How to Use Dumbbells in Water Aerobics

Water aerobics is an energizing and fun workout that provides you with flexibility and strength training. Aquatic dumbbells, shaped like your regular dumbbells, are more lightweight because they’re made using either plastic floats or foam, which are then attached to a rod made of plastic. The difference between them is that the regular weights work your muscles when you raise them while water dumbbells do the opposite.

Using water dumbbells is a great way to help your body achieve a more toned physique. In this post, we will be discussing the proper way on how to use dumbbells in water aerobics. Hopefully, by the end of this guide, you get to go over the several advantages and benefits of these water aerobics weights, allowing you to take your water workout onto the next level.

How to Use Dumbbells in Water Aerobics

What are Water Dumbbells?

How to Use Dumbbells

Tips on How to Use Dumbbells

Conclusion

What are Water Dumbbells?

Before we proceed with the discussions, you must first be oriented what aquatic dumbbells are. Dumbbell weights are considered one of the most effective tools that you can use when working out in the pool. These are specifically made for resistance training, allowing you to do repetitions with ease while still achieving a good burn.

You might be wondering why foam is used in making these water dumbbells. The answer is very simple. It’s because foams float. Once they have been submerged in water, you will be having a more difficult and challenging time keeping them under the water. Therefore, there will be a greater resistance off your muscles. When you keep these dumbbell weights as an alternative to foam, it will effectively increase your overall strength.

When you’re using these water dumbbells, it is essential to keep them under the water. Once you raise them, they provide you with very little resistance; thus, providing you with very minimal benefit. The same thing happens when you push them on top of the water. You wouldn’t be getting that much benefit, as it only delivers negligible resistance.

With this, you only need to submerge a small part of the aquatic dumbbell under the water because it will increase the depth of you increasing the workload at the same time. It might also be beneficial for you if you start off using a smaller float and work your way in increasing the dumbbells’ size as your strength increases. If you notice that the resistance is too much, what you can do is to simply bend your arms, thereby decreasing the load.

How to Use Dumbbells

• A great way to use your aquatic dumbbells is to do a simple jumping jack while you’re in the water. When you’re in the water shoulder-deep, bring the dumbbells down to your side. Take note of this as your starting position.
• Then, bring your arms up to shoulder height without getting the dumbbells out of the water.
• When you’re on the edge, start bringing the dumbbells back down to your side.
• These movements can also be accompanied by a slight jump, with your legs pulling a bit apart or just by standing still.
• You must also be aware that this workout targets your triceps. With this, you need to keep your arms flexed as you slowly bring the dumbbells down to the water’s edge. Doing this allows you to create a larger amount of resistance that your body will work against. Overall, this exercise will help you tone out your body.

When using aquatic dumbbells, you must know how to work using your range of motion. With this, you don’t need to apply force to your joints or overextend into uncomfortable or awkward positions. You also need to be careful not to torque your elbows, shoulders, wrists, or spine.

This is a common occurrence, especially when you overextend your joints while you drag the dumbbells through the water. Also, you might end up getting injured in the joints, especially if you add extra resistance to your full range. To prevent these from happening, you might want to keep your focus on trying to maintain the correct spinal alignment throughout the water exercise. Also, remember to keep the water dumbbells within your peripheral vision line as you push and pull them. Doing so allows you to better protect your shoulders.

Tips on How to Use Dumbbells

Via: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzjvmJynEOw

• Aquatic dumbbells help you strengthen your shoulder, arm, back, and chest muscles. You might also want to try a variety of exercises, which may include bicycle arms, breaststroke arms, arm curls, as well as punching forward and downward.
• You may need to grip the water dumbbells very lightly. Doing so effectively works your core and upper body muscles, all while avoiding unnecessary and avoidable injuries.
• You don’t need to grip the water dumbbells to tightly, as it may only result in muscle imbalance, an increase in your blood pressure, as well as an irritation to your arthritic hands.
• Be very careful not to lock your joints out when you’re doing the water exercises.
• You may also need to keep your elbows slightly bent while your fingers and wrists are soft.
• In case you don’t know, muscle spasms are very common, especially when you add a bit more resistance. This also happens when you increase your workout abruptly. With this, you need to start a little more slowly, with fluid movements. This prepares your muscles to endure the entirety of your water workout.
• Before you increase your speed, make sure that you gradually increase the size of the dumbbells, as well as the depth of your movements.
• As a bonus, you need to be informed to never work out alone in the pool. Accidents do happen to beginners and even to more experienced swimmers. With this, it’s always a good measure to have a friend or a lifeguard within reach.

Conclusion

Doing water aerobics is such a great way to work out in a swimming pool. And what better way to do water aerobics than to get a pair of dumbbells? Using dumbbells shouldn’t be difficult, especially if you already know the basics. Probably the most important takeaway from this guide is the difference between how you use the regular dumbbells on dry land and how to use water dumbbells, as it’s the exact opposite.

Through this guide, we do hope that you will now be able to do water aerobic workouts at the comfort of your training pool. Better yet if you have your pool at home. Just remember the steps on how to do it the proper way. Additionally, you might want to be extra careful when doing these exercises. You may head on to the tips so that you know what and what not to do when using these dumbbells