AQUA AEROBICS & AQUA CLASSES: BENEFITS & DETAILS

Water aerobics and other water aerobics classes are some of our most popular group fitness classes. They offer a lot of benefits, but not many of the downsides of intense exercise classes. They will help you lose weight, get healthier, and improve your fitness without putting a lot of stress on your joints. This makes them great for people with mobility problems as water supports joints, allowing you to get stronger without the risk of injury, as well as helping with recovery from injury.

Source: Fitness Anytime and Anywhere by Marzena

WHAT IS AQUA AEROBICS & AQUA CLASSES?

Aqua classes are particularly popular, with thousands joining each week. However, there are some age-old stereotypes that people associate with classes. This could be anything as you believe this is an easy option and is only for the unfit participants, all the way to consider it is only suitable for older people.

However, in reality, none of this is true. Aqua classes have more health and physical benefits than most other group fitness classes, and participants typically burn between 400 and 500 calories per session.

Getting Started with Aqua Classes

Getting started with aqua is very simple. All you need to bring is suitable swimwear and a bottle of water. Yes, that’s right; You’re still sweating in the water, so it’s important that you stay hydrated throughout the session. Just because you’re surrounded by water, it doesn’t mean you’ll always stay hydrated. It is essential that you continue to replenish fluids to replace the ones you have lost.

Choose the best spot in the pool

This will depend on the style of the class, but the best place to stand is where the water is up to your mid-chest. Overall, you’ll find this to be the most versatile for water grades. Standing here allows the majority of the workouts to take place in the water, which is where you’ll benefit most from your workouts.

Water Reliability

You don’t necessarily have to be able to swim for most of the water classes and if you’re less confident, it’s a good idea to stand in slightly shallower water and closer to the edge of the pool. This means that if at any point you need a break, you can leave, while you’re also less likely to be affected if you’re not in the middle of class. Meanwhile, the use of an auxiliary float can also provide additional support

How hard do you work?

One of the great benefits of water classes is that you can go at your own pace, without the pressure of pushing yourself too hard. This means that if you’re new to exercise or just starting back after a long break, you can gradually work harder each session. Each time you attend, you will increase your stamina and, importantly, your confidence. For best results, keep your arms and core strong and tight as you move. This will slow down your movement but you will get much better fitness results.

Avoid excessive heat afterwards

As with any exercise, you should avoid drastic temperature changes immediately after a session in the water. These include taking hot/cold showers or using a steam or sauna as they can make you dizzy and unwell.

BENEFITS OF AQUA AEROBICS & AQUA CLASSES

There are many benefits to taking water classes. Not only will it help you burn extra calories, but it will also help you be gentler on your joints. This means you won’t get hurt much afterward, and will also help with all sorts of other fitness goals. These include improving your flexibility and range of motion, as well as helping to fight osteoporosis.

Accessibility

One of the main benefits of water classes is that they are accessible to everyone, regardless of their fitness level, confidence or swimming ability. For starters, you’ll spend most of your time standing in the water, so you don’t have to swim and you can even use a float to keep yourself steady if needed. What’s more, each class can be done at your own pace, so regardless of your fitness level, you can really start or go lighter until you get up to speed.

Funny and sociable

In addition to giving you a great workout, water classes are a great way to meet new people. Meanwhile, the exercises themselves are fun, and the instructors are dedicated to making sure everyone in the class has a great time.

Water aerobics lowers heart rate and blood pressure

When in water, your heart rate is about 10-15% lower than when out in water, due to the increase in pressure. As a result, you can exercise more thanks to this reduction in heart rate, while it also lowers your blood pressure during exercise.

Great for burning fat and calories

Although the exercise may seem light, water classes are actually one of the most effective ways to burn calories and fat. Most people will burn between 400 and 500 calories in a typical workout, depending on your intensity.

Aqua Aerobics improves muscle tone, strength and endurance.

Each move works against the resistance of water, which is 10 to 12 times thicker than air, so you’re constantly challenging your body, improving your muscles, strength and endurance.

Low impact for joints

Being in the water means all your joints are more supported than being on land. This means you’re much less likely to suffer from any joint pain than you would if you were jogging on the sidewalk. At the same time, this extra support also helps to avoid osteoporosis in later life.

Increased flexibility and range of movement

In addition to helping you burn calories, lose weight, tone muscles, and improve endurance, water classes can also help you become more flexible and improve your range of motion. This, again, thanks to the water’s resistance, helps strengthen your joints and the muscles around them without stressing them.

Water dissolves sweat

As a result, your body stays cooler and you can work harder for longer as a result. This helps deliver all the health benefits detailed here.

Great for reducing stress levels

Besides the significant benefits to your physical health, water classes are also great for your mental health. This is largely due to the relaxing nature of the exercises and the naturally positive effect that all exercise has on mental health.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AEROBICS AND OTHER AQUA CLASSES

There are many water classes to choose from, including water aerobics. They all focus on working different parts of the body, depending on what you want to achieve. However, the benefits remain the same, providing excellent calorie and fat burning without putting too much strain on your joints. These classes include aquatic jogging, water aerobics, deep water swimming, and geysers.

Water gymnastics

This class usually begins with a variety of exercises, followed by strength and conditioning exercises using glasses or weights.

Underwater jogging

This is a great way to get the benefits of running, but with little impact on your body. Aquatic running classes are usually held in the deeper parts of the pool than other water classes and require a few pieces of equipment to do it properly – water shoes and buoyancy belts, these help keep you upright in the pool. These workouts are perfect for runners who are recovering from an injury and don’t want to put their recovery at risk.

Water circuit

This class incorporates a variety of cardio and strength exercises. The class is divided into smaller groups to complete different exercises, before moving on to another. In this class, you’ll use floats and weights to help build muscle and endurance. Meanwhile, other factors will be focused on cardiovascular exercises.

Deep water

These classes are similar to standard aquatic classes, with added swimming elements and making for a more intense workout. You will burn more calories and feel more benefits and need to be a confident swimmer to participate.

Not all of these classes are available at all of our pool centers, so please contact your particular center to ensure your preferred class is available.