How to do water aerobics
One thing that more and more people are finding out about is that water aerobics is a great workout for just about anybody. The reason for this is that the exercises that are performed on land are even harder to do in the water because of the fact that water is denser than air, which gives you quite a bit of resistance when performing water aerobics. The more resistance that you get the harder the aerobics workout is going to be. When it comes to water aerobics you have two choices you can sign up for a class or you can do your own aerobics in your pool.
Difficulty rating: easy to difficult
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Step one:
The first thing that you are going to need to do is to have access to a swimming pool, either private or public. But keep in mind that public pools are going to be filled with kids during the summer so it might be better to sign up for a class.
Step two:
If you are going to be using a private pool the next thing that you are going to need to do is to find somebody to do water aerobics with you. It is always better to have a workout partner because you never know when you might need help in the water, even if you are an experienced swimmer.
Step three:
Once you have gotten a pool and perhaps a workout partner you are going to need to buy a swimsuit and protective water shoes, the bottom of the pool can get rather hard on your feet.
Step four:
Now you can either create your own water aerobics workout or you can purchase a DVD or video to get a water aerobics routine. If you are planning your own workout you are going to need to learn how to plan your own aerobic workout.
Step five:
Now you are going to need to get in the pool to begin your workout. Keep in mind that you are going to want to start off in the shallower end of the pool and gradually work up to the deeper levels. Once you get into the deeper levels you will need to buy some more equipment to help aid you in your workout.
Step six:
You will first need to begin with about 10 minutes of warm up exercises and then slowly start to increase the intensity until you have achieved your target heart rate.
Step seven:
Once you have achieved your target heart rate you are going to want to maintain it for about 30 minutes, so this part of the exercise should take about 45 minutes total.
Step eight:
After your workout you are going to want to spend another 10 minutes cooling down.
Other tips:
- Two of the most important factors that determine the level of intensity for water aerobics is buoyancy and drag. Drag is the resistance that you feel when you are moving through the water, which occurs because water is denser than air. And buoyancy is the upward force from the water that is exerted on your body. The deeper the water the more buoyancy you will have.
- Another thing that you need to consider when doing water aerobics is lever length. This is the length of your arms and legs while doing an exercise and how it will determine the degree of difficulty you experience. Basically if you increase your lever length you will increase the difficulty, etc.
- Not only lever length but lever direction will also help to determine the difficulty of the exercise. What you want to do to maximize your workout is to move your arms and legs in opposite directions.
