Pool exercises deliver results for healthy people and for those with chronic conditions. That’s what a deep body of research has shown. Let’s look at just a few studies.
Portuguese researchers found that pool workouts – done just twice a week for 12 weeks – led to measurably improvements in strength, body composition (the workouts burned fat and built muscle), and blood pressure.

A Japanese meta-study (a review of 41 previous studies) found that aquatic exercise had significant benefits for people with locomotor diseases, such as osteoarthritis. The study reported pain relief, increased activity, and improved quality of life with regular aquatic exercise. The study only included exercises done while standing on the bottom of the pool, so swimming was excluded.

Of course, dry-land exercise can deliver benefits too; it’s just not for everybody. A 12-week study at Texas A&M University found the same weight-loss benefits for adults doing the same exercise on dry land as in water. The big difference: obese and overweight adults found that the pool exercise was less painful.