Do you love to do aerobics or exercise in water? You’ll be happy to know you can do both together. There are lots of resistance exercises you can do in water. It is sometimes called aquatic fitness, waterobics, aquafit or aquafitness.
They are done without swimming and vertically in deep water up to the waist. Water aerobics is a type of aerobic exercise which requires participants to be immersed in water.
Most Aqua aerobics is in a group setting where a trained professional teaches the whole group for about an hour.
They focus on resistance training, aerobic endurance and producing an enjoyable exercising atmosphere with music. There are different water aerobics forms that include water yoga, aqua zumba, aqua aerobics and aqua jog, among others.
Aqua aerobics has some similarities with land aerobics in that they both focus on cardiac training. On the other hand, however, water aerobics adds buoyancy and water resistance.
It is said that in water aerobics, the heart rate is not as fast as in land aerobics. But, the heart is still working hard to circulate more blood to the active muscles. Find out more about this aqua aerobics below in this article.
What is Aqua Aerobics?
It is a form of exercising that is done in water. The water must be waist-deep and music playing to dance along. It focuses on cardiac training and hence the heart works hard to circulate blood to the active muscles.
Your body is moving against the resistance and buoyancy of water and hence is strength-training. Aqua exercises are usually done in a group setting and are done vertically but without swimming.
Procedure
If you are thinking of enrolling for aqua aerobics, you might want to ask at your gym. Find out when they do aqua exercises and enroll. If you want to enroll at home, you’ll need to first establish what part of your body you want to work on.
For instance, if it’s the lower body, then you will use water that is up to the waist deep. However, if it’s the whole body, then water as high as shoulder or chest deep will work for you.
You also need to establish why you are doing aqua aerobics. Note that it is known to help in weight loss and keeping the body healthy. Also, if you have no trainer, then you can decide on which body parts to work on each day.
Say you work on arms on Mondays and Wednesdays while Tuesday and Friday you work on legs. This will help you concentrate and build up specific muscles each day.
Upper Body
Exercises that work the upper body will focus on the arms, core and shoulders. If you have equipment like handwebs or kickboards, then use them. But if you don’t have them, you can still exercise and achieve your goal without them.
You will need to repeat the procedure 12-15 times or till you are tired.
Using a Kickboard
Stand having your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold the kickboard sideways as your right arm holds the part farthest from you as the right arm holds the part closest to you.
Move the kickboard to the right and back to the center as you keep the left arm close to you. Now switch arms to work on the left side.
Using Hand Webs
Stand upright having your feet shoulder-width apart. Have your hands on your sides with palms facing forward. Spread the fingers to take advantage of water resistance between your fingers.
Ensure your elbows are close in contact with your body. Bring your hands to the water surface as you keep wrists straight. Now turn your hands to face down and push them beside your body downwards.
Lower Body
Lower body exercises focus on your legs and the core. A flotation belt will keep you upright as you exercise. A pool noodle can also help you stay in an upright position. But if you don’t have this equipment, you can still exercise without them.
Deep Water Walking using a pool noodle
It involves water walking while using a flotation belt or pool noodle to keep you in an upward position. Place the pool noodle between your legs with a shorter length in front and longer at the back.
It is important you are in deep waters like shoulder-deep. Avoid leaning forward, keep back straight and walk as you normally do. Start with three laps and if you like it, increase them till you are tired.
Noodle Leg Lifts
Tie the pool noodle leg to your right foot. Stand upright with your back to the pool. Now hold the pool sides for balance. Lift your right leg to a 90-degree angle and return it to the starting position.
Repeat this procedure 12-15 times or until you are tired. Now turn the pool noodle to the left leg and repeat the procedure.
Last Remark
Aqua exercises are great for losing weight, working the core and even for fun. Water lovers cannot keep away from them. Good music even sets the setting to be more fun. If you have a trainer, then follow their instructions.
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