Wellness is not a one-size-fits-all, not for eating nor fitness, however this water fitness program offers lifelong strength for all ages in a woman’s life.
Wellness Is Not A One Size Fits All
When it comes to women’s wellness, one size does not fit all. Our bodies evolve through every stage of life, from youth, pregnancy, motherhood, menopause, and beyond.
And while healthy eating from foods you know are high in nutritional properties, including those grown in your own backyard are a lifetime commitment to wellness, it still isn’t enough.
That’s why it’s essential to find a fitness program that supports total-body strength, without compromising joint health or adding strain.
One of the most powerful (and surprisingly gentle) options? Water fitness!
Why Water Fitness Works For Every Woman
Many of you may already know the answer to this. Water fitness programs use the natural resistance of water to help strengthen muscles, improve balance, and build endurance, without the harsh impact of land-based exercises.
The buoyancy of water reduces stress on joints, making it a perfect option for women with arthritis, joint pain, or recovering from injury.
It’s also ideal for pregnant women, offering a safe, low-impact way to stay active, relieve back pressure, and improve circulation.
But this program isn’t just for older or expecting women. Water resistance training benefits every age and stage, from teens to seniors, because it adapts to your body’s needs.
Whether you’re just starting a fitness journey or looking for a new challenge, you’ll find water workouts both accessible and incredibly effective.
You Don’t Need To Swim Or Get Your Hair Wet
A common misconception is that you need to be a strong swimmer to benefit from a water-based workout.
Not true. This shallow-water fitness program takes place in waist to chest-high water, and there’s no need to swim or submerge your head.
You can keep your hair dry and your confidence high while getting a full-body workout.
I slip a cloth headband around my hair or a visor that keeps my hair up and away from the water, and this assures my hair stays dry.
What You Need To Get Started
All you need is access to a pool, indoors or outdoors, and a few inexpensive resistance tools. Think swimmer’s hand paddles or web-fingered gloves to offer resistance to arm movements, which strengthens the arms, bust neck area.
For the lower body we use foot flippers and a kick-board, which add resistance for leg movements, building muscles and joints from the hips to the ankles.
These tools increase the resistance your body works against, helping to tone arms, legs, core, and back in a balanced, low-impact way.
Plus, water adds a natural challenge to your movements, forcing your muscles to work harder with less risk of injury. It’s gentle on the outside, powerful on the inside, just like you.
Anyone not comfortable floating in water can add a styrofoam noodle and straddle it like a horse to give you added confidence.
Tools To Last Many Years
Other than access to a pool, indoors or out, the tools needed will last for many years and the initial cost is probably less than the swimsuit you will be wearing!
- Hand paddles or even a webbed-finger glove, is used to create resistance while moving our arms in the water which in turn builds strength to our upper body.
- Flippers, much like the hand paddles, create resistance for the feet as they move in the water creating strength for the lower body.
- Kick-board
- Cloth headband (optional)
- Styrofoam noodle (optional)
The Benefits Of A Lifelong Water Fitness Program
- Joint-Friendly Strength Training: Ideal for aging women or those with arthritis or past injuries.
- Pregnancy-Safe Movement: Helps reduce swelling, ease pressure especially lower back pain, and keep you strong and centered.
- All-Season Accessibility: Indoor pools keep the routine going year-round.
- No Impact, No Intimidation: You don’t need to run, jump, or lift heavy weights.
- Total-Body Toning: Builds strength, flexibility, balance, and even cardiovascular endurance.
Start Where You Are – Stay Strong For Life
Whether you’re looking to ease into fitness, recover your strength, or maintain vitality into your golden years, a water fitness program meets you exactly where you are.
And unlike high-impact classes or complicated gym routines, this is a program you can stick with for the long haul.
Over the years, I’ve managed to find an available pool no matter where I’ve lived, sometimes in a tropical climate, or many aquatic centers or hotels with indoor pools for the dead of winter months.
When you know what works and keeps you healthy and feeling good about your body, you always find a way to meet your goals.
Here’s How This Water Fitness Works
To kick off this program, we will do a 10-minute routine that is designed to address the upper body, followed by a 10-minute routine to work on the lower body. That’s it!
Once you’ve become comfortable with the routine, additional time can always be added on.
Upper Body
If you have ever watched a skull (you know those pencil thin boats with several people rowing in synchronized harmony), you may have noticed the way in which they move the oars.
When the oar is pulling the boat through the water, the oar is vertically placed in the water and then pulled as far as your position will allow space for.
When the oar is returning to its pulling position, it is turned horizontally and then skids across the top of the water.
This second activity is considered the passive movement. But while in the aggressive movement, the pulling movement, there is where the work and reward lie.
We will mimic this very same activity with our arms, using the hand paddles as though they are oars.
Lower Body
Okay, ready for the lower? Take the hand paddles off, put the flippers on and grab your kickboard. Face forward, feet behind you, STRAIGHT legs, arms and board comfortably in front of you.
With long… straight… scissor kicks, kick to the other end of the pool. Legs do not bend and they do not come out of the water.
While one leg is up use the other to push the water down as far as you can until your legs look like a scissor completely open alternating back and forth… back and forth.
The larger your flippers are, the harder it will be to push the weight of the water down. You will feel this movement in your thighs, your buttocks, and your calves.
Ready to return? Return to the ‘ L ‘ position, legs straight out in front of you, sit up straight, hands on the board, and do the same manner of kicking to go backward. Long, straight, slow kicks… and be sure to sit up! Your stomach gets all the benefits in this motion.
A Holistic Approach – Fitness Nutrition Hair Skin & Self-Love
This water-based program is just one part of a bigger wellness picture. It’s beautifully detailed in the published book, “My Essence – a journey to having a love affair with yourself.”
This book written by Robin Daumit in 2006, revised and republished in 2025, is a guide created to inspire and support women through every season of life.
As a professional cosmetologist of 35 years, a food blogger of 10 years, a single mother of 4, now a grandmother of 4, the book goes beyond exercise. You’ll discover:
- Nutrition strategies that support hormonal balance and healthy weight
- Skin and hair care tips tailored to your age and lifestyle
- Simple, powerful ways to bring more love and self-care into your daily life
Because loving yourself isn’t about perfection, it’s about giving your body, mind, and spirit the support they need. And that starts with easy, sustainable choices that work.
A Program You Can Stick With For Life
Whether you are easing into fitness, staying strong through pregnancy, recovering from joint issues, or simply looking for a program that respects your body, this is it.
With water fitness, you’ll tone every muscle group, stay energized, and protect your joints, all while building confidence.
You don’t need to run, jump, or lift heavy weights. You don’t need to learn how to swim. You just need to start.
Women’s Whole Body Wellness
Having been a health nut since my teens, now in my 70’s, I’ve seen decades of fads come and go when it comes to a woman’s health.
Tried and still true have been the practices I’ve embraced all these years, from my head to my toes and all the important women’s concerns in between.
If you are a woman in search of embracing tips and information about hair health, skin health, hormone health, and physical fitness health, then I believe you are sure to love the book I wrote in 2006, revised and republished in 2025, available on Amazon.
Women’s Wellness Is Not A Trend – It’s A Lifelong Journey
With water fitness, you’ll build strength in every muscle group while staying kind to your joints, your time, and your body.
So grab your towel, fill your water bottle, and step into the pool, your wellness at every age starts here.
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