Arms (1) – Use a flotation device that you can hold between your legs. Perform normal swimming strokes (freestyle, breaststroke, butterfly, etc.) without the use of your legs. This will give your arms quite the workout. By switching strokes, you can target different muscles and get full range of motion.

Arms (2) - Use any small or medium-sized inflated toy (perhaps a ball). Extend your arms out in front of you while holding the float. Bring your shoulders level with the surface of the water (perhaps by bending your knees), then submerge the object and slowly trace a figure eight pattern under the water, keeping your arms extended. Focus on maintaining balance.

Legs – Use a kick-board to support the weight of the front of your body, and perform the normal swim strokes this time using only legs.

Core – Have you ever tried to do leg lifts from a hanging position? Without a strong base, these are extremely difficult for beginners. Performing the same exercises in the water will allow you to go through the motions and build up your core until you can do them out of the water. Start with your back against the side of the pool, and arms along the edge. Extend your legs straight ahead, in a pike. Then, slowly swing your legs to the left, back to the center, to the right, and back again. Repeat this for as many repetitions as you can, and try to increase the number each time!

Lower back – Some people call this the “otter roll.” Hug a beach ball to your chest and float on your back, with your legs extended and feet together. Roll toward the right, in an attempt to roll yourself over, ending with the ball underneath. (Take a breath before you head goes under water). If successful, continue the roll until you come full circle, then try the other direction.

Cardio workouts are great because they burn more calories than any other activity. Swimming is the most effective cardio workout, especially swimming in a gym, because unlike exercises like running, walking, and bicycling, weather isn’t really a big factor. The special thing about swimming and swimming’s ultimate advantage over all the other exercises is that act of swimming helps to strengthen the overall fitness of your body. People who usually swim have agood fitness level because swimming not only eliminates fat but also help tone your overall body figure.

Swimming is a great cardio workout because it involves all parts of the body. I mean, look at the swimmers — they are in probably the best all-around shape of all athletes out there. They are not big or bulky like football players, but they do look very much in shape. You can see that they all carry well-shaped physiques, unlike drivers from NASCAR — no offense. Sorry, it is Tony Stewart’s fault. Swimming is a great way to lose weight, to get in shape, and also to fine tune your body. You can use many swimming techniques to get the maximum benefit like the free-style, backstroke, and breaststroke. As you start those workouts, your stomach, legs, and arms will all become very well toned due to this water exercise. The act of swimming and the fact that you are going against the pressure of water can help you to lose weight also because it creates metabolism in your body and further stimulates fat burning.

Swimming is a great way to help one lose weight and improve one’s overall physique. Also, as a student from Towson High, the high school of, oh some unknown swimmer, Michael Phelps, I am sure swimming is a great choice for physical activity.

Training in the water does have a therapeutic effect on the body and on the mind as well. Pool exercising does not create for any less work for you, and you still have to work hard. However, what the pool does provide is buoyancy so that the weight of your body can be unloaded and used for resistance. The resistance is what is key to your training. Pool exercising is going to burn calories; for those of you who think but I don’t even sweat!,  you might not notice it, but you probably still sweat when you are in the water! A strenuous water workout can result in you burning several hundreds of calories. Pool exercising is also good for you because it is easy on the joints and it can help to reduce back pain. It also strengthens your core; if you do the right exercises, you can put yourself through a full body conditioning session.

There are many different types of water workouts and the majority of them are fun, but still effective. The workouts are typically used by athletes, rehabilitation patients, overweight individuals, or sometimes even for children. Many sports teams require their athletes to spend their “off days” in the pool because it is good for their bodies and it is still a workout.

Because of its increasing popularity, many other types of physical activities have created their own “pool form” of it.  Some of these include running, plyometrics, and yoga. Pool exercising is a great way to treat your body to a healthy workout, so definitely check yourself into your local pool and if you do not know what to do, check out a class or two that is being offered!

In order to pool run correctly, you simply need to mimic the motions of running in water. However, because of how lean many runners are, the motions of running don’t keep everyone afloat. There are buoyancy belts available, but you can also cup your hands to provide more lift. Many people have a tendency to lean forward while pool running. Proper technique involves keeping your hips directly below your shoulders. Your legs should move as far forward as they do backward. Another thing pool runners should focus on is their breathing. It is important to try to breathe steadily while breathing. Try not to hold in breath to stay afloat longer before releasing it. Talking to someone is one easy way to catch yourself taking short choppy breaths instead of the steady rhythm you keep when you normally run.

How far should you be moving and how fast? There is no correct answer to this question. If you are flying across the pool, you are probably doing something wrong. However, it is entirely possible to have perfect form and not move at all. A reasonable time to cross a 25 yard pool might be two or three minutes, but five minutes is perfectly fine as well.

Pool running is boring; there’s no denying it. The scenery barely changes or doesn’t change at all, and if it does, it happens extremely slowly. One way to make it more interesting is to go to a beach, lake, or pond to “pool run.” In this case you might call the activity by its more formal name: aqua jogging. It is rather difficult to pool run against a strong current, so those should be avoided or you’ll find yourself somewhere you don’t want to be. Happy pool running!

Once I got back, I was sweating buckets and I decided that I should probably start cross training a little more if I was going to back out of runs every once in a while. What are some other things to do during the summer months when it is too hot to run?

If you can get yourself to a lake, there are a bunch of options. Unfortunately, not all of us have that option. However, if you can, try to get on a boat and pick up water skiing!  Not only is it a ton of fun to hang out on the lake’s water, but you can burn a lot of calories (around 300 calories in just thirty minutes!). It is also a great way to build your upper and lower body strength.

Of course, an obvious choice for the summer months is to find a place to swim. Swimming is a great form of exercise and there are many different ways to incorporate it into a workout. There are so many strokes to choose from and different types of workouts to research that you will never get bored. Of course, if you are like my sister and you have to pool run, that may get a little boring, but hey, she enjoyed her time.

If you live near a park or fields, definitely stop by every once in a while; you’re almost guaranteed to come across a Frisbee, soccer, or flag football match.  There are plenty of summer activities out there to keep you in shape!

It is extremely important to cross-train. Even if you are not training for a big race or event, it is imperative to do something else at least once a week. Most people pick up running thinking that it is a quick and easy way to burn some calories, blow off some steam, build up their muscles, and so on and so forth. They think that “Hey, at least I’m running” and that it should be enough, but in reality, they could be doing so much more for their bodies by taking a day off from running and going, for instance, swimming.

If you are looking to achieve overall health, cross-training is the way to go. It prevents injuries by correcting muscular imbalances, it prevents boredom, and it also keeps people from burning out. According to scientist Bill Pierce, Ed.D, “Cross-training develops cardiovascular fitness, training the systems that deliver oxygen to working muscles, while reducing your risk of injury by preventing overuse.”

Cross train by lifting weights once or twice a week or maybe even pick up yoga or racquetball. If you are a runner, try to find some sand in the area and run in that! Running on soft sand will improve your turnover and speed. Make sure to go on the trails when you can or even go for a walk at a solid pace. Walking will help heal small muscle tears.

Cross-training is really important to your health. It is important to have some variety in your exercising world; you know what they say about having too much of one thing and what that leads to!

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Yesterday we shared some ideas for warming up and cooling down during summer workouts.  Today we have some suggestions from Trent Nessler, managing director of Baptist Sports Medicine in Tennessee, for exercising when it is hot outside.

The first thing that Mr. Nessler noted was that workouts need to be planned according to the weather, “Depending on the heat index, your workouts should be tailored accordingly.  This may mean exercising early in the AM or in the evening when the heat index is much lower.  Or, it may mean that you need to exercise indoors that day.”

If you have a day where outdoor exercise is appropriate, Mr. Nesslers offers the following suggestions, “Some great summer activities include hiking, biking, and jogging.  Summer also leads to a lot more interest in water related activities and exercises.  These can include anything from swimming to kayaking.”

What should be noted is that as the temperature increases, so does the intensity of the workout.  “In the warmer weather, your workouts definitely become more challenging,” Mr. Nessler stated. “Workouts in the summer results in the body burning more calories than they would with a workout of the same exact intensity during the winter.”

So, head outside when the weather allows, and get fit this summer!

Check out other articles from our summer fitness series– learn more about staying hydrated, kids and exercise, warm-ups & cool-downs, and using your smartphone for a workout.

When we workout with another that person is there to push us, and we have a sense of peer pressure not to whine or try to avoid a certain exercise.  We also don’t have the tendency to lift lighter weights or not do the total reps.

By ourselves, there is a different story.  If we don’t feel like doing all ten reps, we do only eight.  “I really hate that exercise, I will do this one instead.”  Some of us even lift lighter weights because we don’t have a spotter there and hate asking others to stop their workout to come to us.  We allow our minds to take over.

There is a solution.  It involves pushing ourselves.  Now, I honestly believe that no matter how self-driven you are, you will never get the best results on your own.  However, we need to focus our minds on smaller pieces of the pie.

When it is our goal to run 3.2 miles, we often decide to take it easy or stop and walk when we are alone because our minds tell us our body is tired.  A trick I use is to focus on landmarks like the quarter-mile mark.  I race to that point, and once I get close I move the line to the next point.  When my mind says, “THIS SUCKS,” I reason that I am almost there.  Doing reps while lifting is the same thing.  I want 10 and am “done” at 6.  “OK, just get to eight” and so on till I hit my mark.

It takes a lot of patience and discipline to re-train our minds.  I do this in everything.  My goal is to drink at least 100 ounces of water a day.  I have a 32 ounce water bottle.  Even though I would rather have something else, I force myself to drink every drop.

What are some suggestions?

During the writing of this article, the U.S.A. ranked 1st for total number of medals with 65. China, with a total of 61, has the highest number of gold medals (35). The U.S. holds 19 gold medals. This number cannot go without the mention of Michael Phelps. I’m sure you’ve heard of him by now. Michael Phelps has undoubtedly made headlines in most of America’s newspapers, and his name probably is well-recognized in many other countries now. He is the first athlete in history to earn eight gold medals in the Summer Olympics. The events he earned gold in were the Men’s 200m Freestyle, Men’s 100m Butterfly, Men’s 200m Butterfly, Men’s 200m Individual Medley, Men’s 400m Individual Medley, Men’s 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay, Men’s 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay, and Men’s 4 x 100m Medley Relay. Now that’s a mouthful.

Swimming hauled in the most golds, but there were many other disciplines where we had winners: tennis, fencing, gymnastics artistic, rowing, shooting, and cycling.

One of my favorite events to watch is gymnastics. I can’t believe the routine that the gymnasts are able to perform. One of the female American athletes worth mentioning here is Shawn Johnson. Johnson, the 2007 World Champion, has had to “settle” for three silvers. It might be disappointing for her, but it’s still amazing to me.

As the Olympics continue, expect to see more amazing feats from our nation’s greatest athletes. The Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh volleyball duo are certainly worth watching.