Don't Just Exercise in Water. Progress the Training.

One of the simplest principles of strength training is also one of the most important: as you get stronger, the exercise needs to become more challenging.

That idea is called progressive overload. You do not need to know the terminology to understand the principle. If you use the same load and intensity over and over, your body eventually adapts. In the gym, the usual answer is straightforward: add weight.

But what happens in the pool?

Research Spotlight

A recent systematic review and meta-analysis looked at 31 aquatic-training studies involving more than 1,700 older adults. The review found that aquatic training improved muscle strength and balance compared with inactive control groups. For these outcomes, the researchers did not find a significant difference between aquatic and land-based training.

One finding especially caught my attention: progression mattered. The researchers reported that progressing toward higher training intensities appeared beneficial for both strength and balance.

That is an important distinction. The lesson is not simply, exercise in water and you will get stronger. Aquatic exercise can become structured strength training when the challenge is appropriate and progresses over time.

Water Science: More Than One Way to Progress

On land, we usually think about progression as adding pounds to a barbell or moving to a heavier dumbbell. Water gives us more variables to work with.

• Move faster, and drag increases.
• Change the direction or surface area of a movement, and the resistance changes.
• Change water depth, and buoyancy changes how the body is loaded.
• Adjust the amount of water in a training tool, and the physical load changes.

That combination gives pool training a range of ways to make an exercise more challenging without giving up the aquatic environment.

Inventor's Notebook

When I invented AquaBLAST, I was not thinking about progressive overload or exercise science. I was trying to solve a more practical problem: how could I build adjustable physical load into water training?

I discovered that I could use the weight of water itself. Start with a manageable amount, then add water as your strength and control improve. Depending on the model and exercise, AquaBLAST can provide approximately 5 to 55 pounds of adjustable training weight.

Only later did I recognize that I had created a practical way to apply progressive overload in the pool.

Weight is only part of the story. By changing the combination of water and air, you can also change buoyancy. Move AquaBLAST faster and drag increases. Move it above and below the waterline, and the relationship between buoyancy and gravity changes during the exercise.

The pool gives you variables that are not available with a conventional dumbbell.

Myth vs. Fact

Myth: Low-impact exercise has to be low-resistance.

Fact: Those are two different things. Water can reduce weight-bearing while still allowing the muscles to work against meaningful resistance.

Recent research in older adults continues to show improvements in strength and balance from appropriately structured aquatic training. The practical takeaway is simple: you can change the load while keeping the benefits of the aquatic environment.

Try It Yourself

Choose a simple AquaBLAST movement, such as a curl, row, squat, or press.

• Begin with a comfortable amount of water and focus on controlled movement.
• Repeat the exercise over several workouts while paying attention to your form and effort.
• When the same work becomes easier, add a small amount of water or increase the challenge in another controlled way.
• Keep the change gradual. Progress does not require a huge jump.

A little more challenge, added as you become capable of doing a little more, is how strength develops.

That is true whether you are training in a gym or standing in a pool.

Blast Away!
Strength in Water®

Research note: The research discussed in this issue relates to aquatic exercise generally and did not test AquaBLAST specifically. AquaBLAST product statements describe the design and intended use of the equipment.