Now That’s a Drag…

SCW FitnessSCW Blog

When something is a drag, our first thought might be “how annoying.” Sometimes a drag causes you to slow down or have to work harder. These are not the types of drag I am talking about, though the effect is somewhat similar.

The term drag is a scientific form of resistance. It can cause objects to slow down, therefore creating the driving force to work harder. When referring to playing sports, that drag can be used to train harder, more efficiently, and reach muscle groups that otherwise would be difficult to target.

A runner, cyclist, or other athletes who wants to increase strength in forward motion can use drag as a form of training. Think about a runner using a parachute to create resistance so that the muscles used for that forward momentum are required to work harder. Tennis players have even used mini parachutes on their racket to train their serve strength. Swimmers use suits with pockets instead of a super streamlined suit to create drag. Or webbing in between their fingers to require more strength from their stroke arm.

However, the use of drag is different in air versus water. Let’s go back to our swimmer. In the air, the use of webbing between the fingers only creates a small increase in drag resistance and would probably not benefit the user much. But in the water, the density is 12 times greater than air. Water molecules attract one another, creating that strong bond, which needs to be broken each time you want to displace some water volume. In this case, webbed gloves makes drag resistance in water much more useful and much easier to use, apply, and benefit from.

Changes to the amount of surface area being used create the drag resistance. The speed of the movement against that drag resistance adjusts the intensity of the workout. This applies to both types of workouts, land as well as aquatic exercise. However, the changes in the water only need to be minimal in order to make the intensity great. The speed of movement changes the resistance of drag in water. Intensity from speed is also noticeable when using air drag resistance or the resistance of gravity.

Also consider that water can very easily create drag resistance in ALL directions of movement during the same workout. This is an enormous advantage over training on land. Most land exercises, whether using drag resistance or gravity, provide resistance in one direction. A movement made against gravity most likely causes a concentric contraction of a muscle, followed by an eccentric muscle movement to “lower” the weight. Make the same movement in water and the drag resistance of the water would cause both directions of the movement to be mostly concentric muscle activity, paired with some eccentric muscle activity to guide and control the movement, but of opposing muscle groups. Hence the total workout becomes more complete, more complex for the muscles and a higher workout intensity can quickly be achieved. Air drag resistance, due to its low density, requires such a huge change of movement direction and speed, that creating this type of effect would be impractical.

Thus, water provides very unique workout opportunities due to that drag. This fluid environment creates drag resistance no matter which direction you move allowing for creativity in choreography. Exercises can literally flow into each other without needing major changes to position or equipment.

But, like the swimmer who uses webbing or a drag resistance suit, you can also utilize the water’s drag resistance in your exercises. The Aqua-Ohm allows for an easier way to target specific muscle groups with higher intensity and increased strength. To keep the change of exercise maximally fluid, it can be quickly adapted in size to change the amount of drag resistance. Aqua-Ohm can be easily switched from arms to legs to core exercises without re-strapping, changing suits, or having to get another piece of equipment. It makes the perfect aquatic workout partner.
The Aqua-Ohm works solely with the drag resistance of water. Due to the unique handle placement, it can easily change in size to provide different levels of intensity for arms, legs, and core exercises.

Yes, working out can sometimes be a drag. Go ahead, drag an Aqua-Ohm into the water and see how you can make drag resistance work for you in a fun and affordable way.

To learn more about the Aqua-Ohm, visit our website www.aqua-ohm.com or email us at [email protected]. Aqua-Ohm offers a 20% discount to all Tidal Waves readers. Please use discount code SCW20 at the check-out page.