Water Aerobics

Fitness tops the list of New Year's resolutions. According to people who keep track of such things, "health and fitness" is the most popular category of New Year's resolutions, with approximately 22 percent of people having it at the top of their lists.

Exercise is recommended for lots of reasons: to lose weight; to prevent weight gain; to gain muscle; to improve balance and coordination; to reduce stress and improve mood; to lower insulin levels; to lower blood pressure and triglycerides; and even to sleep better.

Raising endorphins is another good reason to exercise. Stress causes the endorphin system to suffer. Scientists have discovered that regular exercise stimulate the endorphin to work more effectively. I am sure lots of people have stressful lives and need their endorphins balanced; I am a stay at home mom, and I know I need my endorphin level to increase.

It's also hard to know what type of exercise is actually going to be beneficial. Should you get up and jog every morning? Get a DVD and follow along with an exercise program at home? Tae bo? Kick boxing? Richard Simmons? Join a gym? How about a walking club? Should you lift weights? Swimming is good and burns lots of calories, right?

You may have seen water aerobics advertised at your local gym, YMCA, or municipal swimming pool. It is easy to down play the benefits of water aerobics and think they are beneficial to people with injuries, or maybe seniors. Because it looks like you are just splashing and playing around in the water, it is hard to think of water aerobics as serious exercise.

But let's take a closer look at this exercise program called water aerobics. Basically, aerobics is any exercise that increases a body's heart rate long enough to benefit the body. Walking, swimming, jogging, and dancing are all forms of aerobic exercise. Water aerobics allows a person to get the same benefits as these other type of aerobic activity, but with some advantages.

Water aerobics can conform to almost any individual needs, abilities or restrictions. You can adjust the size and speed of your movements to change the level of exertion that best fits your needs. Water aerobics allows every joint and muscle to be used at the same time. Water aerobics can be done no matter what your age, weight or physical fitness level is because water keeps the body buoyant and therefore does not unduly stress the joints and muscles. When doing water aerobics, it is the water, not your legs, that supports your weight. This fact does make water aerobics or other types of water exercise wonderful for people who have suffered orthopedic injuries. Water aerobics is a great exercise for senior citizens, including those with more brittle bones.

But if you are not injured and not a senior citizen, don't think this form of exercise is not for you! If you haven't exercised in awhile, water aerobics is a great way to get started again. It is hard to feel too stressed and out of sorts while splashing in the water during a water aerobics class. And one of my favorite things about water aerobics is the wide range of fitness levels to be found in one class: from people who use water aerobics as social hour while sitting in the water to the over achiever who holds the heaviest weights and always adds jogging in place to arm curls.

Usually a water aerobics session is about 45 minutes long. The session includes warming up, stretching, and cooling down along with rhythmic dance movements, and arm and leg exercises. Compared to aerobic exercises done on dry land, water aerobics can lead to using 450 to 700 calories per hour. Water aerobics are most effective when carried out in chest deep water.

And since I don't swim, I was glad to find that you don't need to swim at all to do water aerobics. Some people use flotation devices like noodles, flotation belts and flotation water weights to carry out the exercises without worrying about their balance or staying afloat. You can choose to do stretching exercises while holding on to the edge of the pool. Doing exercises in water increases your flexibility, muscular endurance and cardiovascular fitness.

It is best if water aerobics are conducted at an indoor pool where the air and water temperature can be controlled for safety. Since indoor pools are heavily chlorinated , you will want to shower as soon as possible afterwards and use moisturizing lotion. For those with blond or lighter-colored hair, you may want to look into a special shampoo to use after your water aerobics class. For safety reasons, you may also want to get a pair of appropriate water shoes to wear in the pool. You will be surprised at how much energy you are expending. Since you are in water, you will not be sweating as much during water aerobics, but you will want to keep a drink nearby, since your body is still capable of being dehydrated.

These are all great reasons, in my opinion, to try a water aerobics class. But what I have found are some added bonuses: it is very relaxing to spend time in the water; and being in the water brings out a playful side as well. If exercising was on your to-do list for the New Year's, I encourage you to try some water aerobics!