Alternative Workouts - Aqua Aerobics and Your Health
As an alternative to working out in a gym, try jumping in the pool Performing land aerobic exercises on shallow water is termed aqua aerobics. It is commonly referred as water aerobics. It is normally performed in a swimming pool under the supervision of a trained professional. The best part of water aerobics is that you need not know swimming! Instead of sweating it all out in gym for hours water aerobics presents a cool way to exercise.
Water aerobics can be done on water without any other special accessories. It may as well be performed with special devices like balls, noodles, boxing gloves, aqua bells, dumb bells, bar bells, ankle weights etc.
Like any other physical activity aqua aerobics helps to burn calories, lose weight and be fit. The main feature of aqua aerobics is that risk of injuring oneself is very very less. In my classes at Orange County Bodybuilding I tell my clients that you can do water aerobics without worrying about pulling a muscle or injuring a joint. An hour in the gym you can burn around 400 calories. With that same amount of time in the water, by doing water aerobics you can burn around 600 calories. Plunging into cool water is a less risky and fun filled way to remain fit and healthy.
When you float in water balancing is easy. You can stretch more and your muscles can move over a wider range. Water aerobics will not over heat your body as you exercise. In fact you will be real cool!
The focus of water aerobics is mainly on three important aspects,
- Strength training
- Cardio vascular
- Flexibility
Strength training is essentially a set of weight bearing exercises that require additional devices like aqua bells, bar bells and dumb bells. To improve cardio vascular water exercises like walking, jogging, kickboxing etc can be done. To enhance flexibility yoga and/or tai chi can be performed in water.
As a Los Angeles Personal Trainer I remind my clients that a good warm up is essential to preventing injury. Like any other land exercise session aqua exercising sessions should also start with a warm up and finally end with a proper cool down session.
As you float on water supports 90 percent of your body weight. You hardly have to balance your body weight. This reduces the risk of any physical injury. This reason turns a lot of people toward aqua aerobics. Another important specialty of aqua aerobics is that it gives opportunity to exercise to those who cannot perform any land exercises. For example if someone is suffering from arthritis or joint problems he/she cannot perform land exercises. Water aerobics is a convenient answer to them. They can perform water exercises without any worry and pain. Cardiac patients can do aqua exercise without any fear as heart pumps more effectively when we are on water. Even pregnant woman can safely swim or exercise in water without any worry.
Swimming Vs Water Aerobics
Both present the joy of a cool dip and the effortless way of exercising by floating on the water. But there is one crucial difference between the two. Swimming mainly focuses on chest and leg muscles and it relies heavily on horizontal plane alone. But in aqua aerobics as you do different exercises all the planes are used and all the muscles of your body get involved.
Water Aerobics Vs Gym
In my role as a North Hollywood Personal Trainer I try to encourage my clients to vary their fitness routines to include alternative workouts like water aerobics because variety gives you a better workout. Both have their benefits. It is doubtless that strenuous exercising sessions at the gym help you to get in better shape. At the gym you have do exercises separately for each muscle of your body. In water an equal amount of hydraulic pressure promotes exercise of the muscles on all sides of your body. Moreover the resistance that water offers is almost 13 times greater than that of air. You shape up pretty well in water and quite fast too.
Like any strenuous physical activity, it is best advised that, if you have any kind of illness or injury, you get your physician’s consent before taking a dive in to the water.
Tags: physical activity | swimming | water | gym
August 12th, 2008 at 12:12 am
This is an interesting form of exercise. I’ll definitely try this one out. Thanks!
August 12th, 2008 at 12:14 am
I started doing water aerobics before, and it works well for me. I’ve been doing it for about a year now.