How to do it: Stand on the pool floor. Hold a noodle (it's also called a "water log," a long cylindrical piece of foam that floats) in both hands, straight out in front of the body. The body is then on a diagonal with the feet on the top of the toes. Think (Stretch the spine lengthwise). Press it straight down into the water and lean forward until your body is on an even incline. (Your head stays out of the water.) Try to keep yourself stable for 1-2 minutes.
Warm up your class as you always do, then demonstrate the plank position and ask them to hold this position, toes on pool floor behind them until stable. Some will not be able to do so.
1) Run back to deeper end of pool and have students jump both knees up towards the chest 20 times, then run back to their spot and "Plank" again. Most will notice better stability. This time when stable, add pressing the noodle downward and back up to front position 10x. Arms are stretched out in front and kept straight.
2) Repeat run back to deeper end, place noodles around back and doing high knee lifts, suspended or not, and touch end of noodle to opposite knee alternating 20 times (1x is touching each knee). Repeat 20 knee jumps trying to touch knees to noodle. Return to "Plank". Repeat noodle press but hold each press down for 3 slow counts.
3) Repeat run back to deeper end. Repeat 20 knee jumps trying to bring noodle down towards feet and knees higher. Then holding noodles out in front, "rocking horse" forward on right. moving forward in the pool, then turn and cross country ski back to deep end. (use noodles on front of the body and through the water - encourage students to look over their shoulder to increase working the obliques). Repeat on left. Finish with totally suspended rocking horses in place. Takes a lot of ab strength to do second part of rocking horse. Return to "Plank". Repeat noodle press but hold each press down for 5 counts.
4) Repeat run back to deeper end. Execute either half suspended jacks where feet touch the ground on the out part of the jack and then pull knees towards chest on the up, or totally suspended jacks. (20x) Do the same with X country skis. Half suspended or fully suspended (20x) Repeat alternating knees touches totally suspended 20x. Repeat knee jumps (20x). Return to "Plank". Repeat noodle press holding each press down for 10 counts. Stand and rest then return to plank position and bring ends of the noodle towards each other while in plank position. (10x)
5) Discard the noodles, taking hand buoys held out to the sides, "Plank". This will provide a stability challenge at first. Then pull the buoys downward in front of the chest (20x).
6) I finished the class with riding the noodles in various ways. First as a bike normally, then reaching the legs more forward and concentrating on pulling the heel downward. Then I challenged students to keep left knee up, but immobile as using only the right to pedal. Repeat using the left. Then back to both using breast stroke arms forward. End using reverse breast stroke arms moving backward.
End class with stretches. I hope your class enjoys this workout as much as mine did. I concentrated on these patterns for 2 weeks. Second week added other exercises in between.