Staying active is important to you. It keeps your energy up, supports your health, and helps you feel your best. But lately, it’s getting harder to move the way you want. Your knees ache, your joints feel stiff, and recovery takes longer than it used to. Even something as simple as taking a walk feels more difficult than it should.
If traditional exercise leaves you feeling worse instead of better, it doesn’t mean that you need to give up on working out. Walking in water can provide all the benefits of staying active while reducing the strain on your body. It’s a low-impact, high-benefit workout that can help with everything from weight loss to joint pain relief — without the frustration that often comes with land-based exercise.
Why water walking is good for you
Walking is considered to be one of the best exercises. Not only is it accessible — you just lace up your shoes and go — but it’s also low impact and great for your health. However, if you are living with a chronic condition or recovering from an injury, walking can put pressure on your joints with every step.
An incredibly effective and low-impact alternative to other exercises, water walking might just be the best exercise that you aren’t doing. Walking in the water provides a range of benefits to support your physical and mental health.
Low impact on joints
The buoyancy of water helps support your body, easing the strain on your knees, hips, and ankles. When you’re in chest-deep water, the effects of gravity are reduced by up to 80%, making movements feel smoother and less stressful on your joints.
Built-in resistance
Water naturally engages your muscles, providing a full-body workout without the need for extra weights. This helps build strength and endurance in a low-impact environment. When using a swim spa for walking, you can enhance the challenge by adjusting the endless water current to your preferred pace. The current adds resistance, allowing you to work at your own intensity level while still enjoying the soothing benefits of the water.
Improves circulation
The hydrostatic pressure of water helps improve blood circulation by gently compressing the body, which promotes better blood flow and reduces swelling and stiffness, especially in the legs and feet. This can be particularly beneficial for individuals who spend long hours on their feet or suffer from conditions like poor circulation or edema.
Burns calories
Walking in water is an effective way to support weight loss by increasing your heart rate while engaging multiple muscle groups. The natural resistance of the water makes each step more challenging, helping you burn more calories and build strength without putting stress on your joints.
Boosts balance and stability
Strong core muscles are crucial for maintaining balance and posture, especially if you’re struggling with mobility. Water-based exercises, such as walking in a swim spa, provide a safe, low-impact environment to strengthen your core and enhance balance without straining your body.
Who should consider water walking?
Water walking may have a reputation as a workout for seniors. However, it’s a great option for anyone looking for a low-impact way to stay active. Whether you’re recovering from an injury, looking for a joint-friendly workout, or wanting to mix up your routine, water walking offers a fun and effective way to move without the strain of high-impact exercise.
Those recovering from injury or surgery
After an injury or surgery, getting back to movement can feel daunting. Water therapy is a safe and highly recommended way to ease back into exercise, helping to restore mobility without putting stress on healing muscles or joints. Be sure to consult with your doctor or physical therapist before starting any exercise program, especially after surgery.
Individuals managing chronic conditions
If you’re living with a chronic condition like fibromyalgia, osteoporosis, or multiple sclerosis, you know how challenging it can be to find an exercise routine that doesn’t exacerbate symptoms. Water walking offers a low-impact way to build strength and flexibility while minimizing discomfort.
People with arthritis or joint pain
If traditional exercise is painful, water walking can provide relief for people with arthritis. The buoyancy of the water cushions each step, reducing impact on your joints and allowing you to move more freely and comfortably.
Older adults maintaining mobility
As you age, maintaining mobility and balance becomes crucial for independence and safety. Water walking supports balance, flexibility, and muscle strength, which can help reduce the risk of falls and improve confidence in daily activities.
Anyone looking to lose weight or improve fitness
If you’re looking to get fit but worried about straining your body, water walking offers natural resistance, providing a full-body workout. Not only will you burn calories, you’ll strengthen muscles without putting excess strain on your joints.
How to start walking in water
Water walking is exactly what it sounds like — walking in the water. You can try it at your local pool by using the swim lanes during open swim or even in a lake with the help of a flotation belt to maintain proper posture. For a more controlled and convenient experience, a pool-spa like an H2X Swim Spa offers an ideal setting for water exercise.
While walking on land feels second nature — you’ve been doing it since you were a toddler — moving through water requires a slightly different approach. The added resistance and buoyancy can change your stride, so it’s important to focus on proper form to make your workouts safe and effective.
Finding the right water depth
For beginners, waist-deep water is the perfect place to start. It provides enough support to reduce wear and tear on your joints while still allowing for a natural walking motion. If you’re looking to increase resistance and engage more muscles, moving to deeper water can enhance the challenge.
H2X Swim Spas offer both standard and deep models to suit your needs. Standard models have a water depth of approximately 42 inches, while deep models provide about 51 inches of water, giving you even more options for a low-impact, full-body workout.
Maintain good posture
Standing tall and engaging your core while water walking helps improve balance, reduces strain on your joints, and ensures you’re getting the most out of your workout. Good posture also helps activate key muscle groups, making each step more effective. If you are using an H2X swim spa for your workout, the non-slip flooring option provides extra traction and cushioning. This makes it easier and safer to exercise in the water without water shoes.
Vary your movements
Repeating the same motions can feel monotonous, and your body adapts over time. To keep your workouts engaging and challenge different muscle groups, mix up your movements. Try walking forward, backward, and sideways to improve coordination and stability. You can also add knee lifts or arm movements to activate your core and upper body, making your workout more dynamic and effective.
H2X Swim Spas, which are designed for year-round use, come with an H2Xercise Aquatic Workout book, which offers ideas for water exercise routines. The book also provides helpful tips on proper water walking technique and offers guidance on progressing to aqua jogging.
Increase intensity over time
Start with short sessions and gradually increase duration and speed as you build endurance. If you are walking in an H2X Swim Spa, you can increase the speed of the water current to challenge yourself to move at a faster pace.
Incorporating water walking into your routine
Your community probably has walking and running clubs. Maybe you know a group that bikes on the weekends. But have you ever seen a water walking club? Probably not — which makes it easy to overlook water walking as exercise.
If you’re looking for a new way to stay active that’s effective, joint-friendly, and even fun, water walking might be exactly what you need. Here’s how to get started and make it part of your routine.
Set a schedule: Aim for three to five sessions per week to start feeling the benefits. You may notice newly improved balance and increased energy.
Track your progress: Keep a log of your workouts, noting how your body feels before and after each session. This will help you stay motivated and track your improvements.
Make it enjoyable: Keep things fun by listening to music, inviting a friend, or switching up your routine to keep things fresh and engaging.
Pair it with other activities: Enhance your fitness by combining water walking with stretching, light swimming, or water aerobics for a more well-rounded approach to health and wellness.
Invest in your health with an H2X Fitness Swim Spa
If joint pain, mobility challenges, or frustration with traditional exercise have been holding you back, water walking could be the solution you’ve been looking for. And with an H2X Fitness Swim Spa, you can bring the benefits of aquatic exercise right to your backyard. Click here to discover the secrets to creating a backyard oasis. Or, contact your local Master Spas retailer to learn more about spa ownership. How much does a swim spa cost? Request a quote here.