Innovative Swim Board – What is in a Name – Take Our Poll

Last week I ran into a client and instructor and asked David his opinion of the EZ Swimmer. David was quick to reply the name was misleading. He knew firsthand it is a resistance tool and as such it is perhaps one of the strongest in the field of water fitness. The term EZ he felt was misleading because target toning is never easy. While the design was ergonomic and make the resistance easier in the swimming pool, the term EZ in the world of water fitness where frail 76 year old women dominate the field, the term EZ was grossly misleading.

Additionally, the term “swimming” he felt misleading because while the fitness tool offers all the resistance benefits of swimming, the swim board does not require the skill of swimming.

Sadly, I didn’t have time to continue the discussion as we both were pressed for time.

The category of “swim board” is appropriate but perhaps the name is misleading.

I have posed this question before but have never put it in written form on the world wide web. I would appreciate your thoughts and suggestions.

Alternative Name – Sea Horse

In the six years that I have had this product on the market, I have yet to hear a GREAT name. One of the names that I find helpful is the term Sea Horse. The Seated Balance movement is the water exercise that mimics the balance ball in the water and aptly describes the movement. This movement is exclusive. Yes there are instability boards but none with the amount of resistance and challenge that this board offers. Riding the sea horse is the best verbal example of what the balancing act is in the water.

If you do not engage your core muscles, if you try to engage your back muscles, the swim board turns from a sea horse where you are riding with control to a bucking bronco.

One of my clients kindly refers to this as the “butter butt” syndrome but in reality it is the lack of contraction in the core muscles.

Sea Horse

Over the years, I have studied those who pick up the sea horse readily and have noticed, it is the horse back rider who can pick it up almost immediately. In all cases, after trying the Cuddle Core and the Push Downs, the user can typically master the sea horse in under 20 minutes.

One young lady struggled a couple of weeks ago. When I returned the next week, she had successfully mastered it. When I asked what changed, she and another client detailed it was practice and correct positioning. She now rides the sea horse without any visible struggle what so ever.

Getting Bucked Off the Sea Horse

I hesitate to change the product name to sea horse because it almost implies a simple process when in reality it is engaging your muscles – no different than full immersion swimming that demand your muscles pull you through the water.

Why EZ ?

OK, if the sea horse is so difficult and it is always listed as an advanced skill, why the name EZ? If you were to compare the kick board with the Cuddle Core movement, you know the kick board demands the proper position of being horizontal in the water as if you were swimming in full immersion format. After all you are training your kick.

With this soft swim board, the Cuddle Core is target toning your legs with the user in the diagonal position in the water. This position offers more resistance using your entire body resisting the water than the streamline movement of the kick board. Additionally, when you compare the muscle engagement between the two, the kick board still engages your upper body (albeit to a lesser extent), while the EZ Swimmer swim board has your upper body in a relaxed cuddle position where your arm and upper body have very limited muscle contraction.

Share Your Thoughts on the Names – EZ Swimmer verses Sea Horses verses Other Suggestions

If you have successfully tried the sea horse, I definitely want your opinion on the naming options. If you are just reading this for the first time,your opinion counts the most. It is the reader who hasn’t tried the product that I don’t wish to confuse. Please email me or leave a comment below on your thoughts.

Water exercise is Wise!…

Water exercise is Wise!

Safety Items for Body Boards Surf Boards Kick Boards and EZ Swimmer

OK, I must admit that I am always picturing in my mind the joke about the lawn mower being used as a hedge trimmer. I find it silly to state but sadly necessary. Check out the funny photo of the riding lawn mower – that is what I think about. Silly but true!

Lawn Mower Hedge Trimmer – Proper Use of Tools Applies

http://www.telovation.com

Here are the simple three safety rules, for more information see the EZSwimmer.com website:

1. Never Stand on the Swim Board

2. Never Hyper-extend Your Neck or Your Back

3. Never Leave Children Alone with a Fitness Tool

For more information, check here the FAQs on the website: EZSwimmer.com

Water Fitness is the New Term – Out with the Old in with the New

For years, I have fought against the term “water aerobics”. Why? For the simple fact it is misleading – the water offers much more than just aerobics. Additionally, I feel the term “water aerobics” has been pigeonholed into the department of therapy or at least so closely aligned that the active, healthy adults have established negative connotations about water aerobics.

Yet, water exercise is wise and one of the most effective and efficient exercise programs you could include in your busy schedule, but alas the term is misleading and a new name is needed for this remarkable exercise program.

For years, I used the term “swim fitness”.  The term “water fitness” I am warming up to but I still find “swim fitness” to be a better term.

Why the term “swim fitness” rather than “water fitness”? For one, open water is different than swimming pool water. Open water is much more dangerous than a controlled environment that has no under currents. Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, I envision all water fitness programs to mimic the benefits of full immersion swimming. Water aerobics serves the participants well to use the water for fitness while at the same time maintaining a vertical stance and the sensitive areas of the head, the eyes, ears and nose out of the water. Yet the term “swim fitness” , I feel celebrates the critical skill of full immersion swimming.

CONNOTATIONS OF THE TERMS – SWIM FITNESS VERSES WATER FITNESS

If I were to say to you I am a “swim fitness instructor”, what would you conjure up in your mind? You would envision that I knew something about full immersion swimming? Right? And water fitness professionals, I feel should have an understanding IF not an education of what full immersion swimming entails.

SWIMMING EDUCATION SHOULD EXTEND TO FITNESS PROFESSIONALS

Historically we have aimed for educating children of how to swim. This is a noble mission that must continue. I feel strongly the fitness profession should also embrace the knowledge of swimming and include a small portion of full immersion swimming in all the professional fitness certifications.

The “Water Fitness” Term Verses the Term “Water Aerobics”

I must admit “water fitness” is much more preferable than “water aerobics”. I can live with the term “water fitness”, I cannot live with the term “water aerobics”.

However, having stated that can the fitness industry really continue to advance without including some knowledge base of the skill of full immersion swimming? Should the fitness industry continue to ignore swimming?

Personal Trainer Experience

The health club that I was privileged to obtain my personal trainer certification from had the most remarkable trainers. The health club was medically based and beyond the fitness center housed under the same roof was the therapy division including water therapy. However, to the prestige of that club, many of the water fitness coaches were also certified as swim coaches. It was a wonderful experience to have fitness professionals who were or once were swim coaches. This heightened standard of education had a profound affect upon the clients.

One of the most remarkable clients I have ever seen was a lady who was literally crippled who took first water therapy, then water aerobics, then deep water aerobics and then last I saw her she was swimming full immersion laps! Here is an example of a woman who wouldn’t move, couldn’t move and because of the extensive training of the staff on hand, this individual was able to progress beyond therapy to water fitness and then to the ultimate of all fitness programs – able to regularly swim laps with her new found full immersion swimming skills.

I will never wish or even have a remote desire to swim full immersion laps.  I enjoy swimming laps with the Cuddle Core best, a kick board on occasion. My legs are my weakest muscles and my knees will literally shout at me when I don’t exercise my legs.  The swimming pool offers an unique resistance challenge for my legs – it target tones both the hamstrings and the quadriceps in one motion – imagine always being on the incline on the tread mill.

As a certified group instructor, as a certified personal trainer, sadly I was not given much education on the technical elements of full immersion swimming.  I took it on myself to learn and understand the principals of kick boards and know their many benefits.

I feel the “water fitness” world could better served their clients if all the fitness certifications included an element about full immersion swimming.

Where is the fitness industry today? Essentially land fitness and water fitness and swim fitness are all three in separate zones. This I feel leaves the world less educated and the choices biased. Worst yet, the term swimming remains scary for most individuals. The swimming pool is loved but the term “swimming” remains a scary thought. This paradigm is sad.

The Scary Term of Swimming

When a physician recommends “swimming”, the patients first reaction is fear and mentally they immediately think “I cannot do that!” Then they learn about vertical water fitness and their fears are thwarted. Yet, what if we as fitness professionals took on a new term, a term “swim fitness” showcasing the location of the fitness is in the swimming pool. Would the term “swim fitness” garner more clout than “water fitness”? Could the connotations of water aerobics and the 74 year old frail grandmother be forever dispersed? Or how do we change the paradigm of water fitness closely aligned to therapy?

In a Perfect Fitness World

We would see all fitness professionals certified with some degree of education about full immersion swimming.

We would see the skill of full immersion swimming celebrated rather than scary.

We would see all water fitness professionals knowledgeable about full immersion swimming.

We would see all land fitness professionals knowledgeable about swim fitness.

In a perfect world, land fitness professionals and swim fitness professionals would cross promote each world of fitness.

In a perfect world, physicians would prescribe fitness.

In a perfect world, physicians would avoid the term “swimming”.

In a perfect world, all fitness programs would include both land and swim fitness.

How Do You Feel About the Terms – Swim Fitness and Water Fitness

I vote for the term “swim fitness” over “water fitness”.

What term would you prefer the physician to reference? Swim fitness, water fitness, water aerobics, water therapy?

I would love to hear your opinion. Please feel free to share below in the comment section.

Beautiful Human Anatomy Art Drawing

Human Anatomy

Reprinted, with permission, from Stretching Anatomy by Arnold Nelson and Jouko Kokkonen. Copyright 2007 by Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc. http://www.HumanKinetics.com
Source: Human Kinetics