Reasons You Should Aqua Jog

I've always thought of the Aqua Jogger as a rehab tool for injured runners or athletes as a way to recover from injury and build back their strength. I had always seen people using them in the pool at my local YMCA, sometimes attached to a bungee cord for added resistance. Sometimes people will put their running shoes on along with the belt and get in the deep end of the pool for a running workout.

I've always thought of Aqua Jogging as an easy workout, almost TOO easy for me. But after doing the research on it and watching a few videos and presentations, I think it has some amazing benefits that I want to share with you.

Aqua jogging isn't only a rehab device. It can be used as a valuable training tool to help athletes maintain their current level of fitness. No, it's not the same as running intervals around the track, but it can help you KEEP WHAT YOU'VE GOT, you get what I am saying?

Aqua jogging simulates the real motion of running without the impact of concrete, blacktop, or hard surfaces. Most runners (don't quote me on the exact percentage) will have a running related injury at some point in their career. The effects of pounding on the feet and joints can be profound in many runners. Aqua jogging provides nice relief while giving a great aerobic workout. Athletes can enjoy almost any activity in the water that they traditionally do on land to include running, cross country skiing, aqua dance, and more.

So how should an Aqua Jog workout go down? Depending on your training goals of course, but here is a little set I created with a few harder efforts at a faster pace with rest 30 second rest intervals in between.

As far as positioning in the water, it is very similar to that of running. The head, shoulders and hips are in alignment with a slight forward lean. Shoulders are down and back away from the ears and elbows are flexed at 90 degrees moving front to back. Hands are relaxed and slightly cupped with feet in a neutral position.

Warm up: 3 min easy jogging low to moderate pace, gradually increasing range of motion.

Main Set: 20-40 min of work. Ladder interval workout. The hard efforts should be somewhere around the Z4 HR Zone.

30 sec fast, 30 sec recovery

1 min fast, 30 sec recovery

2 min fast, 30 second recovery

3 min fast, 30 second recovery

2 min fast, 30 second recovery

1 min fast, 30 second recovery

Repeat 2X

This workout will increase your anaerobic capacity and build muscular endurance. Have fun with it and incorporate it into your triathlon program.

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