Aqua Jogging
Since I myself will be doing 2-4+ weeks (until my injury is fully healed) of deep pool running aka “aqua jogging” I decided to do a little more research on the subject. As you all know Fairport athletes have a great resource in Marci Callan and the pool. Coach Guido has been a strong proponent of every athlete getting in the pool, even when healthy. For injured athletes who cannot run or do other weight baring activities I feel that nothing compares to the pool. There is no better substitute for the work that you can get in without putting added stress on ailing areas. If you are aggressive enough in your watery endeavors you can easily maintain fitness or even come out at a higher fitness level than when you went in. From the research I have done the key seems to be a large number of hard effort or interval sessions in a given week. The heart does not have to work as hard in the water, thus getting your heart rate to land levels is difficult. This calls for a greater number of quality sessions in a given week than you normally would do when on land during weight baring activities. Below are some articles of interest on the matter, including a 9 week program that I myself will be using as a model for my own. Please remember to consult with your event coach(es) before attempting to begin such a program.
-Coach Rappleyea-
