These water moves can help you get fit while literally keeping your head above water.

When exercising in your home or neighborhood pool, don’t limit yourself to swimming laps. Try working out in the water, too. It’s a great way to get in shape and have fun without getting your head wet.

“A good water workout takes advantage of the dynamics of water, which include resistance, buoyancy, and hydrostatic pressure and make a workout feel like play,” says MaryBeth Pappas Baun, author of Fantastic Water Workouts.

Because of its resistance, working out in the water also is a major calorie burner. Some studies show you can burn about twice as many calories while water walking as you do walking on land.

Ready to take the plunge? The following routine provides a well-rounded workout.

Stretch with Water Yoga
To begin your water workout, you’ll need to warm up and stretch.

To ensure proper form, contract your abdominal muscles and buttocks so your pelvis is neither tipped forward nor backward.

Warm up by walking forward and backward in the water for five minutes. Then stretch with these water yoga moves to enhance balance and flexibility.

• The superman pose. Standing in waist- or chest-deep water with your right leg planted, slowly lift your left leg behind you with your arms out to your sides. Then slowly lean forward to form the shape of superman flying. Drop your chin and lengthen your spine to form a relatively straight line while keeping your back flat. With your braced-neutral position, hold that pose for 10 to 20 seconds, then switch legs and do the exercise on the other side.
• Full back stretch. With your hands on the edge of the pool, walk your feet up the side as wide apart and high as you comfortably can while still keeping your legs slightly bent, forming a large V. Keep your back flat and lower your hips in the water. Hold for 10 to 20 seconds, then relax.
• Outer thigh and side stretch. Standing to the side with your right hand holding the pool edge, cross your right leg over your left leg. Push your left hip out toward the middle of the pool as you raise your left arm up over your head. Hold for 10 to 20 seconds. Turn around and repeat the stretch on the other side.

Work It Out
After you’ve warmed up and stretched, you’re ready to walk or run.

To walk, position yourself in waist-deep water and walk forward, backward, sideways, or in a snake pattern. To run in the water, put on a flotation device, locate waist-deep water, then start running.

To balance your workout, alternate the days you walk or run with these strength-building exercises, which require waist-deep water:

• The squat. While holding onto the side of the pool, push your bottom back as if sitting in a chair.
• Squat press back. While maintaining your braced-neutral position, squat, then push off the bottom of the pool as you stand up and press your legs back, alternating legs on each repetition.
• The plank. Hold flotation barbells in front of you in your braced-neutral position, and with your arms straight out like you’re in a pushup position, press the barbells into the water as you let your body drift forward. Contract your abdominal and buttocks muscles and maintain that position without your hips dropping or raising. Count as you breathe for 10 seconds. Then bring the barbells back, come back up, and do it again.

“Water exercise sounds easy, but it can be more challenging than you might expect,” says Baun. “Start out with several minutes of water fitness daily for at least three days a week, gradually building up to 30-minutes or more per session.”

Sandra Gordon spoke with MaryBeth Pappas Baun, author of Fantastic Water Workouts, Human Kinetics, 2008, $17.95.

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