About 2 years ago, I had pain in my knee, and I asked the doctor to recommend some kind of exercise to strengthen my knees. He told me that pool walking is a great way to strengthen your knees and get in shape.
It sounded like a good idea. Walking in water sounded like a gentle and low-impact exercise. I decided to try it! I found a place with a pool that is only for walking. It is like a round course, and people walk around and around in the water.
I went there, changed into my swimsuit, put on my swim cap, and went out to the pool area. I saw many women walking around energetically (元気良く). Some were walking alone silently, but most of them were walking through the water in groups, chatting and laughing. The water came up to their chests (むね）, and it looked like a comfortable and fun way to exercise.
As I walked to the pool, many eyes looked at me. I suppose I stood out a bit (ちょっとめだった）--a tall foreign lady in a colorful bathing suit. All the ladies in the pool were wearing navy (紺色), gray or black swimsuits. I stepped into the pool, and realized (気付いった）that the water only came up to my waist! It was very shallow (浅い）.
Of course! I was a lot taller than all the ladies in the pool. The water came up to their chests, but it only came up to my waist (腰）.
(Lucky for you, I'm a great artist!
)
I tried walking like that. But the resistance (抵抗) of the water was very weak because the top half of my body wasn't under water. It was difficult to walk slowly enough so I didn't bump into the ladies in front of me. The water resistance was strong against their bodies because their bodies were under water up to their chests.
Walking so slowly through the water also made it difficult for me to keep my balance. So I had an idea. I'll bend my knees as I walk so my body will be under water up to my chest too. I had to bend my knees a lot to get my body down far enough under the water.
I tried walking like that, with my knees bent and my body under the water, and the resistance of the water was much stronger. But it was very hard! It was like walking while doing a squat at the same time. And I'm sure I looked ridiculous! I continued for about 10 minutes, but my knees began to hurt! I worried that I must be damaging my knees more than helping them. Maybe pool walking is good for the knees, but pool squat-walking might be very bad for my knees.
I gave up and got out of the pool. I could hear other ladies who were still walking say, "So soon! You are quitting already?! Even though you are younger than us?" Most of those ladies were older than me, and when I asked them, some of them told me that they walk in the pool for 1 hour!
After that, my knees hurt more for a few days. I was so embarrassed, I've never tried going back. I need a pool for tall people! I want to try pool walking upright (ますぐ立ち).
Have you ever tried pool walking