My YMCA started offering a new class in January: Burdenko water walking. The schedule was perfect for me--right at my lunchtime--and it promised that Burdenko burned lots of calories. A girl with a cupcake habit is always looking for ways to burn off a little buttercream, so I decided to try it.
I'd never heard of Burdenko before, so I did a little research. Burdenko is a Russian therapist who designed a physical rehab program that includes water and land exercises. A number of athletes, dancers and figure skaters (including Nancy Kerrigan and Paul Wiley) have done some sort of Burdenko program. The water walkers are a part of that program, as far as I can tell from their website.
At left you can see my water walkers. They cost $45. Think light-weight plastic boards that strap to your feet like sport sandals. My instructor suggested wearing socks with them, which may look dorky but it really helps to prevent them from slipping around your foot. As you can see, I have to pull the straps super-tight and even then they wiggle a little once I'm in the water.
You also wear one of those blue water flotation belts, strapped as tight as you can get it. The belt is supposed to help you align your core muscles.
The walkers take a little getting used to. They feel a bit like flippers, but they fight you a lot more. As the instructor says, the walkers want to float. But that's the point. Part of the workout is just keeping them from floating! Much to the disappointment of Little Dude, the walkers don't let you walk on TOP of the water. Sorry, kid.
The class takes place solely in the deep end of the pool. You start with five minutes of "thermal acclimation", which pretty much means gently moving in the water and letting your body adjust to the temperature. Since our Y keeps the indoor pool at a toasty 84 degrees, it doesn't take too long to adjust. Once everyone is warmed up, the instructor takes us through a series of exercises. Some are pretty familiar things you do on land, like walking and jogging. But others are completely new to me. Yesterday we did something called "hearts", which is basically like doing the breaststroke while sitting. The class lasts for a half hour.
The lifeguards, I noticed, had their eyes glued to our class. I couldn't decide if they were amused by our antics with the water walkers, or if they were convinced that any fool who straps big plastic boards to their feet might drown at any time.
Overall I like the class. It's a entirely different workout and I can tell it's really working my arms and shoulders. I can't decide if it really burns as many calories as the Burdenko website claims--20 calories per minute. If it did, I would definitely stick with it. But I've got limited time to work out and I want to maximize my buttercream burn! So the jury is out. I will definitely stick with the class for the duration of the Y's winter session. After that, we'll see.
If you're curious about Burdenko, I'd definitely recommend trying it out. See if the instructor will let you borrow some equipment for one class before you commit and buy your own. Wear socks. And have fun!
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