Water aerobics are fun, challenging and low impact. Water makes exercise gentle on your joints, bones and muscles while also providing extra resistance against movement. This is the perfect combination if you have trouble with impact exercises or if you have arthritis or back problems. Water aerobics works your heart, strengthens your muscles and improves your flexibility.
Walking or Running
The reduced impact and added resistance of the water makes simple walking or running in the pool a great activity for water aerobics. You can get your heart rate up quickly and burn calories without the impact to your joints caused by traditional walking or running. For a fun twist that is great for your leg muscles, try running backward.
Jumping Jacks
Jumping jacks get the entire body involved for a great cardio workout. The added water resistance on the legs makes this movement an excellent way to work the adductors and abductors of the hips--important muscles for stabilizing the legs and lower back.
Tuck and Hold
Tuck your knees to your chest, keeping your feet off the pool bottom, while moving your arms to keep yourself suspended in the water. Keep your abdominal muscles tight. The goal here is to try to extend the time you can stay suspended. This is a great core exercise as well as a cardio one.
Water Weights
Water weights are shaped like dumbbells, made of foam and are used to create extra resistance in the water. These are great for transitioning all the usual upper body strength exercises to the pool. Use them for bicep curls, tricep presses, chest flys or presses, reverse flys and shoulder raises. You can also use them to add more resistance to a walk or jog by holding them out in front of you.
Moguls
In this exercise, you pretend you are skiing downhill moguls by hopping side to side with your feet together, tucking your knees toward your chest as you jump.
Toe-Heel Walk
This is an excellent balance exercise. Think about keeping your core tight and standing tall. Walk on an imaginary tightrope, placing one foot directly in front of the other. Try it backward for a different feel.
Kick Variations
Holding onto the side of the pool, facing either away from the side or toward it, you can do many types of kicks to work the abs, glutes, lower back and hips. Try scissor kicks, slow single leg backward kicks, bicycle kicks or side-to-side kicks--to name a few.
Kickboxing
Kickboxing in the pool is great if you are looking for a real cardio challenge in your water aerobics workout. Kickboxing on land is sure to get the heart rate up, but kickboxing in the water adds even more difficulty. It is also a good to strengthen resistance, especially for the core muscles.
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