Water Aerobic Kickboard: Use, Benefits, Exercises, and Safety

How Do You Use a Water Aerobic Kickboard?

A water aerobic kickboard is a versatile aquatic fitness tool primarily used to isolate and strengthen the lower body, enhance cardiovascular conditioning, and refine kicking technique by providing upper body support and buoyancy.

What is a Water Aerobic Kickboard?

A water aerobic kickboard is typically a rectangular or contoured piece of buoyant foam, usually made of EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate). Its primary function is to provide flotation for the upper body, allowing exercisers to focus exclusively on their leg movements and lower body propulsion in the water. This isolation makes it an invaluable tool for enhancing leg strength, endurance, and cardiovascular fitness without the impact associated with land-based exercises.

Benefits of Incorporating a Kickboard into Your Water Workouts

Integrating a kickboard into your aquatic exercise routine offers a range of physiological advantages:

• Targeted Lower Body Strengthening: By supporting the upper body, the kickboard forces the leg muscles (quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, calves, and hip flexors) to work harder to propel you through the water, leading to increased strength and endurance in these muscle groups.
• Enhanced Cardiovascular Conditioning: Sustained kicking drills elevate heart rate and improve aerobic capacity, providing an excellent cardiovascular workout without the joint stress of running or jumping.
• Improved Kicking Technique: The kickboard allows you to focus on the mechanics of your kick – hip drive, knee bend, ankle flexibility, and foot position – leading to more efficient and powerful propulsion.
• Core Engagement: While primarily a lower body tool, maintaining a stable body position on the kickboard requires significant engagement from the core muscles (abdominals, obliques, lower back) to prevent excessive sway or hip drop.
• Low-Impact Exercise: As with all water-based activities, using a kickboard reduces impact on joints, making it ideal for individuals with joint pain, recovering from injuries, or those seeking a gentler yet effective workout.
• Workout Variety: A kickboard adds a new dimension to water workouts, breaking monotony and allowing for diverse training protocols, from steady-state cardio to high-intensity interval training.

Proper Kickboard Holding Techniques

The way you hold the kickboard influences your body position, stability, and the muscle groups emphasized.

• Standard Forward Hold:
  • Grasp the top edge of the kickboard with both hands, arms extended in front of you. Your elbows should be slightly bent, not locked.
  • Keep your head neutral, looking slightly forward or down into the water, with your face mostly submerged or just above the surface for breathing.
  • This is the most common position for general kicking drills, providing stable upper body support.
• Under-Arm Hold (for greater stability or specific drills):
  • Place the kickboard against your chest, tucking it under your armpits.
  • This provides more trunk support and keeps your head higher out of the water, which can be useful for beginners or those needing more buoyancy.
• Vertical Hold:
  • Hold the kickboard vertically in front of you, with the bottom edge resting on the pool floor or against your shins for support during vertical kicking drills.
  • This technique is used for treading water or vertical leg exercises.

Fundamental Kickboard Exercises

Once you've mastered the basic holding techniques, you can incorporate the following exercises into your routine:

• Standard Flutter Kick Drill:
  • Execution: Hold the kickboard in the standard forward position. Keep your body streamlined and horizontal in the water. Perform a continuous, small, rapid flutter kick from your hips, keeping your knees relatively straight but not locked. Your ankles should be relaxed, allowing your feet to act like fins, pushing water down and back.
  • Focus: Cardiovascular endurance, leg strength, and efficient flutter kick mechanics.
• Breaststroke Kick Drill:
  • Execution: Maintain the standard forward hold. Perform a "frog kick" motion: bring your heels towards your glutes, rotate your feet outwards, push water backwards and outwards in a circular motion, and then bring your legs together straight.
  • Focus: Inner thigh strength, hip mobility, and proper breaststroke kick timing.
• Dolphin Kick Drill:
  • Execution: Hold the kickboard in the standard forward position. Initiate a wave-like motion from your core, moving through your hips, knees, and ankles. Both legs move together in a synchronized up-and-down motion, similar to a dolphin's tail.
  • Focus: Core strength, undulation control, and powerful propulsion for butterfly stroke.
• Sculling with Kickboard:
  • Execution: Hold the kickboard in the standard forward position. While performing any of the above kicks, gently scull (move your hands in small figure-eight or side-to-side motions) just under the surface of the water to provide additional propulsion or balance.
  • Focus: Coordination, gentle upper body engagement, and maintaining forward momentum.
• Vertical Kicking:
  • Execution: Move to the deep end of the pool where your feet cannot touch the bottom. Hold the kickboard vertically in front of you, or just use it for light support. Perform continuous flutter, breaststroke, or dolphin kicks to keep your head above water.
  • Focus: Leg endurance, core stability, and treading water skills.
• One-Arm Pulling Drill (using kickboard as float/resistance):
  • Execution: Hold the kickboard in one hand, extending that arm forward. Use the other arm to perform a swimming stroke (e.g., freestyle pull) while your legs perform a continuous kick. The kickboard provides stability and can be used to add resistance if pushed through the water.
  • Focus: Unilateral arm strength, stroke technique, and continuous leg drive.

Advanced Applications and Variations

For more experienced individuals, kickboards can be used for:

• Interval Training: Alternate periods of fast, intense kicking with periods of slower, recovery kicking.
• Resistance Training: Push the kickboard through the water in front of you, or hold it vertically and push it side-to-side to engage core and upper body muscles against water resistance.
• Strength Focus: Use ankle weights during kickboard drills to increase the resistance and build leg power.
• Body Position Drills: Focus on keeping your hips high and body flat on the water surface during kicks, correcting common form errors.

Safety Considerations and Tips

• Maintain Proper Alignment: Avoid arching your back excessively or letting your hips sink. Engage your core to keep your body streamlined.
• Neck and Shoulder Comfort: If you experience neck or shoulder strain, adjust your head position or try holding the kickboard closer to your body.
• Breathing: Ensure you are breathing rhythmically and not holding your breath. Turn your head to the side for breaths if necessary, just like in swimming.
• Hydration: Even in water, you sweat. Stay hydrated by drinking water before, during, and after your workout.
• Listen to Your Body: If you feel pain, stop the exercise. Modify intensity or technique as needed.
• Depth Awareness: Be mindful of pool depth, especially when performing vertical kicking drills.

Choosing the Right Kickboard

While most kickboards are standard, consider these factors:

• Material: High-density EVA foam is durable and provides good buoyancy.
• Size and Buoyancy: A larger, thicker board offers more buoyancy, which can be helpful for beginners or heavier individuals. Smaller boards offer less support but allow for more nuanced technique work.
• Shape: Traditional rectangular boards are common, but some have contoured edges or hand grips for ergonomic comfort.

Conclusion

The water aerobic kickboard is a deceptively simple yet incredibly effective tool for enhancing lower body strength, cardiovascular health, and swimming technique in a low-impact environment. By understanding its proper use and incorporating various drills, fitness enthusiasts, trainers, and kinesiologists can leverage the kickboard to create dynamic, challenging, and beneficial aquatic workouts, contributing to overall fitness and well-being.