Imagine running on land. This is how you should move your legs in the water. You need to work harder in the water than on land. Water pressure allows your heart to pump blood more easily throughout your body. This lowers the heart rate by 5 to 10 beats per minute.
Some runners wear a waterproof heart-rate monitor to measure their beats per minute.
If you don't own one, run at what feels like a more intense pace than on land. In addition to combining this pool workout to your running, you can also use it to maintain fitness if you have suffered a running injury. Doctors say you can stay fit for as long as 6 weeks just by running in a pool alone. That's encouraging news for those of us who have suffered a running-induced injury. Several of our readers have questions about what is the best food to eat to prepare for a race.