At Apex Physical Therapy we highly recommend walking to help keep your body healthy. Have you heard of water walking? Water walking is a great way to get some cardiovascular exercise with minimal impact and stress on your joints. Since water is thicker than air, it helps to work your body in more ways than you would on land. Water walking is more gentle on your joints, and this makes it a great option for those that are recovering from injuries or who are older.
Many people may not have direct access to a pool in their backyard. In Hawaii, we are very fortunate to have warm weather and great beaches. Another option is the numerous public pools across Oahu. Because of COVID-19, most pools are limited to lap swimming or water walking and you can only be in the pool during the time slots available. You should go about 10-15 minutes before the pool opens. This is because you have to wait in line and only a certain number of people can be let in per time slot (this depends on how big the pool is and how many lanes there are). Times that the pool opens may vary depending on what pool you go to and you can find out when they are open by calling the pools (we will leave each pool’s phone number below).
But because some COVID-19 restrictions are being lifted, some pools do not require you to come at a set time. To make sure that you are able to get a lane it is best to just call your pool and see what their policy is.
If you’re in Honolulu and you’re experiencing pain or issues which are limiting your mobility, it might be time to see your doctors who can refer you to a Physical Therapist. Reach out to us with any questions or to book an appointment!
Here is the website that we referred to for a lot of our information and you can look at for more variations for water walking:
https://www.healthline.com/health/exercise-fitness/water-walking
Map for Pools on O’ahu
| Kanewai Community Swimming Pool | (808) 733-7365 |
| Kapāolono Community Swimming Pool | (808) 768-6712 |
| Pālolo Valley Swimming Pool | (808) 733-7362 |
| Salt Lake Swimming Pool | (808) 768-6741 |
| Makiki Swimming Pool | (808) 768-9289 |
| McCully District Park & Pool | (808) 973-7269 |
| Magic Island | Magic Island is also a great place for water walking because it is very shallow and open to the public at any time of day. |
Cronkleton, Emily. “Water Walking: Benefits and Exercise Variations for the Pool.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 22 July 2019, https://www.healthline.com/health/exercise-fitness/water-walking#safety.
Haskins, Julia. “Living Healthier through Low-Impact Exercise.” The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association, 1 Sept. 2018, www.thenationshealth.org/content/48/7/16#:~:text=Not%20only%20does%20low%2Dimpact,great%20option%20for%20virtually%20everyone.