EZSwimmer Instruction Manual

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OUR GUARANTEE American Son Products, Inc. is proud of this state-of-the-art product aptly name the EZ Swimmer® because it allows you to exercise in the water without getting sensitive areas of your face in the water. The ASP Team has designed the EZ Swimmer® specifically to help you exercise, to add re-sistance to your aquatic training program and to allow you to effectively target your optimum heart rate. This Instruc-tion Guide is provided to you as a starting point for the very best aquatic resistance exercise program available. Com-plete satisfaction is guaranteed. If for any reason, you are not completely satisfied, please return the product within 30 days for a full refund. See our return policies for more details. American Son Products, Inc. is pleased to bring this fine product to you and we love hearing from you. Please con-tact us and share your experiences with us.

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EZ Swimmer® The Ultimate Water Workout!™

©2007 American Son Products, Inc.

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EZ Swimmer®

Instruction Guide Congratulations on your purchase of the Ultimate Water Workout™, the world’s finest multi-functional aquatic resistance training (water calisthenics), aptly named the EZ Swimmer®. American Son Products, Inc. (ASP) is very proud to present this innovative water calisthenics tool. To give you maximum benefit, we have provided this short guide to serve as a starting point. Within this guide, the ASP Team has provided information about the product, about your heart rate and water exercise, the benefits of resistance training and also two varia-tions on one of our most popular exercise movements, the Seated Balance. Combine this instruction guide with our Exercise Poster and you now have over 7 dif-ferent exercises. That’s just the beginning! Many other exercises are also possible with this innova-tive tool. Consult your per-sonal trainer for other beneficial exercises. Like all sports, exercise is a skill and best accomplished un-der the direction and guid-ance of a personal trainer. This instruction guide is not meant to be comprehen-sive; it is meant merely as a starting point.

Exercise does more than just help you look good. It alleviates stress, elevates mood, improves the qual-

ity of your sleep, enhances your overall health.

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EZ Swimmer®

A Soft, Comfortable and Safe Aquatic Resistance Tool! The EZ Swimmer® is proudly manufactured in the USA. Through our innovative manufacturing process the EZ Swimmer® is formed from injection molding to provide a single piece of self-skinning marine foam. With your complete comfort in mind, this foam is the softest in the industry and is non-latex. The EZ Swimmer® has been specifically engineered for:

• Toning your muscles without impact on your joints.

• Targeting your heart rate. • Keeping sensitive areas of

your face/head above the water.

The EZ Swimmer® effectively combines the buoyancy of the water and the resis-tance/displacement of the water with your body weight for a truly customized workout. Proudly Made in the USA

Fun is what makes the difference between a pro-gram that gets off track and program that lasts.

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PERSONAL SAFETY REMINDERS

• Always consult with a physician before attempt-ing or engaging in this or any new exercise pro-gram.

• Resistance exercises carry inherent risks, good posture prevents injuries.

• Always put safety first.

• The makers of this product are not responsible for injury caused during the application of these ex-ercises.

• This product is an aquatic resistance tool. As with all tools, skill is required. You are encouraged to establish your exercise routine in conjunction with a Personal Trainer.

• As with all stretching exercises, closely monitor your body. If working with a physical therapist, please consult that individual prior to attempting any exercises.

Helpful Hints for Safety:

• Don't hold your breath during resistance exer-cises. Doing so could affect your blood pressure. • Use smooth, steady movements at all times. Avoid jerking or thrusting movements. • Avoid locking the joints of your arms and legs into a strained position. Breathe in as you exert and breathe out on the return movement. • Muscle soreness lasting a few days and slight fatigue are normal after muscle building or resis-tance exercises.

Never ignore pain. Exercising with proper posture should not cause pain.

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While Away: Hotel Access American Son Products, Inc. has received many requests to create an inflatable EZ Swim-mer® for use while traveling. We have resisted due to the fact that inflatable products pose significant safety problems. More important, inflatable aquatic devices do not provide the same level of buoyancy and comfort as the durable closed cell foam. For your convenience, we reccommend contacting your hotel concierge prior to your stay and explaining your fitness needs. The hotel concierge’s main function is to address your needs and will make the necessary arrangement if the needed fitness tools are not currently available. Arthritis suffers can benef i t f rom water calisthenics. The EZ S w i m m e r ® h e l p s strengthen muscles that support our joints.

The EZ Swimmer® makes so much sense for water exericse, quickly it will become as common as

fitness rooms and internet access in your hotel.

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EZ Swimmer® The World’s Finest Resistance Training Tool

Resistance training is the core workout of every elite athlete. Resistance training builds muscles. Muscles create energy. Aquatic resistance training programs are finally coming of age with the intro-duction of the world’s finest aquatic training tool – the EZ Swimmer. Yes, there are several aquatic training tools out in the marketplace. What makes the EZ Swimmer® better? Be-cause it is multi-functional. All in one small buoyant tool, the EZ Swimmer® allows you to flatten your ab-dominal muscles, build your biceps, and target your heart rate. EZ Swimmer® provides you with a customized aquatic work-out. EZ Swimmer® is the fitness companion that brings together your body weight, the buoyancy of the water combined with the resistance of this buoyant tool. Many users now count upon the EZ Swimmer® to tone and sculpt their muscles thus mimicking the resistance train-ing the elite athletes and bodybuilders have done for decades on land. How is this accomplished? Building muscle is created with re-sistance, as an aquatic resistance tool, the EZ Swimmer® is unparal-leled for its resistance and displacement of the water. And unlike other products, the EZ Swimmer® is comfortable and multi-functional. Push ups with this advanced aquatic resistance tool are comfortable because your wrists are no longer bent. When you push the EZ Swimmer® down into the water, you will note that the ergonomic de-sign allows for more pressure. Why? Because you have a greater transfer of energy with the comfortable grip and not bending your wrists.

The EZ Swimmer® was designed by a biomedical engineer and sized specifically for adult

water exercise.

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EZ Swimmer® - Is it a Kickboard, Barbell, or an Aquatic Balance Ball? Yes, the EZ Swimmer® is all of these things and more! The EZ Swimmer® is a multi-functional aquatic calisthenics tool—made specifically to add resistance to your water workout. As a result, to describe the EZ Swimmer® as a float is mislead-ing because it demands movement.

While buoyant, ASP’s Team of biomedical engineers set out to create a multi-functional training tool that demands move-ment in order to properly work the muscles of the body. The EZ Swimmer® was specifically designed and sized to make adult exercise easier; it is not designed to replace swimming. ASP firmly believes that swimming is an essential life skill. Imagine experiencing the same value of land calisthen-ics right in the water.

The EZ Swimmer® is water calisthenics at its very best and makes a great addition for resistance train-ing both for master swimmers and water aerobics.

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2 Minutes for You™ We were trained as children to wash our face, brush our teeth and comb our hair every morning. And yet, the 640 muscles in the human body are completely ignored in the morning and sometimes the entire day. • Stretching should not hurt. • Hold each stretch for 10-30 seconds. • Your muscles need to be warm.

Reminders: Never Stretch unless you have warmed up.

Stretching is a vital part of any exercise program. Muscles that are stretched properly on a consistent basis are more

flexible and less prone to injury. Hold each stretch to a point of mild tension for 10-30 seconds. Repeat 3-5 times.

American Son Products, Inc. challenges you to take 2 Minutes for You™ a challenge to dedicate just 2 minutes every morning to your muscles.

Note: Your muscles need to be warm, jog in place or do jumping jacks for 1 minute before attempt-ing any stretching exercises.

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INVEST IN YOURSELF

Your health is your most valuable asset While the EZ Swimmer® has been very popular as a gift, it is important to remember to invest in yourself. Exercise must be a priority and only you can invest the time and effort. Stay the Course - If you

are beginning this aquatic resistance program with the EZ Swimmer® with the goal of losing weight, please be conscious of the fact that as you build muscle, initially you will gain weight. Don’t panic, stay the course. Build-ing muscle creates energy and this added energy will help you achieve your goals. Research states that for each pound of muscle gained, we burn an additional 35 to 50 calories a day. Resistance training offers the quick-est results for weight loss and/or body sculpting; aquatic resistance training (water calisthenics) offers the same benefits – only without the impact on your joints! Remember, success is comprised of 80% follow-through. Consistency is the key. Treat your training time the same as your other responsibilities. Set a date and time and stick to it. Never miss a scheduled work-out. Your body will thank you and in the long run you will have more energy, sleep better and a better mental out-

Need further guidance? Consider investing in a personal trainer. A quality personal trainer can provide: • Motivation - To Keep Going. • Goal Setting - To Take You to the Next Level. • Achieve Your Goals Quicker, Easier and Injury Free.

Exercise does more than just help you look good. It alleviates stress, elevates mood, improves the quality

of your sleep, enhances your overall health.

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Water Calisthenics – At Its Best! Calisthenics by definition uses a person’s own body weight for the purpose of building strength, power and balance. By adding water and an EZ Swimmer® to this equation, the effectiveness of your workout is enhanced. The displacement of the water and the buoyancy of the EZ Swimmer® allow you to exercise and tone more effectively while greatly reducing stress on muscles and joints. Clearly the EZ Swimmer® is an impact-free workout that has a dramatic impact on your health and body!

The EZ Swimmer® will tone your abs, biceps and core easily right in the water!

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Build Your Biceps™ (Water Push-Ups/Downs): For years push-ups have been the benchmark of fitness. Now, for the first time ever, this basic exercise movement is available to you in the water. The ergonomic design of the EZ Swimmer® affords a comfortable grip, its flat surface allows for excellent water displacement and, with close to 2 pounds of buoyancy, this small tool takes advantage of your own body weight for a truly customized exercise. Besides customizing your push-ups with your own weight in the water, the EZ Swimmer® also allows for a better transfer of energy transmission from your arms and chest; far better than the old fashion version that required your wrist to be bent – safer and more comfortable too.

Directions: Locate a shallow area in your pool. Place the EZ Swimmer® sculpted side up; grip the EZ Swimmer® on each side. Position your body diagonally as you would for the land version of push-ups while keeping your back straight. Posture is important, don’t hyperextend your neck or your back. TIP: It may be helpful to turn your head to one side in order to keep your neck straight. Inhale and count 1,2 as you move the EZ Swimmer® deeper into the water; exhale and count 1,2,3,4 as you slowly return the fitness tool. Repeat these steps, Count and Track Your Repetitions. Don’t allow a bounce return and remember your goal is a slow controlled movement. The slower your movement, the greater the toning and sculpt-ing effects; remember you are in control. The military and sports coaches are correct, push-ups are the best exercise for toning your upper body.

Land Adaptation Wall/Vertical Push-ups: No swimming pool access? Try the Build Your Biceps™ exercise with your EZ Swimmer® on your wall for wall/vertical push-ups. Limited wall space? – try the re-frigerator door.

Another great benefit - NO BENT WRISTS FOR PUSH-UPS!

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Seated Balance™ Move-ment-Variation 2: Bobbing Movement Another variation of the Seated Balance™ exercise* is the Bob-bing Movement which allows you to continue to work on your bal-ance. Because this movement en-gages both your arms and legs, it

makes an excellent warm-up exercise. Much like the bi-cycle movement, this variation has the preliminary qualifi-cation that you have effectively mastered the Seated Bal-ance™ exercise movement.

Directions: This movement may be used in shallow or deep water. Place the EZ Swimmer® sculpted side up un-derneath you as you would for the Seated Balance Move-ment. Sit comfortably and feel free to lean back as long as you remember to maintain that imaginary line between your ear and waist.

Periodically, check your posture to make sure you are not hyper extending your neck or back. Once you have achieved your balance, place your legs straight out in front of you. Slowly bend your knees and bring your knees to your chest. At the same time as you are bringing your knees closer to your body, push your arms down in the water. Keep your arms as straight as possible.

For the return movement, slowly straighten your legs while bringing your arms to the upper level of the water.

*Advanced Movement

The Seated Balance™ assumes the advanced de-velopment and engagement of your abdominal

For proper posture, please see our posters that diagram both the wrong and the correct body positioning.

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As you use the EZ Swimmer® you will quickly learn that if you don’t move, the EZ Swimmer® will move away from you. EZ Swimmer’s unique ergonomic design comfortably allows push-ups, sit-ups, and Seated Bal-ance ™ exercises – all right in the water. For sample exercise diagrams and instructions be sure to review our Exercise Poster.

The only part of the human body which is not buoyant is our head.

Appropriately named EZ Swimmer®, this exercise tool allows you to exercise in the water without getting sensitive areas of your face and/or head directly in the water.

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The EZ Swimmer® is a great addition to your water aerobics routine.

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Seated Balance™ Exercise – Variation 1: Bicycle Movement One variation of the Seated Balance™ exercise* is the Bicycle Movement which allows you to continue to work on balance and ton-ing of your legs in a fashion very similar to the bicycle. Yes, you can create your own aquatic bicycle. Remember the Seated Balance™ is an advanced movement.

Once you have effectively mastered this skill, add the bicycle movement to your exercise routine and enjoy bicycling right in the water. The EZ Swimmer® makes a comfortable bicycle seat and effectively works on your balance at the same time. This movement, much like the Bobbing Movement, increases your heart rate and helps build cardiovascular strength.

Directions: This movement may be executed in either shallow or deep water. Place the EZ Swimmer® sculpted side up; place the EZ Swimmer® underneath you as you would for the Seated Balance™ Movement. Sit comforta-bly and feel free to lean back as long as you remember to keep that imaginary line between your ears, shoulder and your waist.

Periodically, check your posture to make sure you are not hyper extend-ing your neck or back. Once you have achieved your balance, slowly bend your knees and alternate moving your legs in a circular motion similar to riding a bicycle on land.

Abdominal crunches are just the beginning of a core strengthening program. Abdominal crunches set the

foundation for a full core workout program.

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EZ Swimmer® A Balance Ball for the Water Your body is the most miraculous invention on earth. Natural balance, for instance, is one of the many wonders. Sci-

entists have proven that we can train the body to be more agile and to achieve greater bal-ance through proper exercise. Balance, besides being a basic skill, is needed in every sport. Balance also serves us well as we age by preventing inju-ries. As we age, we naturally lose this youth-ful gift of balance. However, if we remain ac-tive we can increase and/or maintain our agil-ity or balance even as we age. From golf to tennis to baseball to football, quickly and efficiently changing our center of gravity is critical to becoming or re-maining a great athlete. Actively challenging your balance while in the water will improve your agility. Instruction Tip: Keep your body in a di-agonal position with your knees always lower than your waist. This position best engages your core muscles. As in weight lifting, proper form is key to engaging the correct muscle groups.

The Seated Balance™ offers the same great qualities of the balance ball — only better — in the water!

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Water Calisthenics – At Its Best!

FLATTEN YOUR ABDOMINALS With our exclusive Train Your Abs Crunch™ using the soft and comfortable EZ Swim-mer®. This exercise combined with the buoyancy of the water pre-vents strain on your neck or back.

BUILD YOUR BICEPS Tone your bicep muscles with aquatic push-ups. Use the natural buoyancy of water, the resis-tance of the EZ Swimmer® combined with your own weight for com-fortable and effective push-ups right in the water.

BUILD YOUR BALANCE Tone your core muscles and challenge your balance with our Seated Balance™ by using the EZ Swimmer® just as you would an exercise ball on land.

TARGET YOUR TRICEP™ Even before you have mas-tered the advanced movement of the Seated Balance™, you can target your triceps muscles by using the EZ Swimmer® just as you would a chair for triceps dips. TARGET YOUR HEART RATE Tone your legs and in-crease your heart rate using the EZ Swimmer® as your bicycle in the water with the Seated Balance™ Bicycle Movement. Or for beginners, try our Cuddle Core™ exercise by simply hugging the soft fitness tool (sculpted side next to your body) and kick your feet. Cuddle Core™ is more fun than water walking, lower impact and provides you with greater control for targeting your heart rate.

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Proper Posture Counts!

The foundation for a fit and healthy body is threefold - diet, exercise and good posture. Whenever we exercise, it is important to continuously review your body alignment. Bad posture is often the root cause of many injuries. Inju-ries and the resulting pain cause us to become sedentary and often lead to weight gain and costly downtime from work and play. As my Grandfather’s doctor always ad-vised, you don’t see many old people who are overweight. Be good to your body and it will be good to you. Perfect posture allows you to breathe more effectively, keeps your internal organs in their proper place and helps you stay bal-anced. Remember safety first.

An injury is not just painful but also time-consuming. Keen attention to proper posture will save you both time and money. Good posture is a comfortable alignment or a straight line from your ears right down to your feet; your ears, shoulder, hips, knees and ankles all should be in alignment. When sitting, your ears, shoulder and hips should all be in alignment. You can lean back, just make sure you maintain that imaginary line between your ears and your hips. Your body has provided you with a natural curve at two spots, your neck and your back. Picture an imaginary vertical line and you will not only perform at your optimal level but also serve your body well to prevent in-juries.

Reminder: Proper Posture is Critical— One of the “3 Nevers” is never hyper extending your neck or your back.

Bad posture is often the root cause of many injuries.

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All muscles in our body love exercise—and our heart muscle too!

A great way to measure whether you are working too hard (and actively targeting your heart rate) is by trying to carry on a

conversation—if you cannot talk comfortably—you should dial back your workout.

Our human anatomy is comprised of over 640 different muscles, the heart muscles being the larg-est and the most important. Our heart muscle is re-sponsible for delivering both blood and oxygen throughout our body.

If we target our heart rate, we will exercise

most efficiently. After all, we would not bake a cake without a thermometer would we? So too, we are wasting our valuable time we do not target our heart rate when we exercise. The most accurate way to target your heart rate is a treadmill test administered by a professional.

Share your pool, share your exercise time – team with a friend or two for the greatest ex-ercise program ever!

Safety Note: Never swim alone. Invite a friend to exercise with you and you will auto-matically be safer but, more importantly you will look forward to your swim fitness training.

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The EZ Swimmer® is a great exercise program for you and your friends. Why? Be- cause one way of gauging your exertion level is the talk test. The talk test is simply targeting your heart rate and seeking vigorous exercise up to a point where you can still carry on a conversation with a friend. .

Exercise intelligently, target your heart rate.

A sedentary individual has a higher risk of developing heart disease than someone that is obese, diabetic or has high blood pressures.

Water offers more than non-impact exercise, water also enables your heart to work more efficiently due to the unique buoyant quality of the water. When we exercise in the water our heart beats 10-15 beats per minute lower than when we are on land. Water and its natural buoyancy removes the ef-fects of gravity upon our body.

If you have been sedentary for several years, are over the age of 35, overweight, or have a history of heart disease in your family, consult first with your physician before beginning a fitness program.

Team Fitness—Target Your Heart Rate with the Talk Test

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EZ Swimmer®

The Ultimate Water Workout!™

Wrong and Right Posture for Abs Crunch Note Back is Rounded in Order to Best Engage the Abdominal

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EZ Swimmer®

The Ultimate Water Workout!™

Wrong and Right Posture for Seated Balance Note Knees are Lower than Hips in Order to Best Engage the Core