Water Aerobic Exercises - A Brief Guide

We received an email a while ago which really touched a nerve, it read:

"I am concerned about my Fitness and Health. I do not work set hours so find it hard to get motivated or take the first step towards contacting the local gym. Because I am embarrassed about my weight and size I prefer to do my fitness and health program behind, shall we say, closed doors. I do not want to be pushing weights or running on a treadmill when other people are around. What other types of exercise do you recommend for someone who is 46 years old, has not done a great deal of physical exercise for years and who basically looks like the Michelin Man?"

Our advice to this man was to make an appointment to see us so that we could assess his fitness and health levels. Before undertaking any sort of exercise program it is very important that it is done under medical supervision or, if the person has a clean bill of health, then we can guide him or her with the right choice of exercise.

In the 46 year old's case, he had been to see his doctor and was told he should lose some weight and embark on a fitness and health exercise program. He was pre-diabetic so it was important that he changed his diet and his doctor was able to provide good solid dietary information for him.

We suggested low impact exercises and to help get his fitness and health levels up initially, it was decided that he should do water aerobics three times a week. The physical benefits of water aerobic exercise range from tangible results like weight loss to benefits that are not tangible, like improving blood circulation and heart function, plus the health of your cardiovascular system in general.

Because water buoyancy supports about 90% of your body weight, there is less risk of injury, especially to ligaments and the lower body and leg joints.

Exercising can also improve your immune system and studies have found that people who regularly do exercise have a much lower chance of contracting infectious diseases such as colds and flu.

Water aerobic exercise can also help prevent high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke and cancer. Water aerobic exercise will also improve your general strength while muscle weakness can also affect the strength of your bones.

Water aerobic exercise trains your heart to pump more oxygen rich blood throughout your body.

Most strokes are caused by blood clots making their way into your brain. Regular water aerobic exercises help keep your blood from clotting in your blood vessels.

Fitness and Health Ideas say if you are just starting out with water aerobics, you might be feeling overwhelmed or frightened, especially if you are a non-swimmer. It is true that there are many ways to work out and your fitness and health depends on how hard you work out and move your body, legs and arms. This fast pace causes your heart and lungs to work harder than when you are at rest. Begin your water aerobic exercises with walking on the spot or back and forth in the pool, then try jogging followed by moving your arms up and down. The point of water aerobic exercises is to get your heart and lungs going and the best way to do this is to keep moving like walking, jogging, jumping jacks, moving your arms up and down, from left to right for as many repetitions as you can. This is the best way to start your water aerobic training because you are able to work your way up from nothing to advance classes where you can add weights to your arms, feet and even try placing a basket ball under water, performing a cycling motion using a noodle and all the time your body is getting fitter and healthier. To help keep you motivated you can do your water aerobic exercises to your favourite music or work out a routine to suit the beat of the music.

In water aerobics the combination of routine is limitless and there is something for everyone, even a non-swimmer.

Just standing in neck deep water stimulates circulation, there is a soothing effect on the muscles, the heart in fact recovers more quickly from exertion because it is not working against the force of gravity. The water exercise includes 15 minutes of warming up and ends with 15 minutes of cooling down with ½ hour of jogging and exercises in between.

Water Temperature

Water temperature should be between 82? - 85?. Water that is too warm can make you feel sick, whereas colder water can cause pain in stiff or arthritic joints. If you fear water, wear a flotation device and stay in the shallow part of the pool.

Different Strokes

For calorie burning, stroke matters. A 123 pound woman swimming side stroke will burn 68 calories in 10 minutes while a 170 pound man will burn 90 calories. The same woman burns 95 calories with a slow crawl or backstroke and the man, 130 calories.

The breaststroke eats up 91 calories during a 10 minute swim for the woman and 125 calories for the man.

It is amazing when I see men and women in their 80's and 90's performing water aerobics, seemingly effortlessly, yet some find it difficult to walk without some help or walking aides.

The buoyancy of the water relieves any strain on their joints so they are able to perform exercises that they otherwise would not be able to do if they weren't in a pool.

Our 46 year old has now been dieting and exercising for the past 8 weeks. Sticking to his diet and performing his water aerobic fitness and health exercise program, the results are becoming obvious. He has much more stamina, says he feels so much better in himself, he now looks forward to his water aerobic exercise program every second day and the best part is that he has also lost 15 pounds. He will see his doctor in another 4 weeks and will be checked again in relation to his pre-diabetic condition.

If you think water aerobics can help you with a fitness and health exercise program, please contact your local aquatic centre or municipality office to find out where you could join a water aerobics exercise class. Please remember it is important to seek medical advice if you have not done any exercise for a long period of time or you have an underlying health issue. Your doctor will be able to guide you in this matter.

To find out more about water aerobics and the fitness and health benefits to you, go to Fitness and Health Ideas. Don't put off taking action if you believe this type of low impact fitness and health exercise will benefit you. YOU MUST START RIGHT NOW. The exercise will greatly increase your fitness and health plus your physical and mental well being will be better for it.
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Fitness and Health Ideas

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