It's pool time folks!

With temperatures on the rise, neighborhood associations everywhere are getting ready for the pool crowd by regulating their maintenance, hiring new lifeguards and likely offering specials to encourage patrons to join. Maybe you are thinking you won't join this year since in the past you have just wasted away your membership without going despite the motivational talks you had with yourself going in.

THIS YEAR, give your brain a rest, kick up yo' feet and let me do some of the work for ya, so you can turn the volume down on your internal dialogue now **cueing you to turn it down**

Things you can accomplish in the pool:

• aerobic exercise: good for the ticker


• resistance training: build you some muscles!


• low impact running: for you shin splint/knee pain sufferers out there


• agua therapy


• bonding with the kiddos


• get yourself a tan

While running on the treadmill can be a wildly entertaining activity, swimming offers the benefit of aerobic activity in the sun with virtually no impact on your joints. Whether you go conventional with the front crawl, or fancy with the breaststroke, the water provides you a natural resistance which increases with effort, which will enhance your work out based on what you put into it.

You don't have to swim to get these benefits in the pool either. Perform squats, kicks or diagonal chops in the pool to help build your muscles to form. The viscosity of the water allows your body to experience resistance during movement without weights, thus allowing you to functionally recruit muscle fibers without adding stress to joints and ligaments.

Runners can rehab their legs in the deep end by running in the pool! Yes, you read that correctly, you can run in the pool with the assistance of a jogger belt to keep you afloat.

Therapeutic benefits are huge here folks. Any of you suffering muscle strains, healing fractures or any other musculoskeletal problems may be able to benefit from aquatic therapy. The buoyancy provided by the water help to assist you with your body weight, which is why I can easily body slam a guy twice my size when we are in the pool (um, not that I do that). This assistance reduces the amount of stress on the joints, thus allowing freedom of movement sans pain. This property coupled with the resistance that the water provides, allows us to gain the benefit of continued strengthening and training in spite of injury. Lastly, water exerts a pressure on your skin which is perpendicular to the body's surface called hydrostatic pressure. This helps to flush out toxins, encourages blood circulation and improves your proprioception (awareness of where your limb is in space).

So what are you're favorite pool time activities? I used to love Marco-Polo! Oh and flips...those are fun too!