Grab a pool noodle and join Mark for leg day in the pool. This 20-minute pool workout recreates typical leg exercises performed in the gym, such as squats, stair master, lunges, leg extensions and more.
Leg Day is the perfect video to add into your app playlist on those days you want to add leg-specific training in addition to another Poolfit workout. This workout targets all of the major muscle groups of the lower body, including hamstrings, glutes, hip flexors, quads and inner and outer thigh.
WORKOUT-AT-A-GLANCE
Leg Day is a shorter video and so there is no warm-up included. It is meant to be combined with another video. However, there is a quick stretch at the end for each muscle group, which can be expanded by the participant at the end of the video.
Segment 1: Buoyant Resistance
In this segment, one or both feet press down on the noodle in order to in order to train the legs with buoyant resistance. Buoyancy is the opposite of gravity. When doing a single leg press, hip extension is resisted and hip flexion is assisted. The glutes are the targeted muscle with hip extension. Therefore, it is concentric, resisted glutes as you press down and eccentric, assisted glutes as the leg lifts back up.
Advanced: This video is more suitable for advanced participants, because stepping on a noodle with both feet requires coordination. If you lose your footing, the noodle can shoot up and out of the water.
Segment 2: Neutral Buoyancy
In the final half of this video, the noodle is placed behind the back for neutral buoyancy. Doing so allows you to position your body in different angles for more effective targeting of the leg muscles. A reclined position allows for greater emphasis on the hamstrings and glutes. An inclined position provides better opportunities to target the quads and glutes. The neutral buoyancy provided by the noodle also allows for super sets that alternate between seated and vertical position.
Watch Mark talk more about Leg Day below and read more education and tips related to this video.
NOODLE DENSITY & RESISTANCE
The larger the diameter of the noodle, the more the density. Typical Dollar Store noodles are smaller in diameter and typically have a hole in them. The hole in the middle makes them flimsier. Larger diameter noodles can be found in stores, but they usually have a hole in the middle. For fitness activities, consider investing in solid-core noodles, such as the Sprint Noodle, which is an example of a smaller/medium size, or this Workoutz Noodle, which is a larger diameter/density noodle. Just please note that the larger diameter/density noodles create a great deal more buoyant resistance.
WORKOUT DEPTH
This workout can be done in both deep and shallow water. When doing single leg pressing moves, the non-noodle supporting leg may move around a little in deep water. If you do this workout in shallow water you want to be deeper, such as upper chest depth. Otherwise you won’t have the range of motion to press that noodle downwards.
FLOTATION BELT
In the video, I am going back and forth from deep water to shallow water so that I can demonstrate how the exercise is modified between touching and not touching. Therefore, because I am in deep water, I am wearing a flotation belt. The Aquatic Exercise Association (AEA), my certification organization, recommends that a flotation belt always be worn in deep water for safety reasons. However, as mentioned in many of my deep-water exercise videos, there are other good reasons for wearing a belt.
Leg Day is a great way to train your legs and learn more about the power of buoyant resistance.
I hope you enjoy this workout. And if you are enjoying Poolfit, please leave us a review in the App Store or Play Store. Reviews act like testimonials that inspire others to give the app a try. As a small business, this is crucial in helping us grow. Thank you in advance for your support.