The NEW Fitness: Cool Water Workouts

Working out in the water is not only easier on your joints, it’s also great for toning and strengthening with the added resistance factor. We’ve rounded up a few fun workouts that take fitness to a new level and show that workout options are now as vast as the sea.

Hydrorider, Cal-a-Vie
Vista, California

From sprinting to climbing to even crunches on a bike in the water, Cal-a-Vie’s Hydrorider class is insanely popular with its guests. Held in the spa’s 50-meter Olympic-sized pool, the Hydrorider is an aquatic stationary bike that allows you to pedal in the water.  The bike has state of the art features for custom fitting and can be used by those who are conditioned, de-conditioned and populations with special limitations. Advantages of spinning in the water involve buoyancy, which provides stress-free training for the joints and low back. Cal-a-Vie’s Hydrorider class is one of many of its aquatic fitness classes, which also include Aqua Boot Camp, Forever Fit Cardio Aqua Jogging, Triathalon Water Training and more.

Aquabiking, Hotel Le Christopher
St Barthélemy, French West Indies

If you love spin classes, or just biking in general, and find yourself in the French West Indies, check out Aquabiking at Hotel Le Christopher. A soft practice for the joints, pedaling in the water tones and strengthens, while strengthening the venous and lymphatic networks. It’s said to fight effectively against the water retention and cellulite, too.

Stand-Up Paddle Yoga, Kahala CHI Health & Energy Fitness Center
Honolulu, Hawaii

Ever try a downward dog on a floating stand-up paddleboard? Kahala’s CHI Health & Energy Fitness Center recently introduced two new workout classes in and by the water, combining the incredible natural outdoors of Hawaii with intense and challenging fitness programs for all levels: Stand-Up Paddle Yoga and “Kahala Core” TRX Suspension Training. Stand-Up Paddle Yoga classes combine the mind-sharpening, body-conditioning, heart-opening joy of yoga with the stability challenge of a stand-up paddleboard. The other new class, TRX Suspension Trainer by the Beach, is a fitness program used by the U.S. military elite, incorporating unique equipment to provide a challenging workout for everyone. Join this latest fitness craze with “Kahala Core” TRX Suspension Training that includes hundreds of exercises to build power, strength, flexibility, balance and mobility while preventing injuries.

Fin to Fitness, Ihilani JW Marriott Resort Hotel & Spa at Ko’Olina
Ko’Olina, Hawaii

Not only is Ihilani Spa an ideal place to unwind and relax, but head to the outdoor spa pool and you just might see a mermaid out there. The fun and invigorating Fin to Fitness class led by Mermaid Kariel (who spent over 400 hours making her mermaid tails!) is an aquatic workout using a monofin and the dolphin kick to tone your tush and exercise your core. Each 60-minute class can burn up to 800 calories and when I tried it, I was feeling it in my abs the next day, despite not feeling exhausted after the workout. A number of free fitness classes are offered as well, like a 2.3 mile walk along the four lagoons of the Ko’Olina Resort led by a fitness instructor who provides facts and details about the island along the way. I also took advantage of the morning Stretch by the Sea class, the perfect way to start my day, relaxing both my body and my mind.

Stand-Up Paddle Boarding, Atlantic Resort & Spa
Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Can’t make it to Hawaii, or want to try Stand-Up Paddle Boarding before attempting Warrior I while on the water? Atlantic Resort & Spa’s instructors will take you out to the ocean to learn Stand-Up Paddle Boarding, which Senior Editor Shari Rosenberg describes as “a surprisingly Zen-like way to relax, exercise, develop the core and get in touch with your inner self while basking in the surf.” For those seeking major energizing, the Atlantic also offers an array of water sports, from kayaking to yachting to boating to relaxing in the hotel’s outdoor whirlpool and heated pool, open year-round.

SurfSet Fitness, Sports Center at Chelsea Piers
New York, New York

Surfing in the winter? Learn to surf before hitting the real waves with SurfSET Fitness, which holds group workout classes at the Sports Center at Chelsea Piers. The RipSurfer X, a piece of equipment that looks like the lovechild of a surfboard and Pilates Reformer, gives riders a chance to learn surf moves while getting fit on dry land. Strengthen your legs as you learn to carve, tone your arms and get some cardio in with steady and sprint paddling, and learn more than 80 SurfSET signature moves in high-intensity core training sessions.