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Small Swim-in-Place Pools May Offer Answer to Better
Fitness for Senior Citizens
By Tucker Sutherland, editor
 April
11, 2005 - Swimming is a popular fitness activity for many senior
citizens, because it provides good aerobic exercise without the high
impact and joint stress of running or jogging. It also helps them
control their weight. A drawback, however, has been the lack of a pool.
We can run or jog anywhere but finding a place to swim laps or do
aquatic aerobics is often challenging. An answer for many may be
the Endless Pool, a counter-current swimming and water exercise machine
that is small enough to fit inside a home.
Swimming as a means of exercise for older Americans
gets a lot of attention on Websites of the National Institutes of
Health.
To me, there's nothing better than swimming, says
Dr. Elias Zerhouni, Director of the NIH. It just gives you a minute of
solitude, you think about things. You feel your body and it's
refreshing. You feel like you're in touch with yourself.
I'm 68, says Dr. A.B. Lindberg, Director of the
National Library of Medicine, I hope some day I'll actually be old.
Exercise on a daily basis is going to help everybody, says Lindberg who
swims laps. Swimming actually has a lot of good attributes but it does
almost literally and metaphorically wash away all the frustration of a
day, and leave the good things and let you quietly compose your thoughts
and maybe your plans for the next day. You know, mankind should never
have left the water. This is his natural state. Swimming is great.
Endless Pools advertises on SeniorJournal.com,
which is what first attracted our attention to them.
The Endless Pool is ideal for water therapy and
other aquatic exercise, says their Website. Our customers use their
pools for everything from rehabilitating broken bones to relieving the
symptoms of arthritis and MS.
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Outdoor, Indoor Endless Pools |
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Examples of an outdoor and indoor Endless
Pools are seen in these two of many samples on the company
Website. It also has many videos and other features to help
readers understand the system. -
Click Here to
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Sometimes referred to as a treadmill for swimmers,
this pool features an adjustable current that allows users to swim or
exercise in place. The current is broad and deep, they say, and is
suitable to every swimming ability and fitness need. You can also set
the temperature precisely, based on preferences and needs.
People often describe the installation and use of
the Endless Pool in life-transforming terms, says the company, and they
point to Regina Sellers, a 68-year-old resident of Texas, as such a
person.
Not only does she no longer require a wheelchair or
a walker, Regina has won four gold medals in Senior Olympics swim
competitions for athletes 55 years and older. In the process, she has
lost weight, gained energy, and has better circulation, especially in
her legs and feet.
Also like many devotees, Regina took a
serendipitous route to Endless Pool ownership. Not a swimmer when she
was younger, she first took up the sport in order not to go crazy
at a local pool, in San Antonio, while caring for her ailing mother.
Over and above renewed vigor and emotional well-being, the effort
produced the first of her gold medals. When her mothers health
improved, she and Regina moved back to Spring Branch, more than 80 miles
to the north.
Without swimming, though, I just felt lost,
recalls Regina. And I gained a lot of weight, and my feet hurt, and I
could hardly walk, and I decided I had to do something. We saw the ad
for the Endless Pool in an in-flight magazine, and the rest, as they
say, is history.
Her husband completed construction a year ago last
August of a room specifically for the pool, and Regina has been using it
virtually every day since. She keeps the water temperature at about 90Ί,
and her routine consists of 45 minutes of aerobics with a friend,
followed by a 1,000-stroke swimming workout.
Not everyone develops Reginas proficiency in
swimming, but her experience demonstrates convincingly why it is a great
medium for starting an exercise program and how the Endless Pool helps.
The waters buoyancy relieves stress on joints and connective tissues,
even as its 600-to-700-times-greater-than-air resistance accelerates
metabolism and boosts endurance. The combination of variable resistance
and easy access also promotes optimal comfort levels and an incremental
approach to conditioning. Just ask Regina. She has now set her sights on
winning a national championship, though she feels no sense of urgency.
In fact, she says, I think Ill wait until Im 70. Itll be more fun
that way.
"Water therapy can also be a God-send for people
with arthritis, osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis, asthma, and chronic
joint or back pain," says Leslie Krichko, a professional water therapist
and spokesperson for Endless Pools.
Because it is nearly gravity-free, aquatic exercise
is the preferred therapy for many medical conditions. And, in an Endless
Pool, you can do
aquatic therapy at the ideal temperature and pace for your needs, in
total privacy and at your own convenience, says Krichko.
Krichko as says that "therapy in an Endless Pool
actually helps people with injuries recover faster," for several
reasons:
Water provides buoyancy and support for the body.
When you are neck-deep in water, you only have to support 10% of your
actual body weight.
In the pool, injured people can exercise with a
greater range of motion without hurting joints or re-injuring
themselves.
The workout gets blood moving faster through the
injured area, so it heals faster.
Water pressure helps keep down the swelling that
often accompanies injury.
You can increase your physical fitness while you
recuperate, so you may even avoid prolonged physical therapy just to get
back in shape.
How The Company Says It Works
The Endless Pool propulsion unit can move a huge
amount of water -- up to 5,000 gallons a minute -- through two grills
that straighten and smooth the water's flow. The result is a river-like
current that is totally adjustable in speed from a gentle flow to a
racer's pace by simply turning a knob.
The swim current is generated by a 16'' propeller
inside a protective stainless steel housing that is driven by a
hydraulic motor.
The swim current is remarkably smooth because of an
ingenious return system using the pool's underwater perimeter benches.
As the water flows down the center of the pool, it enters a grill in the
rear bench. The side benches act as return channels that loop the water
from the back to the front of the pool.
Better and Safer
The Endless Pool swim current is far superior to those produced by
jetted spas. These spas pump only a few hundred gallons of water a
minute through high-pressure nozzles. Their currents are turbulent and
very narrow, even when three or more jets are used. In a jetted spa,
only a small amount of water is moving and the current speed is greatly
diminished by the time it reaches the other side. In fact, the flow is
so low that there is no need for a return channel system in a jetted
spa.
This unique, patented system engineered by Endless
Pools produces an ideal, broad, deep, non-turbulent swim current. It is
remarkably free of waves and bubbles, making it ideal for swimming,
exercising and physical therapy.
The selling points for Endless Pools (from their
Website):
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It offers all the benefits of a large pool in a
small space.
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The pool and its water quality system require
very little maintenance.
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The unique, patented swim current is completely
adjustable in speed, from zero to racer's pace.
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It can be finished in a variety of materials
and styles.
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The kit comes complete with everything you will
need to swim or exercise.
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It fits in most indoor and outdoor ground-level
spaces.
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Excellent for many purposes: swimming, water
exercise, aquatic therapy and relaxation.
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It costs about the same to operate as a hot
tub.
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All parts of the kit can fit through doorways
as narrow as 24 inches, making it ideal for installations in
existing spaces like basements and garages.
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The pool is backed by premium customer support
and a limited warranty.
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The width, length and depth can be customized
to your specific needs.
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The entire Endless Pools system has been ETL
listed after passing rigorous tests for electrical and other safety
standards.
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When the pool is covered, very little humidity
escapes into your indoor or outdoor space.
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Because of our innovative Water Quality System,
it is virtually odor free, even indoors.
More information is available on the Endless
Pools Website - Click Here
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