Crest Of A Wave

With an estimated 2.5 million Brits working out in water every week, swimming and aquatic fitness is creating bigger waves than ever in the leisure market.

Innovative technological developments, combined with the heightened awareness of the huge benefits of exercising in water, has led to a growing demand for aquatic fitness and its associated products.

“The requirements for water therapy and aquatic exercise are far reaching and apply to all people of all demographics and lifestyles,” comments Mark Lutz, sales director at Endless Pools.

“We’re seeing a boom in the market; from top athletes to retirement centres and adult communities who are increasingly turning to aquatic exercise. The word is definitely spreading throughout the therapy community too – our commercial clients that offer water therapy tell us that the sessions get booked up very quickly and are never cancelled, which indicates its growing popularity.”

In February 2012, British triathlete Alastair Brownlee tore his Achilles tendon. Just six months shy of the London Olympics, Brownlee needed to make a quick decision to get back on track.

“I realised if I wanted to get fit fast, I had to think outside the box a bit,” Brownlee said. Enter an original Endless Pool with Performance Current and 5hp hydraulic treadmill, which was installed in the garden of Brownlee’s home.

Physiotherapist Emma Deakin led Brownlee’s rehabilitation programme and was impressed with the Endless Pool: “His coach and I discussed the most effective way of getting him running again—to gradually increase the load whilst reducing the risk of loading up his Achilles,” said Deakin.

With the benefit of a cardiovascular workout in a buoyant, nonimpact environment, Brownlee could run and swim to stay fit while he continued to heal.

“As soon as I started using the Endless Pool, my Achilles stopped getting stiff. That was a massive benefit,” said Brownlee. In fact, the Endless Pool was so effective that Brownlee continued his aquatic training in conjunction with his normal running right up until the Olympics, due to the ‘massive recovery effect’ that the water offered. Brownlee took the lead during the final leg of the triathlon—the run—and never looked back. Olympic Gold was his, thanks to a tireless work ethic and the training possible only through an Endless Pool.

“The Brownlee brothers now have two Endless Pools, one for personal use and the other for business use,” comments Mark. “They first chose an Endless Pool for injury rehabilitation but they soon realised that it was a safer and easier way for them to maintain high mileage in training and prevent further injuries.”

He continues: “In water you have to be more biomechanically correct. On land, because the air is lighter, we can make imperfections in our technique that are non-detectable, but in water those imperfections are more pronounced. So the Brownlee brothers have used the Endless Pools to improve their technique and train themselves to become better athletes.”

Endless Pools currently have 22 dealers in the UK and ship around eight pools over from the USA every two weeks. 2014 and 2015 were solid growth year. The original Endless Pool is designed to fit just about anywhere, indoors or outside. Because of its modular design, it can be installed indoors in existing spaces. All of the components of an original Endless Pool fit easily through doorways and down stairs.

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