Summer in the Napa Valley is one of the most beautiful times one can ask for. Morning fog rolls in, making it just warm enough to venture outdoors for a morning walk in your t-shirt. The vineyards bearing their fruit preparing to be harvested lace the hills in majestic beauty. Some of the finest restaurants thrive off patrons looking for world class food paired with a beautiful view of the valley’s rolling hills. Visitors from all over the world partake in the unique Mediterranean climate that is rivaled by few other locations in the world during this gorgeous time of year. However, once the morning fog burns off, another phenomenon occurs. Napa can get hotter than the hinges of Hades’ gates.
What do can we do when the air that we breath gets hot enough to burn our faces? A solution that is fun and beneficial for the body is to partake in entertaining physical activity in the water. Swimming at a pool party, hopping on boat in Lake Berryessa, or making a quick drive out to one of the beaches of the Pacific Ocean is an innovative way to be active in the water. Not only is frolicking around in the water fun and a great release from the stressful demands of everyday life, aquatic exercise has substantial benefits to the body.
Outside of the pool parties, aquatic exercises classes don’t get the credit they deserve. A structured exercise routine facilitated by an accredited aquatics instructor offer a unique form of resistance that doesn’t impact our joints as much as land exercise, but still offers significant resistance to muscles. Buoyancy while moving in water takes away the effect of gravity pressing down on joints, decreasing compressive forces on popular pain areas during exercise such as the back, hips, and knees. Additionally, the “thickness” effect that water offers while moving joints forward creates work in the muscles, offering a form of resistance humans don’t usually experience as they move on land. A structured exercise routine in water is a great fit for participants who are just beginning a regular exercise program, people recovering from injury, or individuals who might be struggling with arthritis. People who aren’t confident in their balance can participate in aquatic exercise to regain confidence by moving in the water in ways that might be a challenge to their equilibrium on land. Over time, the muscles involved in stabilization and balance will regain strength and coordination for movements that might be hindered on land.
Physical activity in the water is also beneficial for increasing calories burned during exercise. Resistance of the limbs moving through water is a relatively slow-moving activity that is different from brisk walks, hikes, or jogging on land. While moving at lower resistances for a longer period, heart rate responses won’t increase as fast. This promotes a steady pace of exercise for a longer period, utilizing more fat as a fuel source at a lower heart rate expenditure. This takes the edge off the idea that exercise is excruciatingly painful and challenging. Why do something you don’t enjoy? Perhaps splashing around in the water is a great solution for people who don’t like the gym floor scene or running on a treadmill.
Another key component that aquatic exercise offers is the conductivity of heat while performing physical activity in the water. Water acts like an insulator when a person is submerged in it. Similar to that of a coffee mug holding steaming hot coffee. This ensures that heat doesn’t escape as fast compared to when a person is exercising on land, limiting the effects of over heating yet still burning calories. If we can keep more heat in the body and limit it from leaving due to the increased energy we are producing through movement, we can literally “burn” more calories as we move in the water. Moving in the water not only requires muscles to utilize oxygen as a fuel source during exercise more due to the resistance, but also for a longer period. Once a high amount of oxygen has been used for a while, the “after burn” effect kicks in following completion of exercise which allows muscles to absorb more oxygen following exercise and utilize fat as a fuel source even after you finish your bout of aquatic exercise.
Take advantage of these historically hot summer months by splashing around, jumping off diving boards and getting a few laps in at the pool. Welcome the opportunity to get back into exercise if you’ve fallen off due to injury or recovering from a surgery by partaking in aquatic exercise classes. The water might be the perfect fit to introduce a productive and fun exercise routine to help us enjoy our lives with decreased pain, improved balance, and a calmer, productive state of mind.
Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.
