Jump and Climb

It may sound easier than it is, but this gets harder the longer you do it, can be very exhausting and will wear you out quickly. Prepare for some well earned rest in the pool afterwards.

For one minute jump into deep water and immediately climb out, do not use the steps. Repeat as often as you can. Five times is quite good. Ten times would be great. Then tread water for 3 minutes.

Pushing yourself up is the hard bit, jumping in is the fun reward. Submerge completely under water before you come up again.

Next put on some light clothes and do it again. Feel the difference. Add more clothing layers until you reach the limit of your strength. When you can do it in a hooded jogging suit, you're good.

Boat Climb

This is a variation of the above, using an inflatable boat. It gets much harder in waterlogged clothes because the boat is not as stable as the poolside. It moves and gives under weight, may even capsize.

Put the boat in the middle of the pool, far away from the edge to avoid injury. Swim to the boat. If more than one swimmer, you can hold the boat whilst the other gets in.

Climb into the boat, stand up, and fall into the water in over the side. This may sound easy until you do it for a full minute or more. Unlike the pool side, the boat moves about, more so when several people do this exercise at once. Great fun.

Ladder Pull-up

This fun exercise will train you like a benchpress for your legs with extra benefit for your arms. You use your calves and your upper leg muscles, and stregthen your back. Go up or down a step and compare how that goes. You should feel the relevant muscles after about one minute. This exercise should be done quickly using a fair amount of force.

Starting Position

Hold on to the ladder with both hands and step down knee deep. Your feet should be about two steps below the surface and spread apart as far as the step allows. That will give you extra stability.

Slide Down

Whilst your hands slide down the handles, lower yourself into the water to a squatting position, about neck deep. If you like, go right under the water.

Push Up

Then push yourself up again with your legs and pull with your arms towards the ladder. Stand right up. Go down again and repeat as often as you can, about 20 repetitions.

Run and Swim

A quick run between pool execises helps you loosen up. Your wet clothes add a bit of weight to make your run more intense.

This training programme we recommend to our outdoor lifeguards as a powerful cross training exercise. You alternate between swimming and running to get a varied workout. The idea is to have an equal balance between pool training and running. Swap every 10 to 20 minutes. Keep your clothes on so you don't lose time between transistions. You can also do this run and swim training on a beach and in open water.

Start with brisk walking or slow jogging for about five minutes, rather than stretching before exercise. Try these all-purpose dynamic stretches for your lower body:

Goose-step March

Slowly lift your leg straight out in front of you, alternating as you walk with your normal stride length. You may want to combine this with lunges. The lunge is a powerful leg strengthening exercise with a multitude of variations to add variety to your workout. In addition, varying your technique allows you to emphasize different muscles or parts of those muscles. While others may think you're doing a Monty Python skit, it is an effective hamstring stretch.

Butt Kick

As you jog or walk, bend one knee and lift it behind you as if you were trying to kick yourself in the butt. It's not a punishment, it stretches the quadriceps.

Knee Lifts

As you're jogging or walking, bring knees up toward your chest. For a variation, as your right knee comes up, twist the lifted leg gently to the left and your upper body gently to the right for a spinal twist. Repeat on each side as you jog or walk.

Back into the Pool

After the land based exercises it is time to hop into the pool to compliment the running with water exercises. This will give your joints a rest, but keeps pushing you onwards.

You have the choice between lap swimming or some wading exercise to push your legs even harder. Then there are special water exercises like jumping into the water and climbing out in quick succession until you're exhausted. Then it's time for more land based running.

Cool Down

Light movements for a while help lower your heart rate and bring you back to normal. Don't stop suddenly. The shallow pool is a good place to relax after this intensive training.