Free Water Aerobics Exercise Using Water Dumbbells

Water dumbbells are innovative resistance training tools that utilize the natural resistance of water to help build and tone your muscle. The advantage of training in a pool rather than in a gym is that water dumbbells provide constant resistance, whether you are lifting or lowering the weight. Water exercise is also a low-impact alternative to free weights and certain cardio machines, such as treadmills.

Types

Water dumbbells come in various shapes and sizes. Most are made from naturally buoyant foam material, which is what provides the resistance underwater. Some models feature removable foam discs for adjusting the resistance level, which is an important feature as your strength increases and increased resistance is necessary.

Water weights range in price from $10 per set of dumbbells to over $50, as of 2011, and are available at most major swimming accessory stores or major retailers. Some aqua dumbbells come with a free workout DVD.

Exercises

A few of the basic exercise techniques you can use in the water include bicep curls, reverse curls, upright rows, reverse shoulder presses, barbell kick swim and standing twists. Aquatic exercise specialists at WaterGym offer free water aerobic exercise charts and videos to help get you started performing these and other exercises. These exercise routines were created by Susanne Paynovich, the WaterGym creator; she has been teaching water aerobics since the 1980s.

Effectiveness

Exercising in a pool has the effect of reducing your body weight by 90 percent, so it greatly reduces impact on your joints, knees and back. Resistance training exercises in the pool naturally add 12 to 14 times more resistance than the same exercise outside of the water. Adding water dumbbells to the equation further increases the resistance for a more intense workout.

Sample Workout

To do a simple aqua resistance workout using dumbbells, start by warming up to stretch out your muscles and to get your blood flowing -- simple torso twists or jogging in place for about five minutes will suffice. Perform the following three dumbbell movements in this order: lateral raises, chest flies and arm lifts. These will exercise the muscles in your shoulders, chest and core.

Recommendation

Aqua exercise can help anyone looking to stay in shape, especially those with chronic back or joint pain. MayoClinic.com offers a free water-resistance program that you can do with your aqua dumbbells. The training regimen includes water walking, deep-water walking, bicep and tricep curls and weighted swim kicks. You can make slight variations of each exercise to target muscles from slightly different angles, another advantage of exercising in water.