Aquatic exercise is frequently used by certified personal trainers and rehabilitation centers to improve the strength and cardiovascular health of elderly patients suffering from any sort of joint or bone debilitating disease, such as arthritis or osteoporosis. Water-resistance aerobic exercise equipment provides an alternative for elderly people who may find it uncomfortable to exercise on a treadmill or to lift weights. Equipment like aqua weights, resistance bands and aqua treadmills are low-impact tools used to improve your health.
Joint Health
The buoyancy of water results in up to a 90 percent reduction in body weight, according to Len Kravitz, PhD, and J.J. Mayo, PhD, of the University of New Mexico. Because less stress is applied to the joints, exercise is more comfortable and less damaging on these sensitive areas of the body. Weight-bearing exercise, such as the resistance provided by water, can improve joint health and help reduce the risk of osteoporosis, especially in elderly women.
Muscle
A 2009 Japanese study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology compared the effects of aquatic exercise using water-resistant equipment and not using any equipment. The elderly participants that used the resistance equipment for 90-minute sessions three days per week experienced a greater increase in strength. The effects of this increased strength lead to improved balance, walking ability and reduced risk of falls.
Cardiovascular
Aquatic exercise does increase your heart rate but not as well as exercising at a similar intensity on land, according to the University of New Mexico. Factors affecting your heart rate in the water include the depth of the water, temperature and intensity of the exercise. Exercising at about 70 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate in the water will result in increased cardiovascular health, say Kravitz and Mayo. The fact that your heart rate does not increase at the same rate as land-based exercise can actually be beneficial to elderly individuals with heart disease or other cardiovascular problems.
Types
Simply walking in water not only leads to slight increases in heart rate but also helps improve flexibility in joints and overall muscle function. According to the University of New Mexico, the density of water is 800 times greater than the density of air, so just moving your body in the water provides a low-impact, effective form of resistance training. This also lets elderly people burn calories with less strain on his or her body compared to land-based training.
Member Comments