These KUN-AQUA upper body exercises deserve a spot in your routine. As your body ages, building muscle mass becomes crucial. Exercising in water minimises injury risk and protects your shoulders, core, and back while boosting your resting metabolic rate. Adding just one or two of these upper body exercises to your current routine is a great way to start.
HELICOPTER
- Stand with your feet slightly wider than your shoulders, your knees bent, and feet facing forward (saddle stance).
- Extend your arms at shoulder height, away from your body. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and draw them down your back.
- Imagine a broomstick running from fingertip to fingertip across your shoulders. The palms of your hands should face forward. Keep your head, shoulders, and hips facing forward as much as possible.
- Engage your core muscles; then twist and turn the body back and forth. Do not twist from the spine; instead, pivot and bend on the balls of your feet, ensuring your hips are aligned with your shoulders.
UPPERCUT
- Begin by standing in a saddle stance.
- The power starts from the ground up, so you always want to bend your knees to put raw power into your punches.
- Lower your right hand to hip level to the side of your body with the palm turned upwards towards the sky.
- Bend the right knee slightly with the right foot flat to the floor and the left heel slightly off the floor.
- As you scoop the arm up, move the upper body as a unit.
- Pivot from the hips with shoulders aligned into the rotation of your body and throw the uppercut with a relaxed arm.
- Remember not to twist at the waist: your upper body moves as a unit from the hips up.
FRONT ARM RAISE
The serratus muscle is very prominent in a boxer’s physique. They are vital for healthy shoulders and work to stabilise the scapula and the abdominal muscles to flex your trunk. They look like fingers pointing from your ribs to your six-pack (raise your arms, and you may be able to see yours). Most people don’t have the build to reveal theirs. To begin the exercises:
- Stand in a forward lunge stance with your arms by your sides and your hands facing the body.
- Raise your right arm in front of you to shoulder height, turn your hand’s palm downward, and drag the outstretched arm back toward your hip.
- At the same time, raise the opposite arm and repeat the action, pushing up on one side and pulling down on the other.
HOOK PUNCH
• Stance and Guard: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, lead foot slightly forward. Keep hands up, elbows close, chin tucked.
• Rotation: Rotate hips and shoulders towards the punch.
• Pivot: Pivot on the ball of your front foot for a lead hook or back foot for a rear hook.
• Arm Position: Raise your elbow to shoulder height, bent at 90 degrees.
• Hand Position: Swing your fist in a horizontal arc, keeping forearm parallel to the ground.
• Contact: Aim with the first two knuckles, keeping your wrist straight.
• Recovery: Quickly retract your hand to the guard position, maintaining balance.
SILK REELING
The name “Silk Reeling” comes from the oldest documented and codified style of Tai chi. It refers to moving the torso and limbs in a spiral or twisting pattern. It was created to assist students in understanding how the body must move to gain strength.
- Reach your arms to the left of your body, palms turned away, at chest height.
- Drag your arms across to your right side, turn the hands in the opposite direction and sweep the arms from the right back to the left, tracing a figure of eight through the water.
- Your arms need to be continually projecting outwards like the branches of a tree, with a slight curve to the arms.
BARN DOOR
This is an excellent exercise for strengthening the chest and upper back muscles.
- Begin by standing in a saddle stance.
- Open your arms wide at shoulder height, as though a broomstick were running from fingertip to fingertip across your shoulders.
- Your palms should face forward, and your knees should be bent so that the water is at shoulder height.
- Clap your hands with straightened arms, then pull back in the opposite direction and repeat the clapping and opening movement.
ROTATOR CUFF
- • Stand straight with your arms bent at the elbows and the upper arm “stuck” to the side of your body, palms of the hands facing.
• Keep your body steady and rotate your hands and forearms outward, without moving the upper arms. Keep the wrists steady as well.
• Return to the starting position as fast as you went out.
• Make sure that the movement is a smooth one.