The Wacky Noodle Water Workout

The Wacky Noodle Water Workout
Written by Michele Vieux

It’s H.O.T. outside and you’re looking for a workout but nothing too crazy so you don’t die of heat exhaustion. It’s actually time for an active recovery day and you’re hoping to hit the pool (or lake, beach, river) to relax a bit. Why not get in a Zone 2 workout while you’re at it? You don’t even have to be a very good swimmer OR put your face in the water! For this workout, you only need two, Wacky Noodles and the ability to breathe through your nose.

You also don’t need a very large pool to do this. If you have access to a full-length pool, awesome! You can rotate by length of the pool. If your pool is a smaller backyard version or one at your building’s community complex, then perform laps or even circles around the outer edge instead. If you are using a smaller pool, don’t push off the walls so that you can get the most out of the movement in the shorter distance. 

Wacky Noodle Workout

Moving continuously for 20-30 minutes, (maintaining a pace you can nasal breathe) rotate between laps/lengths/circles of…

Station 1 – Seated Bicycle Swim 

Sit on one noodle & place the other in front of your chest and under your armpits. Arms do breast stroke. Legs ride like a bike. You can use this to practice the peddle pulling technique of the Assault Bike! This means you should be in plantar flexion for most of the rotation and using your feet as a paddle to propel you. Did you know you are supposed to pull the pedals like this on the Assault Bike? It’s not just a ‘push’ drive with the legs. Practice your ‘pull’ too!

Station 2 – Kicking Only

Both noodles go in front of your chest and under your armpits to hold your head out of the water. Extend your arms out front. Choose your kick – flutter, dolphin or breast stroke. Remember that you shouldn’t be kicking super hard or fast because you won’t be able to maintain the Zone 2 intent. Focus instead on making your kick super efficient and also shaking out all that soreness from your week of hard training. 

Station 3 – Arms Only

Both noodles go behind your back and under your armpits to hold your head out of the water. Extend your legs and squeeze your glutes to find a hollow position. Don’t let your legs sink! This is good practice for actively floating. Yes, you have to work to float. So many people say that they sink instead of float. Well guess what, they either aren’t trying or haven’t figured out the technique. Stay braced and tight in the midline and you must maintain a little air in your diaphragm. If you let it all go loose and lose your air, you will definitely sink. The arm stroke should be similar to elementary backstroke. Feel those lats work! You can also use this position for face-up kicking if you want to change it up a bit.

The idea here is that you are moving at a pace that is pretty low effort. This is meant for recovery so don’t get too crazy – even if you feel that you can do more – because that would defeat the purpose. You should get somewhere between 4-5 rounds of this if you are moving slowly. A good rule of thumb is to only perform movements that you can do while breathing through your nose. This will ensure you aren’t working too hard. Even though it sounds counterintuitive, you need to incorporate these types of workouts into your routine to ensure proper muscle and central nervous system (CNS) recovery. For further reading, check out: Important Elements of Rest & Recovery.

What are your favorite Wacky Noodle exercises? Share them – and photos of you with your Wacky Noodles – to the comments below!