Hard To Resist Water Exercise

Whether you’re a professional basketball star, an expectant mother or a construction worker recovering from injury, fitness experts at the YWCA and St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Center say they’ve got the program for you.

It’s called the Burdenko Method, and while applications are numerous, the idea is the same. Train a muscle group in deep water, they say, and you’ll reap two-fold benefits: Muscles will experience increased resistance compared to normal exercising but joints won’t experience any of the usual jarring.

The Spokane YWCA is integrating the Burdenko technique into all its water-based exercise classes, from prenatal conditioning sessions to the “Liquid Force” athletic training program. St. Luke’s uses the method to treat patients and train athletes. This fall, the YWCA will offer a “Back in Motion” class for folks with back problems.

“If you want to chop some time off your marathon or just get in shape to help your high blood pressure, we can adjust to what you need,” says Cheryl Weixel, fitness director of the YWCA in Spokane.

Weixel and Shawn Burke, a physical therapy assistant at St. Luke’s, traveled to Massachusetts in January to study the technique. Dr. Igor Burdenko was once a trainer with the Soviet national hockey and rowing teams before fleeing that country more than 20 years ago. He now lives in Boston, teaching the therapy that bears his name.

He also has an impressive list of clients. Burdenko helped skater Nancy Kerrigan recover from her baton attack, and helped 1992 silver medalist skater Paul Wiley deal with joint problems. He also worked with Kevin McHale and Larry Byrd during their careers with the Boston Celtics. Now, he trains dancers with the Boston Ballet Company.

St. Luke’s Burke has used the method himself. A dedicated runner, he pulled a hamstring 10 days before Bloomsday. After five days in the pool, he was able to run without a trace of injury and was able to participate in the race.

“I ran a good time without any (hamstring) pain,” he says. If that wasn’t enough, he ran the Coeur d’Alene Marathon on May 28.

And again, it’s not just for athletes. Burke says he also had a patient lose 200 pounds after just six months on a Burdenko Method program.

Water-based exercising isn’t entirely new, as anyone knows who has run in a pool with a water vest. Burdenko’s innovation stems from adding plastic floating weights to routines and keeping all exercises in as much of a vertical position as possible. That decreases back strain.

Even Burdenko’s approach to the staple pool jog has a twist.

“He teaches people to really run in the water, to extend their legs, not raise their knees as if they were riding a bike,” Weixel says. “He also integrates running backward.”

Many exercises are performed with the arms stretched straight out, with hands grasping the floating weights. That stabilizes the body in the water and provides quite a workout, to boot.

By sticking to those basic principles, Weixel says you can simulate many different activities: cross-country skiing, jumping jacks, running, simple walking - the list is practically endless.

Apparently, the idea is catching on in more places than just the Lilac City. Weixel is trying to get Burdenko to speak here, but she’s having a little trouble.

“He’s booked until 1996,” she said. “He’s speaking all over the world.”

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