There is
a perception out there that water aerobics is for the elderly. Exercising in
water has so many benefits.
A water aerobics
workout is an aerobics class performs in a swimming pool. It can be either in
shallow or deep water. Water aerobics involves walking, jogging, jumping jacks,
a variety of kicks and knee lifts, among several other moves.
Buoyancy
allows you to perform exercises you may find a lot more difficult to do on land
and the resistance it provides makes it easier to tone your muscles. Water also
keeps you cooler while exercising so you don’t get sweaty. Water aerobics has
the advantage of providing the cardiovascular workout you’d get in the gym
while also improving muscle tone. The effect of the gravity on your muscles is
quite different in the water and this is a real bonus. On land, gravity pulls
your muscles in one direction, whereas when you are in water, gravity meets the
resistance to the work on your muscles from two directions.
Not only does it
help tone and shape muscles, it works on endurance and strength.
Water
aerobics classes provides an all over body toning routine, which can resemble a
gym aerobics class in term of exercise movements, such as marching and
stepping. It provides an effective all-round cardiovascular and muscle-toning
workout. With water jogging you run on
the spot in chest-deep water (depending on depth of pool). This gives you a
good cardiovascular workout and strengthens legs and hips muscles. Water
aerobics also have an impact on core stability.
Water
aerobics have been highly recommended after a knee operation and hip
replacements.
Some equipment
that an instructor can use during their classes.
 |
| Dumbbells and pool noodles |
 |
| Aqua jogger belt |
 |
| Resistant band |
 |
| ankle weights |
It is so true that the younger clients at our gyms still think that water aerobics are "easy", a waste of time and not strenuous at all. Recently, one of my regular aqua aerobics clients convinced her daughter to join us in one of my aqua aerobics classes where we did a lot of suspended work. She really struggled to maintain correct posture especially when suspended and commented afterwards that doing aqua aerobics was very hard work. And best of all: she came back for more ....
ReplyDeletewow well done Anna-Maré Du Toit. Keep up the hard work.
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