Aqua Aerobics
This aqua class ticks all the boxes for a health-giving workout. There is always a cuppa’ afterwards.
Move the body – have fun.
As well, the water is kind to our bodies. We can exert ourselves, quite safely. This means that those with pain can move freely. Especially back pain and knee pain. In the water, we get that health-giving movement without the risk of injury.
The Benefits of an Aqua Class
Accessible to every body, no matter their fitness level.
Relieves pain
Participants move more gracefully
Weightlessness
Strength
Better sleep
Straighten up. Participants’ posture improves
Feel younger
Cool exercise on a hot day
Reduces stress
Increases cardio vascular fitness – our huff and puff capacity
Most of all, have fun.
Range of Motion
Water Works Where It Hurts
As we age, we become stiffer in our joints. It is harder to move. Yet movement becomes difficult. This is the vicious circle. The more it hurts, the less we feel like moving, but the less we move, the stiffer and sorer we get. The water workout allows our joints to move through their range of motion. It is lifegiving. The Arthritis authorities say, “if you don’t use it, you lose it”. I say “if you do use it, you get it back”
There is also an element of prevention
At the end of the range of motion of our joints is where we are weakest. So, to be able to strengthen through the entire range of motion may protect against injury. To have integrity in our joints is the safeguard against frailty.
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How deep?
The more of you body that is immersed in the water, the less you weigh: - water up to your waist means you weigh 50 percent of your “land” weight. Stand in neck-deep water and you weigh only 10 percent of what you weigh.
There is room in the pool for those who need a deep-water class, where the feet don’t touch the bottom of the pool, at all. This means that those who cannot take the impact of touching the bottom of the pool, can have a spot in the deepest part of the pool. There are options. Participants can use a deep-water belt, or a water noodle.
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High Intensity Interval Training H.I.I.T.– 8 seconds fast, 12 seconds slow.
I have been including H.I.I.T. in my classes for around 20 years now for a number of reasons. It is the fountain of youth. It rejuvenates us at a cellular level, increasing the quality and number of our mitochondria. It feels fantastic to exert ourselves safely. In the water classes, it means that all participants, every body, can experience the benefits of H.I.I.T – even those with joint issues Whereas, it might be almost impossible to say, sprint knees high for eight seconds on the land. It is no problem in the pool. As well, those who are quite fit can reach their workout goals, by going “flat out” in the H.I.I.T.