I have a hard time finding an exercise that I am not really bored with or that I don't feel miserable doing. But lately I have been taking my kids to the pool and treading in deep water and doing resistance exercises for about an hour to an hour and a half. I love it, can feel the resistance, am losing inches in my thighs and arms and belly, and it is fun to me. I can't believe it because it seems like I may have actually found a fun, easy way to lose fat. Am I dreaming? Is it going to be just a short-lived success or has anyone else done this and had it really work? I really think I am feeling muscle building under my fat too. It is so great I am almost thinking it is too good to be true and I must be imagining things... but the guy I am dating recently said, "you've been working out, haven't you?" and I had another friend ask me how I lost my "muffin top" I've only been doing this about a week!! When i look online the calorie counts burned vary but I am guessing I am burning at least 350 to 700 calories an hour.

I say... if it's working - don't question it! Treading water takes a lot of stamina and works your whole body.

I love treading water. I don't make a full workout of it myself, but if I'm at the pool, that's pretty much what I'm doing. It sure beats sitting around!

I consider myself to be in a pretty good shape and I believe treading water gets my heart rate up.

I LOVE exercising in water. I go to a warm water therapy pool because of my arthritis and fibromyalgia (cold water tends to freeze up my joints). The water usually isn't heated to the point it feels "warm" like bathwater, so much as there's no adjustment period getting into the water. The air and the water feel like they're the same temperature, cool but not cold.

I love it, because the water is the only place that I can exercise with aerobic intensity. On land I get overheated far too quickly. In the water I can really and truly "work out."

I just have to be aware that because fat floats, I have to do more than tread water. I have a skinny friend who just staying afloat is hard work. Just treading water enough to survive is pretty good exercise for her. I don't have to do much to tread water, just move my arms a little to stay upright. But if I push myself and move my arms and legs like mad and use the water weights, I can really do a substantial workout.

The one thing I do have to be careful of, is that it's so easy to work in the water, that I have to make sure I don't overdo it. There aren't the same "stop" cues as on land. If I get out of water and instantly realize my legs will barely support me and that I suddenly can feel myself sweating, I know I may have done too much. I always do a cool down now, so that I'm not sweating when I leave the pool, and I keep track of my time and intensity so that I can gradually increase it. I aim for my muscles to be sore when I leave, but not so sore that I can barely stand. Anything I feel when I get out of the pool is going to be five times as bad 36 to 48 hours later.

I've been curious about this too, since my back is so bad. How long do you guys tread water at one time?

It sounds like what your doing is more than just simply treading water. Treading water for me, since I'm so buoyant, is really just far too easy and not a workout at all. But doing water aerobics and using the water as resistance to build muscle definitly can be an awesome workout.

The good thing about treading water as exercise is that unlike virtually any other exercise on the planet, it gets harder as you get thinner. It naturally will ramp up the exertion level on you. That is pretty cool!