Aquatic Burpees

Photo by T. Juco

I’m pretty excited about this week’s exercise. I’ve taken one of my all time faves (The Burpee) and adapted it to water. I know, I know – Hooray and, you’re welcome! This is also a fantastic way to get a full body/cardio workout WHILE keeping your eyes on the kids. Basically, imagine everything about a “land” Burpee and shift it vertically. The water from the pool will add the resistance. Start chest deep at the edge, place your hands shoulder width apart on the pool deck and lift/hoist your body out of the water with your arms, back, chest and core until you can place your right foot on the pool deck (you’ll essentially be in a one-legged squat). From here, let the right leg, glute and your core do the rest of the work in straightening out of the squat. I don’t recommend the usual jump at the end of the burpee because of the danger of slipping. Once complete, get back into the pool and repeat, this time coming up on your left foot. Aim for 10 reps/leg and repeat as often as you like.

Notes: The water level and your upper body strength will dictate how deep in the pool you can go. This is completely NO impact, so it’s a great move for all fitness levels.

Easier: Do fewer reps. Go shallower so that more of your torso is already out of the water. Add a little hop to get yourself up out of the water. If you are unable to lift yourself high enough out to place a foot on the pool deck you can lift yourself up to a sitting position and then stand up on both feet through a regular squat. If that is still too difficult, just lift yourself out high enough to sit on the pool edge then repeat. An easier option would be to just work on the first part of lifting yourself out as high as you can repeatedly. Once you build upper body, arm and core strength, you’ll be able to move to the sitting and then the standing.

Harder: Do more reps. Go deeper in the water where you are unable to touch the bottom. What I prefer is to jump in and swim (any style) to the opposite side in between each Aquatic Burpee.