Taking aerobics classes is a great way to burn calories and get a solid cardiovascular workout. But traditional aerobics can be relatively high-impact, and therefore rough on joints and bones. A somewhat newer form of exercise is water aerobics, which offers both added benefits and reduced risk of pain and injury. So what exactly is water aerobics all about?
Patti Kenmore started swimming competitively at the age of three, and is now the Aquatics Director of Rose Bowl Aquatics Center in Pasadena, California. For the past 15 years, she has taught babies and toddlers to swim using a method that allows them to feel safe, happy, and secure in the water. Here she offers a quick guide to doing aerobic exercises in the pool:
- Low impact exercise.
Because being immersed in water reduces the effects of gravity and slows or eliminates contact with the ground, water aerobics is a low-impact way of working out that keeps stress off your joints.
- Resistance burns calories.
Water also offers more resistance than air, and resistance helps to build muscle and burn calories. According to Kenmore you'll burn twice as many calories by walking a quarter mile in a pool than you will by walking the same distance in the park.
- Shallow vs. deep.
In shallow water aerobics you're about waist deep in the pool and doing a cardiovascular workout that's similar to what you do in a land aerobics class. Deep water aerobics, on the other hand, is done with a flotation belt so you're completely suspended in the water and have no contact with the pool bottom.
- Different workouts.
A water aerobics class is usually about an hour long, and may or may not specialize in a particular type of exercise. Classes might focus on deep water workouts where you just work on abdominal muscles, or they might concentrate on water walking or water running.
- Low pressure.
Kenmore also sees an extra benefit to water aerobics: because you're under the water, nobody in the class can see if you're having a little difficulty keeping up.
For more information about water aerobics, check out the following organizations or websites:
AAF Rose Bowl Aquatics Center
www.rosebowlaquatics.com
Aquatic Exercise Association
www.aeawave.com
Fitness Zone: Water Aerobics
www.fitnesszone.co.za/aerobics1
Essortment: Water Aerobics Exercise
va.essortment.com/wateraerobicse
United States Water Fitness Association
www.uswfa.com
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