Summer splash – The pool is cool for fitness and fun

Nothing quite says summer in the southern hemisphere like the enticing blue waters of a swimming pool.

For Australians, summer and the holiday season go hand in hand, which means end-of-year indulgence often leads to unwanted kilo creepage.

But hitting the pool for laps or resistance training is a great way to counteract the excesses of the Christmas season, all while keeping cool in the pool.

GemLife Pacific Paradise residents Peter and Majella Jensen, who ran a personal training business in Brisbane for eight years, know all too well the tremendous benefits of resistance training including water-based exercises.

Although Majella admits she is not a natural-born water baby, she says husband Peter is a regular pool user and has in the past made use of water weights and enjoyed water boxing using special aqua boxing gloves.

“Exercising in water is a great, low-impact way to do resistance training. It also helps with balance because you need to use your muscles to stay grounded and maintain your stance in the water,” she said.

“Water aerobics classes are now held in the pool every Tuesday. I’ve not joined yet, but it’s an excellent way to gain strength, improve flexibility, as well as increase heart and lung function,” she said.

For those of you unfamiliar with aqua boxing, Peter said it was exactly as described except for the use of specially designed foam gloves.

“The gloves look a bit like webbed ducks’ feet. It’s great for your muscles and cardio, but gentle at the same time. There is a lot of weighted pool equipment that people can use for resistance training in the water,” said Peter.

Some professional boxers – including the late great champ Muhammad Ali – box under water as part of their training because the natural resistance created by water slows down motion, allowing precision and form to become the focus, in addition to building strength.

“The pool set up at Pacific Paradise is pretty amazing. The whole area has a great feel – it’s very calm and relaxed. I also like that the pool is the same depth all the way,” said Majella.

“Our last homes had pools, but you can only dream of having a pool area like the one here. Our eldest granddaughter, who’s in a cast at the moment, is dying to get in!”

“The new pool pavilion is brilliant. We recently went to holiday in Agnes Waters and thought to ourselves, we’ve got a better pool at home – we don’t need to leave for a holiday!”