Cobra Stretch

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A great option to start with would be a modified cobra pose to give your back a good stretch. Start by lying face down and slowly arch your spine backward, lifting your upper body off the ground. Place your forearms on the floor with elbows beneath your shoulders for added support. Do remember to press your shoulder blades down and back. When held correctly, this pose works your lower back, abdominal and pelvic muscles.

Cat-cow Stretch

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Place your hands and knees on the floor, while inhaling and arching your back at the same time. Hold for a few seconds and exhale. This time, round your spine and visualise tucking your tailbone in. Continue alternating between these two poses, but don’t rush it. When you’re done, you should have taken a few nice, deep breaths as your chest is opened up, and increased your overall postural awareness.

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Stand at the edge of the pool and hold for support. Begin by raising your right leg and bring it to chest level. Hold for eight seconds and do the same with the left leg, and repeat for reps. Such exercises are common in water aerobics classes, which are low-impact and suitable for rehab or for older folks. Your general musculoskeletal strength would also improve over time if you consistently keep at it.

Water Walking

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Yes, it is as simple as it sounds. Just walk from one end of the pool to another! But don’t underestimate the challenge this exercise brings. Water is denser than air, so working out in the pool requires more effort than on land. Besides burning calories and providing a unique challenge to your muscles, you get to reap the health benefits without overexerting your body. Consider wearing an aqua belt which will help keep you afloat and enable you to fully concentrate on your form.

Superman Stretch

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If you’re familiar with the front float, this exercise should be a piece of cake for you. The superman stretch is essentially placing your hands at the pool’s edge and stretching your body parallel to the pool floor. Doing so extends your back muscles and joints as the water supports your weight. You can momentarily place your head in the water if you find your neck starting to tire out.

Pool Plank

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This fun one mainly targets the abs, but secondarily works your back as your entire core functions together to stabilise your body in the plank position. Grab a pool noodle in your hands, and press it down to submerge it in the water. Raise one leg until parallel to the pool floor. Hold and then repeat with the other leg. You’ll see the active resistance of the water begin to work wonders in no time.

Pull Drill

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Spend some time swimming while isolating your legs to give your back muscles some rest. When your muscles are stretched without overextending them, recovery comes much faster. To aid your strokes, use a pull buoy between your legs to keep them from moving. Be mindful to keep a streamlined position and take good, long strokes for about eight laps if you can. It might take some time to get the hang of it, but you’ll be thankful you committed to nailing this drill.

Conclusion 

Be armed with these exercises to have you well on the road to being at your best again. However, do remember to be careful and take things slow if you need to— you only have one body and you should never feel guilty about taking your time to get fighting fit again. Begin with spine-friendly strokes like the front crawl and backstroke. That said, beware of over rotating your lower back in these strokes, less you run the risk of worsening any disc related pain.

Listen to your body and remember to have adequate rest and nutrition. Your body needs to be fuelled in order to repair itself! Join our Condo Swimming Lessons today to start using swimming in your journey to greater mobility, and learn proper swimming form that will keep you injury-free.

I’m Isabel, your friendly uni student who’s always waddling knee deep in readings and projects. But I’ll go through hell and high water to have regular suppers with my friends. You can find me with a film camera in one hand and a flat white in the other on the weekends. Also am able to rescue you if you ever capsize from a sea kayak.