Home » The KIPS Podcast » Add Aqua Fitness to Your Personal Training Business: Expand Your Offerings Inside the Pool

As a personal trainer, you constantly seek ways to grow your client list. More clients equals more monthly income and a prolonged career in the fitness industry. What if an “untapped” workout format existed that your clients would enjoy and could quickly establish you as the go-to instructor?

Training your clients in the pool offers numerous advantages while being attractive to gym members who observe from afar. On this episode of the KIPS Podcast, guest Mark Grevelding reviews the benefits for personal trainers who want to add aqua fitness to their repertoire. He also shares the nuances that instructors should know before their clients jump into the pool for the first time. Mark founded Fitmotivation, an online streaming platform for aqua fitness professionals, and is an AEA educator.

How Water Impacts Exercise: Buoyancy & Joint Relief

One of the unique experiences of exercising in the pool is the constantly changing environment. As “whitewash” increases from movement, the exerciser must adjust their footing and use their brain to improve each movement. The environment is also a training stimulus that can’t be replicated in the gym.

In this episode, Mark explains buoyancy, the tendency of an object to rise or float in water. As an exerciser becomes more submerged, buoyancy increases (which allows humans to float), and the demand on the joints decreases.

Think about it: if a client performs jumps in the shallow end of the pool that is knee-deep, the demand on the joints is slightly reduced. But as they become submerged chest level, the air in their lungs helps them float, and the load on the joints is roughly 25%, according to Mark.

Add Business to Your Fitness Career

As Mark starts the episode, he discusses how few personal trainers are taking advantage of training their clients in the pool. It’s an untapped area of the fitness industry for personal trainers who have access to the pool, which can equate to more sessions rendered in a week.

As a personal trainer, you might frequently hear the question, “What should I do when I’m not with you for training?” New clients typically feel enthusiastic about improving their health and seek guidance on every facet of their weekly routines.

Conversely, personal trainers also seek opportunities to offer additional training sessions within their weekly schedules. By conducting more sessions, trainers can increase their monthly earnings, and getting clients to commit to more sessions as soon as possible is beneficial.

You Don’t Need Specialty Education to Get Started

One of the key takeaways from this episode is when Mark shares how you don’t need a specialty certification to train clients in the pool, and a general personal trainer certification will suffice. Using common sense when training clients in the pool is a general rule of thumb, and getting in the pool yourself to practice each exercise will help you cue your clients.

The cues you utilize on the ground will mostly apply. Still, you must remember the changing environment, how submerged your client is, and how much whitewash can alter the intensity.

Remember the surroundings and basic safety. Any exercises performed there should be altered if the pool deck is wet and slippery. Also, if other members use the pool, it’s wise to speak with them if they get bothered by the workout you’re leading.

Summary
With the pool providing 12-14% more resistance than air (Harvard Health, 2024), it offers a unique bodyweight training experience and elevates the use of equipment in the pool. The versatility of training clients in the pool enhances the enjoyment factor.

You can bring regular dumbbells or kettlebells to create circuits that combine pool exercises with more traditional workouts on the pool deck. This variety encourages clients to transition seamlessly between exercises, providing a fresh experience. Pool workouts can be an excellent addition that motivates your clients to keep returning while increasing your earnings.

Gym Floor vs. Pool Training Mechanics

References Used

Advantages of water-based exercise. Harvard Health. (2024, June 3). https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/advantages-of-water-based-exercise 

Mark Grevelding founded PoolFit.tv and the Poolfit App (iOS & Android), offering over 200 workouts for home pools. He also established Fitmotivation.com, an online platform with 350+ streaming videos and resources for aquatic fitness professionals. Additionally, he is a training specialist and continuing education provider for the Aquatic Exercise Association (AEA), the leading resource for aquatic fitness certification. In 2011, he received AEA’s Global Award for Aquatic Fitness Professional of the Year. For training aquatic fitness instructors at your facility, Fitmotivation.com is your resource. If instructors aren’t available, use the Poolfit App/Poolfit.tv.