Four Upper Body Aquatic Exercises
As your patients continue to work to reach their health goals, finding different aquatic exercises is a great way to help them. Similar to the last four exercises, all you need for these upper body aquatic exercises is a pool noodle and a body of water.
These exercises include:
- Noodle paddle pull through
- Noodle biking
- Supine noodle
- Lunge with noodle press
Noodle paddle pull through
- Begin by standing with your feet hip-width apart.
- Hold the noodle in front of and perpendicular to your body with one arm in a slight shoulder flexion and the other arm bent to a 90-degree shoulder flexion.
- From this position, pull the noodle downward and across the body attempting to get your hand as close to the opposite hip as possible.
- Repeat this process on each side.
Noodle biking
- Balance yourself while sitting on a noodle and perform a forward or backward pedaling motion.
- To make this exercise harder, you can also add upper body pedaling while simultaneously working the lower body .
Supine noodle
- Wrap the noodle around your upper body horizontally and lay back on the noodle. Ensure that the noodle is supporting your upper body.
- In this supine position, extend your legs out in front of you. Pull your legs into a full hip abduction position.
- When bringing the legs back through the center, crisscross them.
- Make sure that you are alternating which leg crosses over the top with each rep.
Lunge with noodle press
- Place your hands shoulder-width apart on the noodle and hold the noodle above your head.
- Put your weight on your right foot and step back with your left into a lunge.
- As you bend your knee to come into the lunge, pull the noodle down through the water and in front of the body to meet your right knee
- Come out of the lunge and repeat the steps above but alternate which knee is in front with each rep.
Noodles are not just for recreational use. There are so many great exercises that can be done in the water with a little creativity. These strengthening exercises, combined with our first four, provide important core strengthening, which is important for those patients just getting back into their health goals. Combine these with underwater treadmill walking or running and resistance training for a complete aquatic fitness program.
In case you missed the first four noodle exercises, find them here>>