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Hydro Power Class
Does your workout routine have you drowning in boredom? If you need a change of pace, moving your workout to the water may rekindle your enthusiasm, while at the same time providing some unique health benefits.
You might think you could not possibly get as intense of a workout in water, but research suggests otherwise. Due to the resistance of the water, it just seems like you can't work as hard, but in reality you are.
The water acts as a form of built-in resistance, as if you've surrounded your body with weights, making it simple to increase the intensity of your workout and challenge muscles that are harder to engage on land.
Also, because water lessens the effects of gravity, you're able to move your body through a wider range of motion, which improves flexibility. Even your lungs get a beneficial workout, because the water pressure makes them work harder than they would on land.
Because it's low-impact and easily tailored to your fitness level, anyone can benefit from water exercise, regardless of age or agility.
If you're overweight or obese, elderly, have arthritis, joint pain , osteoporosis, or an injury that makes weight-bearing exercise difficult or painful, water may be an excellent choice. Swimming or walking in water reduces the pressure on your back and knees. According to Kathy Stevens of WebMD
"To appreciate why water training works so well, you need to understand water's unique properties. In water, you have almost no gravity. You're relieved of 90 percent of your body weight, so you become buoyant. This frees you to move in new ways.
You can float, bob and relax without feeling like you're putting out an effort. Yet water provides 12 to 14 percent more resistance than air, so moving through it is like having weights all around your body."
A 2012 study presented at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress found that exercisers who used a submersible ergocycle (an exercise bike in a pool) had fitness benefits equivalent to those using a typical stationary bike, as measured by maximum oxygen consumption.
Dr. Martin Juneau, director of prevention at the Montreal Heart Institute, said water exercise might be even more efficient from a cardiorespiratory standpoint, because your heart rate stays a little lower in the water. Dr. Juneau explains:4
"You pump more blood for each beat, so don't need as many heartbeats, because the pressure of the water on your legs and lower body makes the blood return more effectively to the heart. That's interesting data that hasn't been studied thoroughly before."
According to the American Council on Exercise, during a water workout your heart rate will be reduced by as much as 17 beats per minute compared to a land workout, so be sure to keep this in mind if you use your heart rate to gauge your intensity.
You'll need to listen to your body—as opposed to relying solely on your heart rate—to know when you've had enough.
Other studies about water exercise have been equally favorable. For example, high-intensity deep-water training improved aerobic capacity in a group of 29 healthy elderly women, In another study, swimmers were found to have about half the risk of death of inactive people.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists several other studies that found water exercise to be beneficial for people with chronic illnesses, disabilities, and psychological disorders.