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Is it possible to get a good workout in your swimming pool?  Yes.

Swimming and exercising in a pool is not only beneficial for your body, but it’s fun too.  And when it’s too hot for your regular exercise routine, swimming is just the thing to keep you cool while still burning calories.  For years I’ve been frustrated because I could never find a workout that didn’t exacerbate one of my many chronic health problems.  But doctors have always recommend swimming, and now I am finally going to give it a try.

Here are a few swimming and aqua fitness facts…

• Simply treading water for an hour can burn the same amount of calories in a Snickers bar (272 calories).
• Swimming laps (freestyle) or an hour of doing the breaststroke can burn as many calories as in a McDonald’s Big Mac with Cheese (680 calories).
• You could even try water jogging and burn the equivalent of two Starbucks Grande Caffe Lattes (544 calories).

Unlike other exercise regimens, swimming is something just about all of us can do.  It’s low impact, easy on your back, and great for rehabbing after joint surgeries.  Even with asthma and chronic fatigue syndrome, all of my doctors recommend swimming for the cardiac health benefits.

For the past few weeks I’ve been swimming regularly, and using some basic water fitness equipment that I picked up at my local pool supply story.  I bought an aqua fitness jog belt, water resistant barbells [pictured], and water ankle weights.

This is the first time in years that I’ve been feeling good about exercising.  Not only am I having fun, but it’s something I can enjoy with my daughter too.

Here are some great videos that explain the different types of water workouts you can do with (or without) additional equipment.

These are some basic water stretching exercises to get you started…

If you have back problems (as I do) it’s often difficult to do crunches, but doing them in water takes the pressure off the back while working out the entire body…

You can workout your arms doing bicep curls using water barbells…

Here are some great aqua jogging exercises you can do using one of your kid’s pool noodles if you don’t want to spend the money on an aqua belt…

These are just a few of the many videos available online that can help you get a great water workout.  Even though I’m just starting out, I’m already feeling the benefits of swimming laps and doing aqua fitness.  Both my mother and my daughter have back problems that can be helped with swimming and water exercises.  Since I live in Florida and we recently had a pool with solar heating put in, we can swim almost year-round.  But if you don’t live in a warm climate or you don’t have a pool, you can still swim year-round at most fitness clubs.

Do you workout in your pool?  Since I’m new to this, I would love to hear from anyone who has tips on getting the most from an aqua fitness plan.  Feel free to leave me tips and links in comments.  Thanks.