and enjoy the sun’s warming rays, sip on a tropical drink as you watch the wind make ripples along the water’s surface, or host an informal backyard get-together for your closest friends.
But can you use your backyard pool to get a good workout? It all depends on how you use it.
The Size of Your Pool
If you intend to swim laps, the size of your pool is going to determine the quality of your home workout. While very few people have an Olympic sized swimming pool in their backyard — which measures 25 meters (82) to 50 meters (160 feet) long — your pool may be wide enough for lap swimming. You may simply have to flip over more frequently.
If you have a smaller pool, such as an above-ground pool, swimming laps may not be the most effective way to get a pool workout. Instead, you may want to consider water aerobics.
Water Resistance and Workouts
The way water aerobics works is this: Essentially, any exercise you can perform on dry land can be performed in the water. But the water’s resistance to your body’s muscles will make the same exercise more intense when you perform it in your pool.
For example, doing step aerobics on dry land you can often burn many more calories in the water than you would doing the same routine poolside.
Lap Pools
Another type of pool many people are using today to get a great workout are lap pools. These are often smaller pools that use hydraulic jets to create resistance in the water so that it feels as if you are swimming even though you are sitting still.
Lap pools offer all the aerobic benefits that swimming laps does, but in a much smaller pool.