There are plenty of exercises that can be done in the pool but one specific workout is water aerobics. Water aerobics is a form of exercise that provides cardiovascular conditioning.
On average, swimming burns between 300 to 600 calories per hour. On average, water aerobics burns between 400 to 500 calories per hour.
Although you could potentially burn more calories when swimming, water aerobics takes less effort. You could still burn nearly as many calories during water aerobics as swimming.
Photo by Andrew Lozovyi.
How does Water Aerobics Work?
Water aerobics is a low-impact physical activity. It aims to help you get fit and lose weight. It increases your pulse and your breathing rate. The term “aerobic” means “with oxygen.” This means that your breathing controls the amount of oxygen that reaches your muscles. This oxygen helps your muscles move and burn stored fuel.
Exercising in the water puts less stress on your joints. The resistance of the water applies in both directions. This means that each movement you make works two opposing muscle groups. Therefore you exert the same effort but receive double the benefit. Since water aerobics is so low-impact, it’s especially good for older adults.
What to Expect From a Water Aerobics Class?
You do not have to be a good swimmer in order to practice water based exercise. You will be able to keep a foot on the bottom of the pool at all times. There are even some classes that do not require you to swim at all.
A typical water aerobics class include:
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Short warm-up
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Cardiovascular exercises
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Balancing exercises
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Coordination exercises
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Stretches
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Short cool-down
Short Warm-Up
A short warm-up is incorporated into the beginning of the classes in order to get your body used to the water and get your muscles ready for exercise.
Cardiovascular Exercises
Cardiovascular exercises are used in water aerobics classes in order to get your heart pumping. Some of these exercises are jogging, leg kicks, body twists, arm stretches, and other dance-like movements.
Short Cool-Down
A short cool-down is used at the end of the classes to calm and relax the body and lower the heart rate to avoid injury.
Some water aerobics classes may even incorporate props in the workouts. These include dumbbells, ankle weights, floats, and webbed gloves.
Photo by Andrew Lozovyi.
Areas It Targets
Although it may not seem like it, water aerobics targets many different areas. It targets:
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Core
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Arms
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Legs
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Glutes
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Back
Core
Most water aerobic exercise programs include lunges, side leg lifts, and other movements that work your abs and other core muscles.
Arms
Many water aerobics classes include movements that workout the arms. A movement such as underwater bicep curls fight the water resistance and allows for an efficient arm workout. Pool noodles and kickboards can also be used to create more resistance.
Legs
Walking, jogging, jumping jacks, and underwater kicks are popular water aerobic exercises..
Glutes
Squats, lunges, and high knee kicks help to tone your glutes.
Back
The low-impact workouts practiced in water aerobics can help to strengthen back muscles and ease back pain.
Photo by Andrew Lozovyi.
What are the Health Benefits of Water Aerobics?
Water aerobics is a great way to improve your health. Specifically, water aerobics can improve your heart health. Water aerobics lowers blood pressure and bad cholesterol and raises good cholesterol.
Participating in water exercises can reduce stress and anxiety. The water has a calm and soothing effect on your brain and can in turn help you have better sleep.
Water aerobics helps you build stability, improves your balance, and expands your muscle strength for better coordination. This helps with your movement both in and out of water.
Water aerobics helps deal with arthritis and back pain. The water’s buoyancy lowers the impact of your movements. This helps to relieve the amount of stress placed on your joints and muscles.
Regular water aerobics classes can help increase your endurance. This is because exercising for an extended period of time will cause your heart, lungs, and muscles to work together.
Benefits of Water Aerobics Include:
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Burning calories
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Weight loss
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Working all the major muscle groups
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All-over toning
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Improving your balance and coordination
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Reduces stress
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Builds strength
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Lowers high blood pressures
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Reduces anxiety
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Helps with insomnia
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Increases endurance
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Reduced joint pain
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Helps with the recovery of injuries
BeachCandy Journey
Here at BeachCandy we aim to provide the best quality products for our customers. However, we also want to do what is best for our planet. So we have decided to completely rebrand BeachCandy so that all of our products are made from natural fibers and organic fabrics.
We plan to rid ourselves of the toxins commonly found in fashion in order to produce less environmental waste. We have begun our journey in India in search of clean, ethical means of production and natural fibers.
Before we can begin our rebranding we must first clear out our shelves of all our previous designs. To make this happen, we are conducting the biggest sale in BeachCandy history. Shop BC Sale-on-Sale and join us on our mission to become clean, ethical, and natural.
Also read our most recent blog: Pool Party Essentials
Written by Emma Suarez.
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