The Water Walker – A Low-Intensity Cardio Workout

Exercise in water is a great way to tone and strengthen muscles without straining joints. It also helps to improve balance and posture.

A water treadmill is similar to a mechanical treadmill used by horses, and it can help people with muscle weakness or imbalance. It allows them to work out longer because the buoyancy of the water helps them stand up.

What is the Water Walker?

The Water Walker is a non-fiction book based on the true story of Anishinabe grandmother Nokomis Josephine Mandamin, who began walking around large Water walking machine bodies of water, beginning with Lake Superior in 2003, to raise awareness and honour nibi (water). Joanne Robertson’s writing captures the urgency, optimism, and Indigenous traditions within this water walkers’ movement.

Water walking is a low-impact cardio exercise that offers the benefits of a full-body workout. It increases the strength of your legs and back muscles, while also strengthening your core and improving balance. It’s easier on your joints and bones than traditional land-based walking, so it’s a great option for people with health conditions like arthritis or fibromyalgia. Water walking also burns more calories than regular walking, which is helpful if you’re trying to lose weight.

Tasha Beeds is one of many Indigenous women who participate in this type of walk, often called “Water Walks.” She explains that the walks are a matriarchal act wherein women lead the ceremony while men protect and support the ladies by carrying the copper pails of water and the Migizi staff. As a water walker, she’s walked more than 850 kilometres in her moccasins and says it’s made her grateful for the simple joys of life. Learn more about this water-based ceremony and how you can get involved at the Mother Earth Water Walkers website.

How Does the Water Walker Work?

Water walking is a low-impact cardio exercise that helps tone and strengthen muscles. It also burns calories at a faster rate than walking on land, and it’s gentle on joints, making it an excellent choice for people with conditions like arthritis or fibromyalgia. Plus, water walking offers more resistance than running or jogging, which helps improve endurance without beating up your body.

The device’s foot plate is supported by a tubular structural support system that runs horizontally across the length of the walker. The user inserts their foot into an opening on the underside of the inflatable tube. To move forward, flexible membrane pockets fold against the bottom of the walker. When a user pushes backward, the pocket opens and offers drag resistance. This allows the walker to float on a forward-facing surface.

A removable fin 21, detailed in FIGS. 13 and 14, may be attached to the aft end or beneath the foot plate by sliding the outer sleeve over sections 12a-c of the structural support system. Tabs with grommets are provided at the front, middle and rear for tethering two water walkers together to make a raft.

Women from all over Turtle Island gathered with copper pails and Migizi staves to participate in the Mother Earth Water Walks. Their peaceful, reverent Water walking machine spectacle was steeped in tradition yet prompted by the powerful dream Nokomis had shared. Like the book, the story of this ceremony is an important one to engage with — and a reminder that we need more dreamers like Nokomis.

Who is the Water Walker For?

The Water Walker is designed for people who want to strengthen their bodies without the high impact of running on dirt, concrete or even a synthetic track. It reduces shock on the joints and creates a weightless feel, making your actual body weight feel 80 percent lighter. This allows you to run or walk at a faster pace than you could on land and still burn copious amounts of calories.

Tasha Beeds is a “water walker.” She and other indigenous women carry an open vessel of water great distances relay-style as a way to raise awareness about endangered bodies of water. Beeds says it’s a matriarchal act, an honouring of nibi (water).

She’s one of many who were inspired by the work of Josephine Mandamin, who began walking around Lake Superior in 2003 to pray and raise awareness about the importance of our natural resources. Over the years, she has conducted 13 of these walks.

Like walking on land, water walking helps build strength and improve balance. It can also help reduce back pain and joint stiffness. And because it’s safer than running or running on a treadmill, it can be used for injury recovery and rehabilitation. The machine isn’t available to the general public yet, but it will likely be a hit with rich fitness freaks who are willing to spend more than $89,000 for a piece of exercise technology that looks more like a luxury spa than an aqua treadmill.

What are the Benefits of Water Walking?

The buoyancy of the water helps alleviate pressure on joints and muscles while still giving you a good cardio workout. It can also help reduce pain and stiffness from conditions like arthritis, fibromyalgia, and osteoporosis. It’s a great option for people with chronic back or neck pain, as well. The warm water (from 80-82 degrees) also soothes and relaxes tired muscles.

Walking in the water provides a more intense workout than walking on land, because it increases resistance and works a variety of muscle groups. This is an ideal exercise for anyone looking to lose weight or improve their cardiovascular health, as it burns more calories than regular walking.

You can add additional intensity to your routine by walking faster and lifting your knees higher in the water for a greater challenge. You can also try walking side-to-side, which places different stress on each leg to help strengthen and tone muscles. You can also use hand webs to increase the water’s resistance and help you feel the burn.

Water walking is a great form of exercise for all fitness levels and ages. If you’re interested in incorporating this form of aerobics into your workout, check out the many local recreational and therapeutic pools that offer classes. In addition, there are several online video sites that offer at-home walking exercises using a treadmill and water.