Ten Benefits of Water Workouts

Whether you have hit a plateau in the current workout program you are following or the weather outside has put a hold on your fitness program or you are looking for an effective workout program, water workouts can benefit you immensely. Water workouts offer several benefits over workouts on land. Following are the ten benefits of water workouts.

1. Everyone who pursues a fitness program wants to increase muscle and body strength. With the help of water resistance to movement inside it you can enhance your endurance and muscle strength by doing specific exercises in the water. For help in building stronger body and muscle you can increase the water resistance by using exercise tools such as balls, noodles, barbells and bands.

2. Most people workout because they want to lose weight. In most cases working out inside the water helps you to lose double the amount of calories burnt during a normal workout. This makes water workouts a more efficient form of exercise for burning calories and consequently the weight loss is faster.

3. For good body balance and posture core body strengthening is very important. You can improve your body posture and women can especially reduce the chances of osteoporosis and some other complications that come with aging by doing certain exercises that are designed to improve core body muscle strength. These exercises are easily done by using the water resistance. They also help in training the body to regain balance fast during a fall.

4. As per the American Heart Association the nation's number one killer is still cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular exercises are easier to perform inside water than out of it as they are easy on the joints and muscles. Cardiovascular strengthening is achieved by increasing the duration, resistance and intensity of the workouts in water.

5. Working out in water can improve a person's flexibility and range of movement. The effect of water is to relax the muscles, thus allowing for greater range of movement. Many people have experienced greater flexibility, less fatigue and more energy after working out in water for a few weeks.

6. Water reduces the effect of gravity on the body. This fact can be beneficially used by people suffering from joint and muscle pains to workout in water as it provides a low impact and soothing environment and facilitates ease of movement.

7. Injury is almost non existent during water workouts because of the water's buoyancy. The advantage here is that water massages the bones, joints and muscles while they are being strengthened. The weight of the individual is reduced to almost one tenth inside water and therefore it is a great environment for those suffering from sports injuries, obese people, pregnant women, and those with osteoporosis and arthritis.

8. As the water keeps the body cool the body can perform strongly for longer durations and there is increased circulation in the body providing more oxygen and nutrients to the muscles with less effort from the heart. Water workouts are good for endurance training because they can be done daily without the worry of overtraining.

9. The low impact water environment is conducive to rehabilitation form injuries received from sports, games or falls. The rehabilitation is speeded up and there is faster recovery by strengthening the muscles around the injuries with water workouts designed for this purpose.

10. An added bonus of water workouts is that your body gets a free massage while you are working out. Or you can get a good body message simply by walking within the water. The water pushes gently against your muscles while you move in it, messaging it all the time.