TAKING THE PLUNGE
26 Sep 2016
Young, old or inbetween, water exercise is your body’s best friend. So what activities are pools able to offer?
Total fitness has increasingly become the objective of people from all walks of life. In the past decade, growing numbers of people have taken to cross training, 24-hour gyms, triathlons and a variety of other fitness sports. Unfortunately, the more people bounced, jumped, jogged and pumped, the more frequent the injuries to joints and muscles. This has led to high drop-out rates from these activities. However, people still want to exercise, so fitness programs that eliminate injuries are highly sought after.
Water exercise - also known as aqua aerobics, hydroworx or deep-water workouts - is providing a low/no impact alternative for health and fitness conscious people.
Water exercise is not new. For years doctors and physiotherapists have recommended water exercise for cardiac rehabilitation patients, pregnant women, people with disabilities and those seeking a gentle workout.
More recently, fitness specialists developed water exercise programs that give the generally 'fit' person a workout that can raise heart rates to cardiovascular workout levels. Many AFL, NRL, Ruby, Netball and Track athletes include water exercise as part of their training regimes – a fact that dispels the misconception that water workouts are necessarily gentle.
Is your local facility making the most of the pool?
More and more facilities are offering aquatic based fitness programs for the adventurous fitness member; acquapole, paddle board, high intensity interval training (HITT), aquabootcamp, deep-water running. The market is calling out for variety, effectiveness and innovation.
While all aquatic-based programs may be ‘cool’, the delivery of the classes must be delivered by trained, licensed/registered Aqua Instructors. Don’t be fooled. The best personal trainer may not be the most informed aqua instructor. It is the responsibility of each facility to ensure the instructor is equipped with the knowledge, skill and understanding of the hydrodynamics of water and can provide evidence of Industry Standard qualifications.
For more information regarding the benefits and responsibilities of water exercise visit Austswin www.austswim.com.au