Water Aerobics: Getting fit and maintaining health in a fun water exercise

Many people in America struggle to find an exercise activity that both accommodates their specific physical limitations and is a fun and enjoyable workout. For years, aerobics has been endorsed by the medical community as a great way for people to slim down and stay healthy.

According to Diabetic-Lifestyle.com (June 2001), "Aerobics can be defined as any physical exercise that increases the heart rate and increases the body's intake of oxygen long enough to benefit the condition of the human body.”

Simple exercises like walking, running, dancing, and swimming are a few examples of aerobic exercises. Water aerobics is a relatively new aerobic exercise that combines the cardiovascular and muscular endurance benefits of aerobics with the cooling and resistance benefits of water.

Milton Velinsky, a writer for the Changing Shape Health Center’s online website, says that water makes the body buoyant, so a person who has their head above water weighs about 10-15 percent of their normal body weight on land. This provides cushioning for joints, relieving stress and shock and making exercising in water low-impact on your body.

“Researchers tell us that exercise injuries are usually related to impact. Every time a person's foot comes in contact with the floor, impact occurs. Because a person weighs so much less in the water, the impact on the body is reduces,” Vilensky writes.

Working out in water provides resistance to your muscles, allowing you to burn twice as many calories in the same amount of time doing the same exercise on land. Consider what Diabetes-Lifestlye.com says about calorie exertion in water aerobics versus land aerobics:

Water aerobics has an added benefit: it enables you to burn up calories much more efficiently. Compare the following estimates of calorie consumption for a 30-minute workout:

• Land walking: 135 calories
• Deep water walking; 264 calories
• Jogging on land: 240 calories
• Deep water jogging: 340 calories

About.com writer Anne Asher (2007) says that water aerobics is also beneficial for muscle strengthening:

The flow of water resists movement, and functions similarly to weight training: it gets your muscles strong. Being immersed in water places pressure all over your body. To build strength, you must work your muscles against this pressure. The deeper in the water you go, the more pressure will be exerted, and the harder the workout will be.

Water aerobics is particularly popular in warmer climates because as you sweat, the water cools the body off as you exert and keeps you cooler longer than if you were to work out on land.

To summarize, water aerobics is a highly beneficial workout that can improve the health of the body by providing cushion for joints, increasing circulation from water putting pressure on the body, provide resistance to build muscular strength, and naturally cool the body.

Water aerobics is an ideal exercise for many who have physical limitations. Seniors have found the water to be very therapeutic. The water provides support to their body and cushioning to their joints, making it easier for them to exercise in the water. The water also provides a wider range of joint motion because of the degree of weightlessness in the water. This is of great benefit people who suffer from back ache and neck aches. Also, because water displaces the effects of gravity, overweight individuals and people with arthritis are finding it easier to exercise.

People who are injured also benefit from water aerobics because the chance of re-injury during exercise is smaller because the weight of the body is not directly placed on the injury. Finally, water aerobics is a fun exercise that is great for anyone of any age and size. Even people who can’t swim can benefit from water aerobics because there is always something to hold onto, there are a variety of flotation devices available that will not interfere with workouts, and you can workout in shallow (waist- or chest-high) water as well as deep water.

Nearly any aerobic exercise you perform on land can be performed in the water. Running, walking, and dancing are some basic moves that can be done. Diabetic-Lifestyle.com describes how water aerobic exercises are structures similarly to land exercises:

As with any aerobic class you will start with stretches and a warm up and end with more stretches and cool down. You will start in lower water and move to water that is chest deep. The depth of the water will also depend on the exercise you are doing. For example, jogging is usually done in deeper water so that a person's body stays completely immersed. While you move, the instructor will help you to use the water's resistance to your benefit.

Many people choose to use hand, wrist, or ankle weights to increase the resistance of their workouts. Kickboards are popular and help support the body’s muscular development, says FitnessProposals.com.

Water aerobics is a low-impact, resistance exercise that has the cardiovascular benefits of land-aerobics exercises. It is safe for people of all ages, weights, and physical conditions because the water supports the body and allows people to move about easily with little impact on the joints. People with injuries can still exercise while they heal because the water helps to keep the weight off the injury. Water aerobics is fun for many people; children and seniors alike have enjoyed its numerous health benefits.

Asher, Anne. (2007). Benefits of Water Exercise: Aquatic Therapy Helps Reduce Back Pain. Retrieved from http://backandneck.about.com/od/exerciseandsport/a/waterexercisebe.htm

BSP. (2001). Water Aerobics. Retrieved from http://www.diabetic-lifestyle.com/articles/jun01_burni_1.htm

International Fitness Association. Aqua Aerobics Training – Benefits. Retrieved from http://www.shapefit.com/aqua-aerobics-training-benefits.html

Fitness Proposals. Benefits of Water Aerobics. Retrieved from http://www.fitnessproposals.com/fitness-accessories-articles/benefits-of-water-aerobics.htm

Velinsky, Milton. Aquatic Fitness and the Move to Water Exercise. Retrieved from http://www.changingshape.com/resources/articles/aquatic-fitness.asp