Athletics
Swimming pool exercises for strength, cardio and flexibility
Make a splash in your fitness routine with swimming pool exercises that boost mobility, flexibility, strength, and cardio — all while being exceptionally low-impact.
If the benefits of swimming haven’t gotten you in the water yet, the boost that swimming gym exercises can give any athlete might seal the deal. Swimming pool exercises boost fitness, flexibility, and mobility for longtime pros recovering from injuries, and they can give you enough confidence to start feeling more competitive. That last descriptor is exactly how swimmer Summer McIntosh sees herself.
Summer McIntosh chasing down records
© Jussi Grznar/Red Bull Content Pool
“I think I’m a little bit too competitive in some ways — it can get a little out of control,” McIntosh told Air Canada in July 2024. “Nothing bad or anything — I’m just very competitive in all aspects of my life.”
Up the stakes in your own athletic life with the pool exercises below. They’ll make lap swimming more interesting, increase surfing endurance, and help you achieve anything in between.
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Benefits of swimming pool exercises
Aquatic workouts offer all kinds of short- and long-term benefits — and they’re ideal for certain groups of people. The most significant benefits include:
- Low impact on joints. Pool fitness routines are known to be gentler than standard exercise in everyday spaces. That’s great for those dealing with joint injuries, experiencing chronic joint pain, or anyone who just want to preserve joint health in the long run. It’s also ideal for those with osteoporosis, balance issues, arthritis, or fibromyalgia.
- More flexibility and mobility. Since water reduces joint impact, most people will feel more flexible while doing swimming pool exercises. For instance, runners dealing with chronic knee pain might find that running in place in the pool keeps them active without discomfort.
- Increased resistance. Water naturally offers much more resistance than air. Swimming pool exercises are like adding weight to everyday exercises without extra equipment.
- Improved cardio fitness. In water aerobics, the water exerts hydrostatic pressure on your body, which gets blood back to your heart faster. This makes it easier to sustain cardio workouts for longer periods, so pool exercises are a great option for thorough heart-and-lung workouts.
Daniel Bækkegaard
© Esben Zollner Olesen
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Best swimming pool exercises for a full-body workout
Aqua jogging
This exercise is exactly what it sounds like: jogging in water instead of on land. That said, most experts recommend jogging in place in water instead of moving forward at a steady pace.
Regular agua jogging can improve balance, mobility, and cardio. You might even burn a few more calories than with standard land jogging, and you’re far less likely to hurt yourself or worsen any current injuries.
Knee lifts
Get your obliques (side abs) in shape with knee lifts. There are a few variations on this exercise — aim for three sets of 10 repetitions (reps) per leg, or about five minutes total.
- Move to the center of the pool and stand with your feet hip width apart. Bend your left knee upward to your right side until you feel it in your obliques.
- Stand in water up your waist. Bend your knee until your leg hits the surface of the water. Hold this position for about three seconds, then extend your lifted leg. Now, hold this position for another three seconds or so, then slowly lower your leg.
- Brace your back against the pool wall, then follow the instructions for the exercise directly above this one.
Leg kicks
Here’s another pool fitness technique with a few variations that are all great for your core, legs, glutes, and cardio (repeat each until you need to rest):
- For flutter kicks, face your pool wall and hold onto it with both hands. Kick your legs upward into a full-body float on your stomach. Kick both legs back and forth at a rapid pace.
- For hip kickers, stand perpendicular to your pool wall. Choose a leg to move forward while you keep your knee straight. Return to your starting stance, then complete this motion two more times, but to the side and then to the back instead. After that, rotate this leg like you’re etching out a circle at the bottom of the pool. Switch to your other leg, then start again.
- For scissor kicks, face away from the pool wall while holding on with both hands. Open and close your legs in a scissor-like motion.
Water walking or lunges
Walking through water is among the best pool exercises for your abs and legs, and it’s intuitive too. Move through the water like you normally would, but go 10 to 20 steps in any direction at a steady pace (the faster the tougher) and in equally spaced strides. Forward, backward, sideways — they’re all on the table.
Beyond walking, you can also lunge through the water. Start with stationary side lunges while using the pool’s edge for stability. Feeling adventurous? Lunge forward or sideways across your pool instead of staying in place.
Arm exercises with water dumbbells
Water adds plenty of resistance, but you can always bring foam dumbbells into the mix for more intense hydrotherapy exercises. Two arm exercises for strengthening your arms and upper body go especially well with foam dumbbells:
- Arm lifts. Go deep enough into the water that it’s at your shoulders. Face your palms forward as you hold your dumbbells at your sides. With your elbows against your torso, raise your forearms in front of you until they’re even with the water’s surface. Return to your starting position with arms facing down. Go for 10 to 15 reps and one to three sets.
- Lateral lifts. Instead of raising your forearms in front of you, you’ll lift both your arms fully to each side. Once they’re level with the water and fully perpendicular to your body, you’ve completed a rep.
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Swimming pool exercises for specific goals
Strength-building exercises
Camilla Pedersen swimming
© Jesper Grønnemark
Foam dumbbells transform arm exercises into strength training musts. These are just a few of the best strength-building exercises:
- Bent-over rows. Stagger one of your legs in front of the other and bend it at the knee. Lean your torso forward so that it’s at a 30- to 45-degree angle from your legs. Keep your arms shoulder-width apart and extend them all the way forward while holding your dumbbells. Pull your arms back toward you with a steady, stable motion for an excellent back exercise.
- Shoulder shrugs. Extend your arms completely, but keep them directly at your sides. Hold your arms in this position while shrugging your shoulders upward. You’ll train your shoulders, of course, but keeping your balance as the water tries to pull the foam dumbbells upward results in a great ab workout too.
- Chest flies. Start in the same position as with bent-over rows, but instead of placing your arms out and forward, keep them at shoulder height and slightly bent at the elbow. Push your dumbbells toward each other until they nearly make contact — you should feel this one in your chest.
Flexibility and mobility
Add stretches to leg lifts and kicks for a water fitness routine that improves your flexibility and mobility. Here are just a few stretches to start — try holding each for 15 to 30 seconds, and switch sides once you’re done.
- Deltoid stretches. To loosen up this major shoulder muscle, move into shoulder-height water. Cross and straighten your left arm over your chest to your right side, keeping your arm straight as you do so. Gently press down into your arm with your right hand to deepen the stretch.
- Hip abductor stretches. Target the outer muscles of your upper legs with these simple stretches — you’ll have a much easier time staying balanced since you’re in water. Lift one knee to hip height, then pull it with both hands toward the opposite side of your body.
- Quadriceps stretches. The quadriceps, more commonly known as the quads, are the biggest muscles in your legs. To start this stretch, bring your feet nearly together directly under your shoulders, then bring one heel to your buttocks. Use your hand to pull upward on your foot until you feel a stretch in your upper leg.
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Swimming pool exercise routine
Go for a swim
© Gines Diaz/Red Bull Content Pool
Ready to dive into aquatic therapy exercises? Here’s how to wade into your water fitness routine.
Always warm up first
Enter the pool and go through five minutes of water walking. If you find this exercise a bit boring, anything else that’s low-impact and gets your heart pumping just a bit while putting you slightly in motion will do the trick.
Decide on your workout, then go through it
Choose two or three cardio exercises, two strength exercises, and one flexibility exercise. For example, you could jog in place and then tread water. From there, you can lunge and then use your foam dumbbells for aqua exercises. End with leg lifts and kicks — that’s your flexibility exercise, but you’ll feel it in your legs too.
This observation raises an important point. Swimming pool exercises for cardio often build strength, and strength exercises often boost flexibility, while flexibility exercises can get your heart pumping. In other words, you can always move your favorite exercises from one “category” to another and see how you feel.
Cool down and get out of the water
Wrap up with some final stretches that lower your heart rate and fend off next-day muscle soreness. Use a pool noodle for stability so that the following yoga-inspired stretches feel less intense. Gradually complete each stretch a few times in chest-height water.
- Downward dog. Instead of bending all the way down like you would on land, hold your noodle in a U-shape in front of your body while you stand upright in chest-height water. Slowly lean forward until the water is just at shoulder height, then return to your starting position.
- Warrior 2 pose. One leg should be in front of you like you’re about to lunge, and the other should be stretched out behind you with your foot flat on the ground and perpendicular to your body. Keep your arms completely extended — one in front of you atop a pool noodle for stability, and the other behind you.
- Chair pose. Start nearly standing up, but with your buttocks pointed slightly out and behind you. Sink fully into your buttocks like you’re about to sit in a chair, but hold the pose just before you would actually reach chair-level. Repeat to end your workout with a great stretch for your arms, legs, and core.
Low-impact pool workouts for high-impact results
Whether you’re in need of a low-impact workout or you want cardio, flexibility, and mobility in one fell swoop, water workouts are your new best friend. Start slow to master each exercise’s form, and as you get comfortable, try doing more reps or increasing the intensity with foam dumbbells, ankle weights, or pool noodles. Wherever there’s water, there’s a path toward your fitness goals — and it’s an easy (and fun) road to travel.