Summer is here, and that means ample opportunities to get fit by the pool. Swimming laps may be the go to exercise to get in your cardio, but they’re just so….boring. Also, laps require a decent sized pool, otherwise you’re stuck just practicing flip turns.
Tiny pools, though, are perfect for getting a little more…creative…with your fitness. Not only that, they provide a nice soft landing if you screw up (just be careful and use your brain when you’re trying to recreate some of these things, okay?).
So, grab a floatie, a friend, a barbell, and head to your nearest chlorinated body of water to get in a workout unlike any other.
The Swimming Muscle Up
The CrossFit Games always have some sort of water component, so like all smart CrossFit Games athletes, Jacob Heppner took to the water. Since this is CrossFit we’re talking about, Heppner got creative and somehow hooked up a pair of rings to the underside of what looks like a diving board. We imagine a strict muscle up out of the water is kind of like squatting with chains, as the amount of resistance changes based on where the body is in water. Unfortunately, Heppner didn’t get this on video, but our guess is one of the people staring at him from a lounge chair probably got an epic Snapchat.
The Press Out of the Pool
If swimming muscle ups are too easy for you, take a cue from the page of gymnasty Joshua Chan. After swimming intervals, when most people would flop out of the pool like an exhausted seal, Chan decides to keep working and get out of the pool with style. It’s already surprisingly hard to push yourself out of the deep end of a pool, and we all know how hard it is to press to a handstand. Combining the two things together: unreal.
The Sunbathing Shoulder Stabilizer
Significant others are for more than just looking pretty on the side of a pool. During an active recovery day, CrossFit District 5 co-owner and head coach Spencer Munn decided to use his girlfriend to help his core and shoulder stability. With the help of a pool floatie and safety of a water landing, Munn positioned himself under the surface of the water and then pressed his girlfriend overhead. Genius.
The Submerged Turkish Getup
Florida based photographer Jaime Chalem seems to have found himself an odd niche — underwater exercise. While Chalem is primarily a portrait photographer, he landed a gig photographing CrossFit coaches under water. While it’s unclear how much actual exercise one can get while attempting to perform a turkish getup or an L-sit underwater, the artistic results are pretty awesome.
The Full Body Underwater Workout
There’s underwater accessory work, and then there’s a full body underwater workout. Jon Call, perhaps the most ridiculous human alive, apparently decided that split pressing Heidi Klum and behind the neck trampoline presses weren’t enough. Call grabbed a barbell, chalked up (obviously necessary), and took a dip in his backyard pool. His balanced workout consisted of squats, presses, deadlifts, and of course, bicep curls (no good workout is complete with out some bro curls). We just hope someone dried off that poor barbell before it rusted.
The 3ft “Box” Jump
For proof that you don’t have to be as nuts as Jon Call to still get in a creative pool workout, here is everyday athlete Troy Nagel literally jumping out of a three foot pool. Box jumps on land can be a very scary thing for athletes, so to add in the resistance of the water and the slipperiness of the pool edge makes it extra impressive. This isn’t one we’d want to try, because we like our shins, but we’re super impressed with what Nagel is able to do!
