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Get Ready For Action

Begin by finding a training venue. Well managed pools typically have steps, ropes, rubber bricks, and other useful equipment. The best allow for clothing to be worn in the water.

Next, you want to identify and write down the specific workout you’re going to accomplish. Select the specific places at your chosen location where you will perform each bodyweight exercise.

For Example: Swim a length, climb out, do pushups on the poolside, swim back down the lane. Once you reach the start point, perform jump squats. Swim another length and do crunches. Back to the start and do burpees. Swim two more lengths and do more burpees.

Be sure to take along essentials that will keep you in the pool from start to finish. These includes a water bottle, snack(s), towel, a pile of clothes that can get wet, and a fitness watch to time your exercises and keep track of your heart rate.

Qualified Lifeguards

Lifeguards should be present at all times during your lifesaving or survival swim training. They should have a current Lifeguard Training certificate (American Red Cross or equivalent) and must be certified in first aid and CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). If you have more than one lifeguard, place one on poolside, the others go into the pool near your class. Rotate lifeguards every 20 minutes so they all get a chance for a swim.

Training Schedule

Now you know the basics, let’s get into some specific Aquatic Boot Camp workout ideas. These are a great place to start, but use your imagination and adjust to what works for you!

Create a schedule and stick with it. This improves the effectiveness of your workout and it will establish swimming as a regular habit for life.

Begin with a schedule of 2 to 3 days a week, then increase it as you improve and feel more comfortable with a bigger workout schedule. Aim to do 3 days a week endurance training and 3 days a week resistance training

Start with with a few minutes of warm-up, followed by some stretching. If you have the time, schedule an hour for your workout, but at least half an hour. Devote the last 10 to 15 minutes of your swimming schedule to kickboarding exercises. Using the kickboard is an excellent way to perform muscle-toning exercises.

Aquatic Agility and Warm-up make up a good part of the training. Poolside sit-ups, push-ups, squats, 5-star jump are mixed with water exercises. You want to be able to move in and out of the water with confidence, no matter what the situation.

Endurance swim training should make up about half of your training effort. You go the distance and build stamina. It is not as hard as resistance training, but takes longer. Swim a given distance for 30 minutes or more. Change swimming strokes at regular intervals. Take short breaks between sets.

Resistance swim training should make up the other half. You work your muscles against a resistance, like in weight training. Lifeguards and lifesavers do this by swimming fully clothed which builds more muscles faster through increased weight. It's hard, but good fun.

Cross Training is the key to never letting your body adapt to a certain exercise. Expect a variety of cross training exercises in and out of the pool that will help increase your endurance level, stamina, functional fitness level, and overall strength. Each session gets progressively more challenging.

Enjoy the intensity and high octane speed of the aquatic boot camp. With consistency, determination, and perseverance you will reach your goals. Think of it as amphibic cross training.

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

Also called high-intensity intermittent exercise (HIIE) or sprint interval training (SIT), this is a form of interval training, a cardiovascular exercise strategy alternating short periods of intense anaerobic exercise with less intense recovery periods, until you are too exhausted to continue.

All workout sessions are extremely intense! No session is ever the same, and even the most seasoned athlete will find this class challenging, although we encourage people of all fitness levels to come out and have a good time.

Aquatic Bootcamp training formats are calorie-burning workouts of intense, interval-based exercises to create progressive overload and take participants to the aerobic threshold. They push you to go that little bit further every time. All this makes for an intense training sequence that challenges you to move harder, harder and with more power!

Though there is no universal HIIT session duration, these workouts typically last under 30 minutes, with times varying based on a participant's current fitness level.

Rinse and Repeat

After you leave the pool, rinse the chlorinated water out of all your swim clothes. This works best while you wear them under the shower, rather than bunched up in a bucket or wash basin. Then hang them up to dry in a ventilated spot so they're ready for your next session.

Your clothes will last longer if they have a chance to dry out properly. Don't wear them every day in the pool. Choose three different sets and rotate their use. This gives you a chance to vary your training load by wearing more or less clothes for each pool session.

Rest for Recovery

Every week take one or two days off from your training programme. Do something else that challenges you in different ways, like cycling or running in the rain. Enjoy!

Summary

There are so many different ways to incorporate Aquatic Boot Camp workouts into your pool routine. You can do these exactly or adjust them to fit your needs and physical fitness level.

These will keep you in incredible shape, and being in the water will benefit both your mind and body. Pay close attention to your thoughts and emotions when you are in the pool versus exercising outdoors. You will realize a huge difference. Overall, you will feel more alive and vibrant during and after your workout.

Reader feedback we get revealed that aquatic environments left swimmers with a greater feeling of revitalization and positive engagement. They also reported greater enjoyment and satisfaction with aquatic activity and declared a greater intent to repeat the exercises again at a later date.

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