Wet And Wonderful Water!

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By Joburg Post

South Africa is a country with beautiful sunny skies, hot days and warm nights. Most properties have a pool and even an extra one at the clubhouse, should you live in a complex or estate. There’s also municipal pools and pools in gyms – many of these even heated. Moneys get spent to keep pools looking crystal clear, but who is using it? And for what?

Exercise in water gets sometimes associated with the injured, overweight and elderly. The use of water for healing and rehabilitation purposes is not new and was already used by ancient civilizations. The therapeutic effect of water definitely forms the basis of all of this, as we learn from racehorses that get taken to water for recovery as well as healing from injury. Therapists use water for promotion of movement in physically and mentally challenged patients as well as the neurologically impaired. Water also gets used for pain management, cardiac rehabilitation and treatment of orthopaedic problems.

So how does water fit into the life of the high performance athlete or the “kool Joburg yuppie” or the couple with the gorgeous gym bodies? Why should you get into water and train! And – it is suggested to wear supportive exercise clothing and not your beach numbers. Females should still train in training tops and bottoms. The benefits of water is far reaching and out numbers any other kind of training.

Working out in water is a safe, effective and challenging way of training. It is not just the domain of the overweight individual but in many instances can be the only place that could accommodate them away from the gravitational force and impact during exercise. Due to waters buoyancy, all different population groups can exercise independently even while in a group.

 

Lets try and understand this wonderful medium and what happens to us when we step into it.

Archimides first defined the effects of buoyancy – when a body is fully immersed in water it experiences an upward force, the weight of the body was equal to the weight of the water that was displaced by the body. Body size, density, lung capacity and fat percentage all play a role here. People will experience buoyancy in different ways.

Water exerts a pressure, which is proportional to its depth. When we enter the pool and stand in chest deep water, our feet have more hydrostatic pressure exerted upon them than our chest. The deeper we descend in the water, the greater the hydrostatic pressure. Thus the lower parts of our body are pushed up with greater force that the higher parts that are pushed down when in the pool. The combination of these pressures causes buoyancy. Water’s pressure on the thoracic cavity results in a decreased demand on the heart and vessels – quicker venous return to the heart

The effects of hydrostatic pressure, causes the heart rate to be lower 15 to 17 bpm.

Compared to air, water is much more viscous and therefore it causes more frictional resistance to movement. Viscosity is the measure of frictional resistance of a fluid causing cohesion and adhesion. Exercising in water thus increases energy expenditure – caloric output. Waters resistance may be 790 times greater than air. Water impedes movement and becomes an ideal environment to make strength and aerobic improvement.

The resistance in the water increases with an increase in speed and force. E.g. wearing training shoes and webbed gloves during workouts. The greater the force pushing against the water, the greater the acceleration and the resulting speed. Newton’s Second Law – the Law of Acceleration. Water provides resistance to all and any movement in all directions and on every plane and angle. Acceleration is directly proportional to force. The amount of resistance is determined by the surface area moving through the water; the speed of the movement, as well as the range of the motion. Body types play a major roll here. The faster the movement, the greater the drag and resistance, which increases the muscular work required.

More mass – heavier weight – less acceleration – more energy exertion

Smaller mass – lighter weight – more acceleration – less energy exertion

Changing the surface area and direction of movement of the body parts will affect the amount of turbulence created. An increase in turbulence can make movement in water more difficult. An ongoing massage effect on the body gets created with movement turbulence. Due to the hydrostatic and hydrodynamic massage effect of the water, muscles will not be sore or tired after a workout in the pool. Athletes use pools for recovery after matches or races. During pre season the pool becomes the place to increase muscle strength and cardiovascular endurance.

Newtons Third Law – the Law of Reaction – when we push backwards, the water pushes us forward. Water pushes back equal to the energy you push on it.

You thus create your own intensity workout in water – what you put in and against, you get out.

Water conducts heat away from the body, which leaves us cool and refreshed while exercising at high intensities. Large individuals with a high percentage of fat usually cool more slowly than small individuals with low percentage of body fat. Research has found that well conditioned athletes, discharge more heat than a normal person and were at greater risk for hypothermia when exposed to cool temperatures. We are three times more sensitive to cold when the skin is already cold, so thus start your workout warm and stay warm.

Summarizing the physiological responses to exercising in water :

Increased circulation

Increased heart rate

Increased respiratory rate

Increased metabolic rate

Decreased blood pressure

Redistribution of blood flow

Few important hints to remember :

Intensity levels are directly related to the effective application of the properties of water.

Speed through the water is the direct effect of the force applied.

Properties of resistance created by various forms of drag, surface area and leverage.

 

Explore the wonderful world of water this summer – you do not have to be a swimmer to do training in water. Your feet can be fixed at all times in shallow water depth (nipple to navel depth) and achieve the most amazing results.

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