H2O Body Blast with Chris LaCour is a 60-minute pool workout that trains major muscle groups with a 3-2-1 exercise approach. Chest, back, core, quads, hamstrings and glutes are each trained with 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of endurance and 1 minute of stretching.
Long dismissed as a senior social activity, water exercise is the real deal and you really can build strength in the pool without all of the fancy equipment you would find in a gym. This aquatic fitness workout focuses on the water’s drag resistance. Chris does use the Aqualogix Drag Resistance belles in the two upper body segments, however added equipment is not necessary. Simply put, the water’s resistance is the best equipment there is.
SUBMERGED RESISTANCE
When submerged in the pool, your body is surrounded with 360 degrees of resistance. Water is approximately 800 times denser than air. Therefore, every movement is resisted and muscles pairs on both sides of the joint are targeted. For example, if you perform an arm curl in the pool, both the biceps and triceps are targeted. On land, only the bicep would be targeted by the downward force of gravity when performing the same arm curl. Unlike machines or weighted equipment, there is no equivalent weight to assign when moving against the water’s resistance. But there are ways to amplify the resistance. Increasing the velocity or force of the movement will increase resistance. Adding drag equipment, such as Aqualogix or webbed gloves, will increase surface area and thus create greater resistance. Important to note, foam dumbbells, weighted equipment or rubberized resistance would not apply here. These types of equipment completely change the dynamic and the outcome of the muscle action. H20 Body Blast is about drag resistance and should only be performed with either no equipment or with drag equipment.
Watch Chris talk more submerged resistance and the aquatic environment in the video below.
3-2-1 FORMAT
The 3-2-1 format has been popular in the fitness industry for many years. In the video, Chris targets each muscle group with 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of endurance and 1 minute of stretching. 3-2-1 can be mixed up to suit whatever goal someone is trying to achieve. In 2018 and 2109, I filmed Deep 3-2-1 and Water Exercise 3-2-1 by implementing 3 minutes of cardio, 2 minutes of strength and 1 minute of flexibility.
WORKOUT-AT-A-GLANCE
H2O Body Blast includes a warm-up, cool down and six working segments that target a specific muscle group.
Upper Body: Segments 1-3
Segment 1 targets chest, segment 2 focuses on the back and segment 3 incorporates the wall to train core muscles. For targeting chest & back, Chris increases resistance by using the Aqualogix belles. The belles do not have to be used, but hand positions are vital for targeting upper body muscle groups. Watch Mark explain hand positions, as well as important information regarding the Aqualogix belles.
Lower Body: Segments 4-6
Segment 4 targets the quadriceps, segment 5 hits the hamstrings and segment 6 recruits the glutes. Chris is not wearing the Aqualogix ankle blades, but this drag equipment would be ideal for increasing resistance in these three lower body segments. If not using the added equipment, it is important to understand levers and the principles of applied force when targeting lower body muscle groups. Watch Mark explain this and also talk about the proper use of the Aqualogix ankle blades.
Poolfit extends a big thanks you to Chris for sharing some of his favorite muscle conditioning exercises in the pool. Stay tuned, two more videos with Chris and his wife, Jenni Lynn, will be posting this fall.