WATER AEROBICS EXERCISE DVDs and VIDEOs by WaterGym

WaterGym Water Aerobic Flotation Belt

1. How deep should my pool be to do WaterGym®?

Your pool depth only needs to be deep enough that if you’re wearing a WaterGym Belt
and you extend your legs straight down, your feet wouldn’t touch the bottom. This is usually around shoulder depth for most people because the belt lifts you up. Here's a good test...

1) Stand in your pool at the deepest part of the pool.

2) Hold two kickboards or any other type of flotation under your arms.
Do they lift you enough to where your feet wouldn't touch the ground?
If so, you should be able to do WaterGym!

3) If your pool is more shallow than described above, you can still perform most exercises by altering them slightly. For instance, if we ask you straighten your legs and point your toes, you can bend your knees slightly and flex your feet instead. This will prevent your toes from hitting bottom. (see photo below) However, if your pool depth is waist high, it is too shallow for WaterGym. We'll be making some shallow-water workouts in the future, so no worries!

2. Can I use the WaterGym® system without a belt?

WaterGym is performed in deep water, so we don’t recommend participating without a belt unless you’re a strong swimmer and completely safe and comfortable in deep water. However, many customers get greater fitness results using the belt. Here’s why…

WITH THE BELT
In WaterGym, you learn special techniques on how to work the water surrounding your body like a powerful gym. Every move you make is an opportunity to burn calories, build lean muscle and increase flexibility. The more specific your moves, the more you strengthen specific muscle groups and the greater your results.
Our WaterGym Belt holds you up, stabilizes your torso, helps you maintain proper alignment, and allows you to focus 100% of energy on powerfully working your arms and legs against the resistance of the water.

WITHOUT THE BELT
Without the belt, your moves can become less specific and more focused on treading water to stay afloat. In addition, it’s extremely difficult to remain vertical without sinking, so you might tend to lean forward and compensate proper alignment and execution of your exercises. However there are exceptions! They are folks who’ve been highly trained in deep-water (ex: synchronized swimmers), or folks who’ve taken WaterGym for years are able to maintain proper alignment and perform the powerful execution of their moves without a belt. They are the exception, so we highly advise all beginners to workout with the belt.

3. I am a non-swimmer. Can I still do WaterGym®?

WaterGym is performed in deep water, so we don’t recommend non-swimmers to participate in WaterGym because our WaterGym Belt is NOT a lifesaving device, nor is it approved by the United States Coast Guard as a life saving device. The WaterGym Belt is intended to be used by qualified swimmers for exercise purposes only, and should not be used by children or anyone who cannot swim unless properly supervised at all times. This is because the design of the WaterGym Belt will not prevent drowning because the buoyancy factor and its distribution in the belt is not sufficient to float a conscious or unconscious person in a "face out of the water" position. Therefore, if you are a non-swimmer, you should never attempt WaterGym unless you are properly supervised and completely safe.

That said, over the years, many non-swimmers have participated in our WaterGym classes in Marin County. We supervise them carefully, have trained lifeguards on duty and always keep them in the shallow end of the pool next to the wall until they are ready to venture into deep water (and ONLY if they are ready). With careful supervision and gradual training, many of these clients of ours have grown to love the water so much that they've learned to swim! We are very proud of them.

So be smart and only attempt WaterGym if it is completely safe for you to do so.

4. Is there a "weight limit" to your WaterGym Belt?

There is no “weight limit” because your weight in water is different than on land. While suspended in deep water, you weigh only about 10% of your actual body weight. Therefore the amount of flotation you require depends primarily your body composition, specifically your lean mass to body fat ratio, which determines your buoyancy. You may be a:

• "SINKER" (higher ratio of lean mass to body fat- requiring more flotation)
• "FLOATER" (higher ratio of body fat to lean mass- requiring less flotation)
• “NEUTRALLY BUOYANT” (balanced)

5. Does your WaterGym Belt have latex in it?

The BLUE FOAM part of our WaterGym Belt DOES NOT have latex in it, but our BLACK ELASTIC STRAP DOES (making it slightly stretchy for comfortable, easy breathing). Many folks who are allergic to latex who still want to purchase our belt because they love the quality of our foam, simply replace the black strap with another strap that does not contain latex.