Pilates fans have been swapping their usual ladies fitness wear for swimming costumes and taking part in an aquatic version of the exercise - Poolates.

This swimming pool-based adaptation of the popular exercise method uses the buoyancy and resistance of the water to improve strength, tone, balance and flexibility.

Olivia Walmsley, a writer for the Telegraph, tried out a session with the UK's only qualified Poolates instructor Michelle Martin.

Ms Martin trained Rebecca Pfeiffer, who invented Poolates, in Florida.

"It all felt very gentle, although I did feel my body working, particularly during the 'Russian Dancer' (where we had to kick our legs, Cossack-style, while travelling backwards and forwards) and the arm exercises," Ms Walmsley wrote in the newspaper.

The Times' diet and fitness writer Peta Bee recently reported that Catherine Zeta Jones is a fan of Pilates but Ms Bee asserted that to get toned calf muscles like the actress', women should take part in regular aerobic activities.

Posted by Sue Wallis ADNFCR-2569-ID-19602284-ADNFCR

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