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SUPPORTED AQUA BOUNCE

Introduce very gentle vertical bouncing in water for children and adolescents with significant mobility limitations to prepare for later plyometric drills.

Focus Lower Body
Environment Leisure or therapy pool with firm, non-slippery shallow floor
Pool Depth Fully Anchored
Supervision Required
Equipment Yes

How to Perform

  1. Place the child in waist-to-chest deep water facing the pool wall with a large noodle under the arms and both hands resting on the wall.
  2. Ask the child to gently bend the knees a small amount while keeping the heels on the pool floor and the trunk upright.
  3. Guide the child to perform tiny, slow bounces by straightening and softening the knees without lifting the feet from the floor.
  4. Maintain a calm rhythm for several repetitions, pausing as needed to check comfort and posture.
  5. Return to quiet standing with relaxed breathing after each short set of bounces.

Key Execution Cues

Remember: Keep movements small and soft, imagine the head gliding straight up and down, and avoid pushing hard off the floor.

Safety & Precautions

Important: Avoid in children with unstable joints, recent fractures, or uncontrolled seizures; use close hands-on support for those unable to stand independently.

Additional Safety Notes: Remain within arm’s reach or in physical contact, stop immediately if pain, fear, or loss of balance occurs, and avoid slippery areas of the pool.

Exercise Modifications

Make it Harder (Progressions)

Increase the number of gentle bounces per set or allow a slightly larger knee bend while maintaining heel contact.

Make it Easier (Regressions)

Use only slow knee bends without rhythmic bouncing, or shorten standing time and increase rest periods.

Audience

Child

Therapeutic Notes

Aquatic plyometric and power training for youth with disabilities

Clinical Conditions

  • Cerebral Palsy
  • Developmental Delay

Modality

  • Individual
  • Group

Benefits

Gradual exposure to impact-like loading, Improved confidence with up-and-down movement, Gentle activation of lower limb muscles, Reduced joint stress compared to land hopping

Muscles Worked

  • quadriceps
  • hamstrings
  • glutes
  • calves
  • core

Equipment Needed

  • Large Noodle

When to Use

  • Warm-up
  • Skill development

Exercise Tags

plyometric prep severe disability lower limb children cerebral palsy Lower Body

Attribution

Source TypePDF
Original AuthorAnna Ogonowska-Slodownik et al.
ContributorAI Extraction Agent
PublicationAquatic Therapy in Children and Adolescents with Disabilities: A Scoping Review
LicenseCC BY 4.0
Credit RequiredYes
Date Created2025-11-30
Last Modified2025-11-30
Original URLhttps://doi.org/10.3390/children11111404

External Source

TypePDF
URLhttps://doi.org/10.3390/children11111404
Additional InfoConceptual low-level preparation for aqua-plyometric exercise, grounded in reports of plyometric aquatic programs for hemiparetic cerebral palsy.