If the term “water fitness” makes you think of old ladies in bathing caps, think again. From Olympic athletes to high school students, people are reaping big benefits by diving in to water workouts.
Changing Perspective
There’s a reason that a national effort is underway to attract a younger demographic to aquatic activities: they have great benefits.
"We are seeing a trend toward higher intensity training programs that entice the younger market into the pool," says Angie Proctor, executive director of the Aquatic Exercise Association. She cites increases in the number and types of deep-water cardio and strength training classes that facilities offer, as well as aquatic adaptations of popular land activities like kickboxing, Zumba, and Pilates.
Between 2004 and 2009, the average age of aquatic exercise participants dropped from 57 to 45, according to AEA data.1 Says Proctor, "I'd really like to see that hit 30."
At the Midland Community Center Aquatics Director Beth Smith-Gaertner echoes Proctor’s sentiments.
“Water fitness is certainly great for seniors or people recovering from injuries. They benefit from better joint health, range of motion, weightlessness, etc. But athletes and younger people can get a high intensity cross-training option in the water too. I don’t think people realize what tremendous benefits there are to water exercise.”
Benefits to Deep Water Training
The buoyancy of water can reduce your weight by as much as 90 percent, according to the American Council on Exercise. This means that stress on weight-bearing bones, joints and muscles is reduced, resulting in fewer injuries or sore muscles. Deep-water workouts can provide plenty of benefits, encompassing cardiovascular fitness, increased flexibility and muscular strength training to reduce body fat. 2
“I take Aqua Zumba three times and Stretch and Tone two times every week,” says MCC member Sharon Morris. “Class is a life saver for me. My joints function better, I stopped physical therapy, and I can ride my bike again. My core strength has improved a great deal as well.
Morris adds, with more than a glint of humor, “I look down now and I can see my feet. And my knees. And my thighs. I’m walking taller, let me tell you.”
Additional benefits to deep water training include enhanced cardiovascular efficiency, increased blood circulation, stronger respiration muscles, lowered blood pressure, reduced stress, improved kidney functions and reduced joint stress or pain.
Meet Bruce Becker.
As a physician and research professor at Washington State University, Becker has devoted his career to the study of rehabilitation medicine - focusing on the mechanics of recovery and healing. While working with an exercise physiologist in the 1980s, Becker was amazed by the recovery rates of athletes doing water exercise as well as the amount of activity they could endure without injury.
In his article, “Waters”, published by Aquatics International, Becker references his work with Olympic athletes.
“In my experiences…a frequent comment was how much the aquatic workouts had added to their overall feeling of fitness. …What they were noticing was…significantly improved respiratory efficiency, so during a land based workout they didn’t feel so winded.”3
Get into the swim.
For those interested in testing the waters of aqua fitness and its inherent benefits, Beth Smith-Gaertner welcomes you to try the MCC. For more information on class times, visit mymcc.org.
