There are so many health benefits from taking part in water aerobics and swimming. They can be effective strategies for improving cardio fitness, building strength, boosting your mood, easing joint pain, sleeping better and reducing your risk for diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer.
Gentler on your joints
In the water, your body becomes buoyant. Your joints specifically experience less impact which makes the water a favourable environment for anyone with arthritis or joint injuries. Exercises like squats, for example, are more doable in water rather than being aggravating to arthritic knees when done on land. Movements performed in the water are slowed down by the resistance of the water which also are less likely to aggravate injuries.
Combo workout: Cardio plus strength
Even when you’re doing cardio exercises in the water, you’re working against more resistance than if you were on land. Because of the resistance factor, water exercise provides a double-duty workout – cardio and strength training. Many studies have found increases in lean body mass in people taking part in an aqua exercise program.
Burn more calories
The resistance supplied by the water means that you will burn more calories than you would by doing land exercises.
Work more muscles
You’re working against gravity when you do strength training on land. If you’re doing a biceps curl, your biceps will contract as you bend your arm to lift a dumbbell. It will continue to contract as you lower the weight. The opposing muscle, the triceps, lengthens and shortens, but it doesn’t work against any resistance. The biceps does all the work. In the water, resistance comes into play and provides more of a challenge to the opposing muscle.
Interested in adapting your land routine to the water? Give us a call and make an appointment!