Water Exercise : 78 Safe and Effective Exercises for Fitness and Therapy

Water exercise is excellent for physical therapy and fitness because it enhances range of motion and eases pain of movement. Now a single book makes it easy for you to design your own water exercise program, whether for injury rehabilitation, special conditions, cross-training, or just shaping up.

Water Exercise features 78 clearly described and illustrated exercises that range from beginning to advanced levels of difficulty. The book also features complete exercise programs for specific injuries and conditions and for improved fitness. You can tailor each program to suit your needs, so no matter which exercise program you choose, you'll start at the appropriate level and progress safely into more challenging movements.

Part I discusses the rehabilitative benefits of water exercise, along with guidelines for customizing your workout program and descriptions of accessories that can add a whole new dimension to your exercising.

Part II presents 26 beginning, 29 intermediate, and 18 advanced exercises. Each exercise features one or more illustrations and descriptions of equipment needed, starting position, movements, precautions, and special hints for making the exercise more effective. You'll also find four illustrated deep-water exercises for improving cardiovascular endurance and decreasing compressive forces on the spine.

Part III features injury-specific water exercise programs for recovering from injuries or surgery, with chapters devoted to rehabilitating the lower leg, ankle and foot, knee, thigh, pelvis and hip, trunk and spine, shoulder, and lower arm and wrist.

Part IV details water exercise programs to help you achieve total fitness from a beginner's level to an advanced cross-training program. This section also includes a chapter of water exercise programs for people with rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson's disease, osteoporosis, fibromyalgia, and multiple sclerosis.

Water Exercise is especially suited to:

- people attempting to regain strength and flexibility after an injury or surgery,
- sedentary people just starting an exercise program,
- individuals wanting to lose weight and gain muscle tone,
- fitness enthusiasts and athletes seeking to maintain or increase their fitness level, and
- aquatic therapists and exercise instructors looking to expand their knowledge of water exercise.

Martha D. White specializes in developing water therapy programs for orthopedic, rheumatic, and musculoskeletal conditions and diseases. She served as the occupational therapist in Baylor College of Medicine's outpatient chronic pain management program from 1986 to 1988. Since 1990 she has been developer and director of the aquatic therapy program for the outpatient sports medicine clinic at the Texas Medical Center in Houston. Most recently, Martha's work has focused on diversifying her water therapy programs to meet the needs of special populations.

Martha is a licensed occupational and massage therapist as well as a member of the Aquatic Exercise Association and the National Strength and Conditioning Association. For leisure, Martha enjoys water sports, jogging, reading, and spectator sports in her hometown of Houston, Texas.