Deep Water Running

My best mate and I had been telling everyone for about a week that we had done the Deep Water Running class last year and had heaps of fun. Lots of laughing while getting a great workout. So why not try it with us. They trusted our advice and a few lovely ladies joined us on Thursday night for a fun filled Deep Water Running exercise class at the local pool. Well it didn’t quite turn out that way.

This time it was a different instructor. A nice young lad who knew his stuff and was excellent at motivating the group to go harder and faster. But this was not a class of laughter. It was a class of pain and physical exhaustion but still fun in a funny way.

The instructor insisted that everyone put on a floatation belt and after the first 10 minutes of the class I understood why. So basically, when you collapse in exhaustion from the running sprints, you don’t sink straight to the bottom of the pool and die instantly from a lack of oxygen in the lungs. 

So, what is Deep Water Running?  It is an exercise class where you and a group of other victims, um, I mean participants, run in the deep end of the local swimming pool. In our group there were 15 ladies but that would vary from location to location. 

You hop into the deep end of the pool, so your feet don’t touch the bottom and your body is submerged in the water up to your neck. Don’t panic, you have a floatation device on which prevents you from sinking below the water surface.

Under the direction of your instructor, you then start running in the water just like you would on land.   We did running sprints of 10 to 15 seconds on and 30 to 40 seconds off. “Get those knees up high and pump the arms through the water (be careful not to let your arms do all the work)”, you will hear the instructor yell.  If your running posture is right, your shoulders should pop out of the water.  The harder and stronger you run the higher those shoulders will pop. Mine didn’t pop much but I’m a slower runner generally.

Now you don’t move very quickly forward through the water but it’s about getting those muscles including the heart going rather than a running race.  There is no medal for the person that travelled the furthest.  There is a good chance your Deep Water Running posture is not right and you are leaning to far forward if you’re travelling forward a lot.

The benefits of Deep Water Running include:

1. The natural buoyancy of the water helps to reduce the strain on your joints, bones and muscles that may be caused by running on land
2. It allows you to push your body to new limits without increasing the chances of sprains and strains and other injuries
3. On a 40oC day the pool water is cool and your chances of overheating from the workout is reduced
4. You can workout longer and harder than you would normally run on land as it is not as taxing on your body
5. Anyone can do it, even those that have limited swimming ability as you are wearing a floatation device.

What do you need for Deep Water Running?

1. A pool with a deep end that you can’t touch the bottom
2. Swimmers or clothing suitable to wear in a pool
3. Floatation device (Instructor provides)
4. Water bottle
5. Sense of humour.

I challenge you to checkout your local pool to see if they run Deep Water Running classes.