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As an aquatic therapist, I find my clients enjoying exercise more if they begin with aquatic training. We can do the same land exercises in the water and so much more without any effort, yet we can get the heart rate in the appropriate zone for weight loss and overall fitness results.

One female client started an exercise program with me 12 weeks ago and it began with water training. She exclaims,”Water is an excellent introduction for anyone starting an exercise program for the 1st time or returning to exercise after a long break. Water training isn’t as difficult as land-based training. It prepares you for the gym. The combination of both gives the best results.”

This client is currently in a land-based only program as she has graduated into a new fitness level. She remembers her first weeks and recalls doing a series of arm flap exercises first in the water. She moved her arms effortlessly at high speeds and later noticed arm toning effects. A few weeks later she did the same arm flap exercise routine on land and found it be grueling, difficult, and exhausting. However, through her 3 month conditioning process the same routine done on land is still challenging, but not exhausting. She is now in great condition and continues to excel at challenging exercises on land where at one time, she was only able to perform them in the water.

Below is a short intro to the Arm Flap Leg Endurance routine. FIRST try in the water and after a few weeks try on land and see the difference as your strength and endurance builds!

One may ask, what is balance training and what are the benefits?

It can benefit a person in so many ways and it starts with the spinal cord.

The spinal cord is involved with voluntary and involuntary movement where information is carried up and down the spine by bundles of fibers in the central nervous system (CNS) where sensory and motor information signal a movement. The goal would be to build a faster reaction with technical movements. First, try dribbling a basketball and notice how little concentration is involved. Now, try dribbling a Reaction Ball - WOW, what a difference! Concentration and level of difficulty is 10 fold and one can feel the impulses to react!

This is just the beginning of the effects of balance training…

Proprioception is the ongoing awareness of body position or joint position and it is regulated by sensory organs (i.e. eyes, ears, and specialized receptors in tendons, joints, and muscles). Proprioception gets challenged in balance training too! The visual sense gives pertinent data about external stimuli and are extremely important in skilled performances. Try a simple “eyes shut” exercise, while standing on one foot to see how your proprioception is challenged in balance training. Sometimes you may feel like you want to wave your hands around to maintain equilibrium. This signals coordination involvement in balance.

Coordination involves an involuntary response that results in specific motor response with that response being dependent on the type and duration of the stimulus received. So in everyday activities coordination is rarely challenged. However, try to balance on 1 foot - turn one arm clockwise, the other arm counter-clockwise, and the other leg clockwise then counter clockwise. Now, we are talking about coordination! The results of working on that exercise over time will be building stronger somatic reflexes (reflexes involving skeletal muscle contraction).

Balance training is challenging body equilibrium and teaching nervous and sensory receptor systems to perform highly skilled movement patterns.

How can balance training help the elderly?

As I trained patients with high-level neuromuscular and neurological conditions, the best results came from combining “eyes shut” exercises with coordination exercises all while doing a light aerobic activity. Results and graduation to a new fitness level were achieved in 4-weeks. Aerobic activity alone produced no results and coordination drills with eyes open only produced minor results. So to get the most out of balance try an array of activities such as the examples above.

How can balance help kids and adults?

When in good health, a person wouldn’t even recognize their nervous system and muscles executing a simple movement, but when there is a problem their nerves and muscles can become impaired. People can easily begin reaping rewards from balance training and apply them to sports like tennis and basketball. Balance training also strengthens muscle stabilizers, so if you are apt to get ankle sprains - then regular balance training can fix that problem!

Watch my client master a very difficult balance exercise that also works the core and quads!

Do you want to lose a few pounds or half your weight? If you wanted to lose half your weight in 6-months, while eating everything you wanted, would you believe it could be possible? It is possible!! I am Alicia Weber a nutritionist and fitness trainer here today to tell you about a very exciting way to lose weight the natural way. While there are no Universal Laws to weight loss the “Gastric Band Without the Band” way to weight loss really works wonders!

Each person needs to find his/her own exercise routine that works. They may want to hire a fitness trainer to develop a program. As far as exercise goes, a person will want to do exercises and exercise intensities that are comfortable. There are no real rules to exercise, but there are rules to nutrition.

RULES
1.) Eat 5 meals a day the size of your fist (i.e. fish would be fist size, while a salad would be less than a fist size as you will imagine it condensed.

2.) Drink as much water as you want.

3.) Eat anything you want as long as it’s the size of your fist or smaller! (i.e. chocolate, desserts, etc)

Restrictions: No alcohol allowed! It’s useless with no nutrient value and empty calories.

Results: A 300 lbs Nevada man lost half his weight in 6-months by following this plan! He says that eating the fist size meal servings was key to massive weight loss! Fred, a recreational athlete into running and aerobics, wished to lose 10lbs. Due to his high intensity exercise and high metabolism, he got away with eating 6 meals a day the size of his fist. In a short amount of time, he met his physical appearance goals! A person with a higher activity level and metabolism could safely eat 6 fist size meals and achieve great results.

Alicia’s Weight Loss Jokes

Q. The obese people attending the Fat Farm rebelled against their fitness trainer one day and demanded that they be in a “weight free” environment. Now, where do they meet for fitness training?

A. Outerspace

Q. The 400m runner had finally “settled into the blocks” and put on 25lbs and threw in the towel! However, after taking a trip to Atlanta he rekindled his flame for Track and Field as he passed the Atlanta Olympic Stadium where Michael Johnson won double gold in sprints! He began aerobic training to get back on track. He began with fist only speed bag punching in sets of 5 strikes at a time. Why?

A. He wanted a constant reminder of the 25lbs he needed to lose through fist size eating 5 meals a day (see above article for details).