How to Tone Abs With Aquatic Exercises

A wide variety of weights and floats can be used for your water workout. For this exercise, you will only need a belt.

Water exercises are a great way to tone your muscles while minimizing impact on your joints. Aquatic exercises are designed to pinpoint all areas of the body individually and some studies indicate that water exercise promotes mental health as well as physical fitness. Even if traditional crunches and sit ups are difficult or impossible for you, aquatic abdominal exercises will be fun, easy and productive. In this article, we will discuss how to tone abs with aquatic exercises.

Things You'll Need

• Float belt
• Water deep enough to float upright in without touching the bottom

Instructions

How to Tone Abs With Aquatic Exercises

1. 

   Float upright in the water. Let your arms rest lightly on the surface of the water. Relax your shoulders and keep your back, neck and legs all in line. Your float belt should enable you to rest upright without treading water.

2. Point your toes. When you begin the exercise, your toes should be pointing toward the bottom of the pool .

3. 

   Bring your knees up to your chest. Slowly and steadily draw your knees upward until they meet your chest. If you feel muscle strain or any discomfort, stop at this point. Do not force the movement beyond your comfort level.

4. Tense your core muscles. Focus on flexing your abdominal muscles and count slowly to three. So far, your exercise should go like this: "point, knees up, tense, 2, 3."

5. Lower your legs. Return your legs to the original position. You may repeat this exercise as many times as you wish. Generally, beginners do several sets of 10 to 15. More advanced exercisers may do as many as 100 at a time.

Tips & Warnings

• You may wish to wear goggles for this exercise, as you may splash at first as you become accustomed to the movements.

• Work with your doctor or a health and exercise professional whenever you start a new exercise program.