Water exercise has many benefits

For the Health Fair section

• Exercising in water reduces impacts to bones and joints and the water provides natural resistance.

By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer

Jogging that is relocated to the water, called aqua jogging, has been proven to save joints as well as create resistance training that can have more powerful effects than land-based activities.

“If you exert the same energy jogging on land when jogging in the water, you will burn more calories in the water,” water jogging instructor Gail Dahl said. The water resistance is more than that of air, making the running motion more difficult. And jogging in the water eliminates the damaging joint impact of land jogging.

Dahl has men and women, young and old, attend her classes, which begin at 6 p.m. and run for an hour every weeknight at the Rawlins High School pool. The class is particularly popular with individuals with injuries or joint pain, as well as with pregnant women.

Half of the class is devoted purely to jogging laps at a pace specific to each participant. In the second half hour, Dahl leads the joggers in toning exercises including leg work with buoyant “weights” as well as crunches and thigh and arm exercises using an inflated ball.

“As a new person, it’s easy to get involved,” Dahl said. She gives the new jogger a run-down on correct posture, exercise options and recommendations based on a person’s ability and current health. “All you need is a swimsuit,” Dahl said.

She recommends the activity to anyone looking to revamp their exercise program or start a new one. “I always leave (the pool) feeling energized, not exhausted,” she said.