and floating on top of the water, with your palms resting on it) is a good back exercise (simualtes a straight arm pulldown) ... pushing down on one on each side of you simultameously is a great shoulder exercise ...

Want to do a pool push-up? Start byt holding onto the side of the pool while you float at arms length from the pool's wall , then pull yourself to the pool's wall, then push yourself back to the start position.

Those are just a few examples, but I think I remember a book called the SPLASH workout that was good ...

Thanks so much for your help -- I'll try the exercises you mentioned and look for that book.