The Benefits of Walking and Jogging on a Pool Treadmill
The Benefits of Walking and Jogging on a Pool Treadmill
Walking and jogging on a pool treadmill allows athletes and patients to exercise without having to worry about putting too much strain on their joints. According to a TAMU study, these exercises help with muscle strength, flexion and balance.
Treadmills can be installed in a freestanding tub (like the Hudson Aquatic Systems or HydroWorx systems), or within an existing pool. Vary the speed for gentle walks or invigorating runs.
Low-Impact Exercise
If you’re not getting the results you want from your workouts, or if you’re experiencing joint pain and discomfort while exercising, switching to low-impact exercises may help. These exercises are less strenuous on the joints and ligaments, but still provide a good amount of resistance and can improve your cardiovascular health and build muscle.
While many high impact workouts are great for boosting your cardiovascular system and strengthening muscles, they can also place an excessive amount of strain on your joints and cause injury if you’re not properly prepared. High-impact exercises often involve jumping, running or leaping, which can generate a significant amount of force in the joints and muscles of your body. This stress can lead to sprains and tears, especially in the knees and hips, if you’re not careful.
Low-impact exercise, on the other hand, is gentler on your joints and can be done at a variety of intensity levels. Swimming, cycling, yoga and Pilates are common low-impact workouts that can be as challenging as any other high-intensity exercise. HIIT workouts, or high-intensity interval training, are another way to get your heart rate up without causing joint damage.
Rehabilitative Exercise
Often, following an injury or surgery, patients must follow a period of rest from weight-bearing exercise. However, because the buoyancy of pool treadmill water reduces impact on joints, rehabilitation exercise on a pool treadmill allows people to get back into the gym sooner and improve strength and mobility.
At Lakeview Village in Lenexa, Kansas, a HydroWorx 1200 Series pool is used for gait training that builds up patients’ physical mobility and strengthens muscles without the pain of gravity pulling on joints. Moreover, the attached massage hose can be used by physical therapists to soothe stiff muscles.
The adjustable-speed underwater treadmill also lets pool treadmill individuals simulate land-based walking, running or sports-specific exercises. This, in turn, helps them build and improve their cardiovascular endurance, as well as their core conditioning. As a result, it boosts on-land performance, according to a study published in “Journal of Sports and Medicine.”
Weight Loss
Water treadmills are a great tool for weight loss and can be used by people of all ages. The buoyancy of the water reduces the impact to muscles and joints. This allows for more vigorous exercises, including jogging and running, to be performed. Using a treadmill in the water also helps with balance. This improves core strength and reduces back pain, especially in those with chronic back problems.
Having the ability to walk, run or do sports-specific activities in a pool can help patients and athletes reach fitness goals without the pain that can be associated with land-based exercise. Having the flexibility to adjust the speed of the treadmill from a gentle walk to a strenuous run is helpful, particularly for beginners who may be fearful of falling or re-injuring themselves. Treadmill speeds increase smoothly from 0 to 5.5 mph in safe.2 mph increments to maintain an individualized, comfortable pace while receiving all of the health benefits of walking, running or sports-specific activities in a therapeutic environment.
Studies have shown that in-water treadmills can increase muscle mass and decrease body fat as well as rehabilitate injuries that would take longer to recover from on land. For example, a study by Texas A&M showed that individuals using an underwater treadmill with resistance jets gained more lean muscle mass than those who ran on land. During this time, they also experienced reductions in joint and muscle stiffness.
Cardiovascular Exercise
Getting your heart rate up, or “cardio,” is an important component of exercise and a healthy lifestyle. It improves your overall fitness level by strengthening and toning all of the body’s muscles. It also increases your endurance and stamina. And it can reduce or eliminate many health risks, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and unhealthy cholesterol levels.
Moderate to vigorous-intensity cardiovascular activity strengthens your heart muscle, which helps pump more oxygen-rich blood to your lungs and throughout the body. It also enlarges the diameter of your arteries and capillaries, which can carry more oxygen to your muscles, help transport away waste products from your muscles and reduce the buildup of fatty deposits (called plaque) in your artery walls.
Regular cardio exercises can help you lose weight, improve sleep and boost your mood. They can also lower your risk for diabetes by improving blood sugar regulation, reducing stress and anxiety, lowering cholesterol and triglycerides, and increasing the amount of good bacteria in your gut.
To get the most benefit, aim for at least 30 minutes of cardio on five or more days per week. But if you’re new to exercise, or have a medical condition, speak with your doctor before beginning any new routine. An exercise physiologist or physical therapist can be a great partner in helping you develop and stick with a workout routine that’s right for you.