Exercising in the water can be beneficial especially for people with injuries, disabilities, or other issues, which prevent them from enjoying regular exercise. Finding a location and an affordable option can be difficult though, especially in some areas. Since there isn't much offered near me, I'm going to try going to the lake (free) and doing my own thing. I think I'm also going to check out some classes when I'm in the city at least a couple of times. Once I learn the exercises, I can continue to do them on my own. What do you think? Do you have aqua therapy or water aerobics or water yoga or anything like this available in your area? Is it affordable, or would you be better off on your own?
I don't know if aqua therapy, water aerobics or water yoga are available in my area. I have watched water aerobics on TV, however, I don't know about aqua therapy and water yoga. By the way swimming is the best exercise. Swimming burns more calories than jogging or cycling.
I am SO totally sold on water exercises ! Since I am almost 72, it is hard for me to do regular exercises for long enough for them to be useful; but in the water, I do not wear out as fast, and it exercises my muscles without putting a strain on my bones and joints. My Medicare Advantage plan includes a membership to the local fitness center, so we go there every other day. My husband works out with the exercise gym equipment, and I do water exercises and swim. We also got a small back yard swimming pool when Walmart had their halfprice sale, and during the summer, we are out in the pool every day, too. If you look on Youtube for water exercises, there are all kinds of tutorial videos on there of both aerobic exercises, and specialty exercises for toning and strengthening certain areas, such as knees or back. I would definitely recommend doing water exercises, even if you do not know how to swim, you can do most of the exercises anyway.
Thanks for that @Happyflowerlady. I don't know why I didn't think of looking up tutorials online for this, since I have done so for other exercises. Great idea, and the best part is that it's free. I will have a look for sure. I think I'll still check out a couple of classes, just to get a "feel" for it too. Then, between that and some videos, I should be able to come up with a routine that will suit me. My back is in.. precarious shape though. I have to be careful. The water kind of braces me and keeps me from getting hurt while I get some exercise. I do know how to swim, and I also love it. I'd go every day if I could. There just isn't any place nearby that I can go. Most of the places that do have offerings are an hour away and too expensive. The closest fitness center doesn't even have a pool, which is just lame.
What we did, which is good at least for the summertime, was buy a backyard above-ground swimming pool, like the Intex ones. We got it when Walmart was having a closeout; so it was about half price, and it has been a great investment. Not only can we do limited swimming in there, I can do almost all of the water exercises that I do at the pool at the fitness center. It will last us for many years; so it has actually been an investment into our health, as much as something that we also really enjoy. When I started, I was barely able to get in and out of the pool at the fitness center, and could only swim limited amounts, and then rest between each lap. Now, I easily swim and do water exercises tailored to what I need worked on, as well as overall fitness. I watched a fitness video about a product called "Body Oars", which uses something similar to swim fins on the arms and legs to help develop strength, and I have now added a set of swim fins to my exercise routine. I use them for my leg exercises, and also on my arms to create more resistance when doing the "robot walk" .
Oh, wow, Body Oars sound like they would be great. I'll have to look into them further later on (after I work my way up a bit). I took a peek just to see what they are like. I'll be watching for sales or deals on these, for sure. Thanks for the tip. Maybe Santa will bring me some. I'd love to have a pool, but we currently rent. Not to mention, our yard isn't fenced, (we have woods on 3 sides) and it's a requirement here, I believe. I'm glad you got a great deal on your pool and are enjoying it. I love those after season sales.
We just rent, too; but we do have a fenced in yard. However, I do not think that you have to have the small backyard pools fenced in like you would an inground pool where small children can accidently fall in. I think you would have to check your local regulations on that. I am pretty sure that the body oars are expensive, but they have some informative videos on water exercises. After watching the equipment in use, I decided that a set of cheap swim fins would do about the same thing, and much cheaper. So far, they are working fine, and I can feel the extra use of my muscles when I am wearing them for leg kicks and on my arms, too. If you decide to get swim fins, be sure to get the shorter training fins, they are much better for exercise than the really long ones are, which are made for swimming and snorkeling.
Well I happen to live about as far away from a natural body of water as is humanly possible, so that is certainly a little frustrating. I love swimming and being in the water, and I definitely recognize the role that it could play in my workouts and living a healthier lifestyle in general. I try to swim as much as possible, but I should look more into these other forms of exercise and activities to really get the whole package of benefits.
Good idea. I didn't look at the price yet, so yeah, I'm going to guess that they are cost prohibitive. Fins on the other hand would be great. I bet I can find some on sale this time of year too. The post summer sales are still going on here, so it's the perfect time for me to shop around for some swim fins. Thanks! I had my first water aerobics class today, and I really liked it. It looks like they are going to have a better schedule for it soon, so it might be worth my while to get a membership to the place instead of doing the pay as you go thing. That would have started to add up, but I can get a discounted price if I do a membership. I think it's going to work out nicely.
I've always found that running or really hard cardio was really hard on my joints because of my weight. I swim and do water aerobics to help maintain fight my weight. Swimming can help get you in as much shape as jogging. But I do find that I have t add to my weight training to get the full effect. It's also slower to lose weight because the water helps support you so you're not working as hard. Once you learn a routine though, you can do it anywhere so long as you have the right equipment. I usually do it in my apartment's pool.
I'm sure that's true, but it's what I need to keep from further injuring my back. I appreciate the advice though. Nice. I would love to have a nearby option. The water aerobics class I'm taking also has an advanced portion (the second half of the hour). They use weights and other pool equipment for that part. For my first time, I just did the easier stuff and just kept moving during the advanced portion. I plan to work my way up to that, hopefully. I'll be on the look out for sales on some water workout gear, and this is probably the best time of year to find the good deals.
I've known about aqua aerobics for a while now, but have yet to experience it. I've always been interested in it, but have never actually been able to spare the money to join a class. Where I used to live in England, there was a class offered at all the posh AND very pricey gyms, which I couldn't afford to join. Now I have a gym near me that offers affordable aqua aerobics, but even still, I don't have the money to spare. I'm keen to join a Zumba class or the aqua aerobics as soon as I can spare the money because I know a few people who are seeing some amazing results from both!
I have been using the water weights as part of my workout program, and I really like them. At first, it was hard for me to push the weights underwater; but as I continued doing that exercise, I became stronger, and now can do a lot more of them each time than when I first started. Actually, I do not think that it is necessarily slower to lose weight working out in water. While it is true, that the water supports you, you are still working the muscles, and also have resistance when you are moving through the water. It does put less stress on your body, which is good when you are trying to recover from an injury, or just have decreased mobility for some reason. Because of my heart failure, breathing is hard for me, and doing regular exercise can wear me out in just a few minutes, so the treadmill, and other similar exercises do not work well for me. I just can't do them long enough for them to help. But in the water, I am exercising the muscles, while still not breathing hard, like you do in a workout; so for me it is the perfect answer. We have a membership at the fitness center, and we go every other day.
Water excercises are great ways to stay in shape without hurting your joints. Running can really take a tole on a persons body. It is not for everybody especially if you aren't in the best shape. A great alternative would be water aerobics. It is a great and safe way to get a good workout.
My water therapy is limited to swimming and consuming about 1-2 liter of water (depending on weather conditions) first thing in the morning for years. I drink lukewarm water during winter season and normal water in summers. i add lime juice in summers and a pinch of salt that makes it easy to consume 2 lit of water during summers.
I do love to swim and being in the water is most likely one of my favorite routine each week. There's a swimming pool near our place that's why we can go swimming anytime we want. I haven't heard of Aqua Therapy yet, however I'm aware of Water Aerobics though I haven't tried it yet. I just do swimming on my own and I definitely enjoy it It is actually one of my way of exercising because it is really good for your muscles and it can help you to stay fit as well
As long as you have some place where you can swim, you can pretty much design your own water therapy exercises. Since I have arthritis in my knees, that is an area that I focus on. What I did was to look up on Youtube for knee exercises that you can do in water, and then started doing those. So, this would work for whatever part of your body that you want to tone and strengthen, you just look for youtube videos that show the best water/pool exercises for that area of your body. We go to the fitness center every other day, and in the summer, when it was warmer, we had a small backyard pool set up where i could do my exercises. Water exercise is a great way to strengthen and tone your body without the stress of regular exercise.
Aquatic therapy is not a common treatment around the world. But its getting familiar among the physiotherapist day by day. Awareness need to be raised more. Infrastructure, expertise and investments are areas of concern in aquatic therapy. Internationally Aquatic Physicaltherapy International (APTI) affiliated to WCPT coordinate the aquatic network groups and organizations based on evidence based practice. Please visit the link below for more details of groups and institutions internationally.
