Ask Fitz! Your Fitness Questions Answered -- Aqua Fitness & Jumping Rope

Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answer. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose two per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Hi Fitz, I have a small kidney-shaped pool in my back yard. My preteen kids will be in it all summer and I'd like to kill two birds with one stone by spending time with them and getting in some exercise. What things do you recommend I do for a workout in a small pool? Andrea

A. Hello Miss Andrea. Thanks for the fantastic question. I love questions that pertain to a lot of people, and this one certainly does. I imagine there will be tons of moms and dads in pools over the next few months, trying to make the most out of their outdoor time. Here's the best news. Playing with your children and doing all of the things they do will prove to be a tremendous workout in itself. Kids are cuckoo in the water, and that requires lots of energy. So, at minimum, you could just play copycat.

Beyond Marco Polo, Sharks and Minnows, and all of the other fun games kids play in the pool, there a a bunch of simple and purposeful exercises you can do to get in better shape. Normally, I'd recommend swimming laps, but that's not realistic in a small pool full of children. Here are some other choices for you:

• Walk and/or run through the water as fast as you can. Hideously challenging.
• Leg lifts. Quickly lift a a straight leg forward, to the side, or backwards as high as you can through the water. Then quickly pull that leg back to the ground. Try 50 repetitions on each leg, in each direction.
• Jumping jacks. Do as many sets of 20 as you can. If you are in great shape, do sets of 50.
• Dance! Put a radio on your deck and boogie! Do all the things you'd normally do on a dance floor. The larger your movements, the better. The water adds enormous resistance and will make everything much more difficult.
• Hold on to the edge of the pool, while facing it. Lift your legs up towards the top of the water and kick.
• Tread water. Keep your head afloat as long as you can and then take a safety break on the side of the pool. Treading water requires a surprising amount of endurance, and burns a ton of calories.
• Dips. Sit on the edge of the pool with your hands next to your body, finger tips draped over the edge toward the water. Lift your body up onto straight arms, and lower your body into the pool with bent elbows. Lift back up again. Do as many sets of 10 or 20 as you can, depending on your fitness level.
• Get and use some water fitness equipment. Kick boards, dumbbells, and water cuffs are all great choices.

Aqua Fitness Gear(click thumbnails to view gallery)

The wonderful part about being in the pool Andrea, is that almost everything you'd normally do on land requires more effort.in the water. As a fabulous contradiction though, this 'more challenging' motion is incredibly gentle on the body. Impact free. I love the pool and make great use of it throughout the year. Have fun with your family this summer in yours. Play as much as you can, and throw in some deliberate exercises when you want to. Get the kids involved as well. It's never too early to learn how to exercise. Fitz

Q. Fitz, I bought a jump rope, and really want to use it (I hear it burns a million calories). I'm terrible at it though! I can barely get over the rope five times before kicking it. How do I master this thing? Renee

A. Hooray Renee! I'm so excited that you want to jump rope, because it is absolutely one of my favorite fitness activities. It burns mega calories, while drastically increasing your cardio-pulmonary endurance. Other cool features of the rope are that it's really inexpensive and can be used almost anywhere.

I, too, once stunk at jumping rope, but now am pretty talented. When I first started training to fight as a full-contact kickboxer, my trainer set me up to start jumping. Being light on your feet and quick is essential to success in the ring. At that point, you could describe me as neither. It took me quite a few weeks to even get over the rope 10 times in a row, but once I got the hang of it .. it was a skill that took me far.

I recommend checking out former Olympian Buddy Lee's website and utilizing some of his advice and tools to become a better jumper. This guy is an expert jumper, and has broken things down to a point.

Punches & Kicks,