Aquagym is one of the best solutions for training, losing weight and at the same time finding relief from the heat. This discipline consists of performing the exercises you usually do in the gym in the water.
Try water aerobics, or aquafitness, or gymnastics in water: it’s not gentle gymnastics for the elderly, as many believe, on the contrary it tones the muscles, invigorates the heart and lungs and helps to fight stress. Water is the real tool of this activity: the resistance it opposes to every movement is about 12 times greater than that created by the air. Thus, one exercise in the water equals a dozen on land.
Aqua aerobics is a sport that helps you strengthen your muscles, shaping and toning your body, thanks to a series of movements performed with your body free or with the help of some tools. Furthermore, the many advantages of water aerobics make it a sport suitable for practically everyone. Furthermore, in the water you can do many activities, such as the exercise bike in the water and aqua boxing.
Discover the benefits of water aerobics and try our water aerobic circuit to tone up by the sea or in the pool.
Water aerobics: what is it?
It is a sport that takes place in water and which has beneficial effects on the body, helping you to lose weight and fight cellulite.
During an aqua aerobics course, a series of gymnastic exercises to the rhythm of music are carried out, which help to develop muscles and promote joint elasticity.
A physical activity that is inspired by moves belonging to dance, jogging, boxing, judo and aerobics. But all in the water, with many advantages that are lacking in the gym.
To reap the full benefits of water aerobics, you need to train at least three times a week.
On rest days, however, you can supplement your training by following our glute, inner thigh or arm programs. This way you make the most of your work, achieving great results.
Gymnastics in water: muscles worked
It is a complete sport that works all the muscles:
- Abdominal muscles.
- Buttocks.
- Legs.
- Arm.
- Shoulders.
They are solicited more intensely, even if it gives you the impression of working less hard: in fact, by opposing resistance to movements, water forces you to exert yourself more and expend more energy. The advantage is that it also neutralizes gravity, lightening your body weight and making work easier.
Water gymnastics is particularly effective for slimming the lower body: it helps burn excess fat deposits on the buttocks and thighs and, while the exercises tone you up, the draining action of the water massage on the body counteracts cellulite . A real shock therapy for your silhouette.
Benefits of water aerobics
It is a sport suitable for everyone and is also recommended for athletes who are in the rehabilitation phase after an injury.
Water aerobics is the ideal activity for losing weight and toning the silhouette, especially in the summer, when it’s hot and it’s hard to go running.
30 minutes of water gymnastics burn 300 to 500 calories: a fairly high expenditure, due to the fact that the body must maintain thermal equilibrium.
1 – Traumas are limited
Doing physical activity in the water leads to a drastic reduction in the risk of injury. Inside a swimming pool, in fact, you will feel only 10% of your body weight.
This means that the exercises have almost no impact on the joints, limiting the danger of incurring unpleasant trauma.
2 – It is suitable for overweight people and pregnant women
The weightlessness you feel in the water makes this sport suitable for very overweight people and pregnant women. You don’t put stress on your joints, water aerobics ensures that your back and other parts of the body don’t feel the excess weight.
Water helps you to make fluid movements, which extra pounds, out of the water, could make it more complicated.
3 – Develop the body in a harmonious way
In movements in the water you use all the muscles of your body. This discipline, in fact, involves a series of exercises that allow you to develop your body in a uniform way, which will become toned and harmonious.
4 – Fat burning exercises
While exercising, you might feel like you work less, but you don’t. The water resists your movements, forcing you to work harder and expend more energy. This will help you consume more calories: 300 to 500 calories.
5 – Promotes circulation
The movement of the water reactivates blood circulation and helps fight defects caused by poor circulation. Varicose veins, water retention, swelling and heaviness in the legs.
6 – It’s relaxing
Water has a relaxing effect on your mood, instilling a feeling of lightness and serenity.
You can relieve aches, stiffness and stress. A sport, therefore, that is not only good for the body but also for the mind.
7 – Toned buttocks and goodbye to cellulite
Aquagym, as confirmed by our fitness expert Giovanna Lecis, is optimal for slimming the lower body area. It helps burn excess fat deposits on the buttocks and thighs and helps you fight cellulite effectively.
Find out how to fight cellulite.
Furthermore, it combines the draining effect due to the water massage with the toning action obtained with the exercises.
8 – Water aerobics to fight back pain
Do you suffer from back pain? Water aerobics is the sport for you because it tones the muscles without subjecting the back to excessive strain. In water, the load on the spine is reduced: immersed, the body in zero gravity is lifted by 80% of its weight. Result: you protect your back in the water.
So yes to water running exercises which have beneficial effects if you suffer from low back pain.
You can combine water aerobics classes with a physiotherapy programme.
Water aerobics: leg and buttock exercises and aerobic circuit in the water
Acquagym: the lesson for legs and buttocks
The FIN (Italian Swimming Federation) has made an excellent video in which you can see an aquagym lesson to tone up your legs and buttocks. Watch the video and try the exercises in the pool or at the sea!
Aerobic circuit in water
This training circuit in water is suitable for athletes, the elderly and those who are overweight.
Its objective is to:
- Strengthen the heart.
- Tone the muscles of the legs and buttocks.
- Improve endurance, strength, mobility and coordination.
Recommendations to perform the circuit correctly
- Warm Up: Warm up your body by swimming or walking in the water for 15 minutes.
- Breathing: try to control your breathing during the exercises to better oxygenate yourself: inhale before the effort and exhale during the effort by sucking the navel towards the spine.
- Posture: keep your shoulders and back always straight and abs contracted throughout the exercise.
- Movements: perform large movements by opening your fingers to amplify the effort.
- Duration: The workout is based on execution time rather than number of repetitions, so you can easily increase or decrease the intensity. Remember that the faster the movements, the more the resistance of the water increases and therefore the effort. You can also make the exercises easier by moving to shallower water or reducing your range of motion.
- Space: the swimming pool and the sea are public places, so carve out a small space for your training, respecting those around you.
The aerobic circuit in Tipsforwomens water
This water circuit consists of 7 exercises of 1 minute each and must be repeated 3 times in a row.
In between exercises, rest for 30 seconds. To obtain results, the advice is to perform it at least 3 times a week, but if you feel like it, even every day!
This training circuit must be performed in shallow water (up to the chest), both at the sea and in the pool, so it is also suitable for non-swimmers.
If you are afraid of water, you can wear a floating belt.
1 – Brisk walk back and forth
Immerse yourself in the water up to your chest and walk forward, on your toes, helping yourself with your arms to give more propulsion to the walk.
The strides must be wide. Step back, using your hands spread like fins to speed up the movement.
Lean your torso back slightly.
To be repeated for 60 seconds, alternating forward and backward walking.
2 – Running back and forth
Run forward by swinging your arms and bringing your knees towards your chest. The bust must remain straight and the stomach in.
Come back bringing your heels to your buttocks.
To be repeated for 60 seconds, alternating forward and backward walking.
3 – Jump on one leg
Standing, lift your bent left leg and jump straight up for 30 seconds.
Lift your right leg and do jumps on your left leg for another 30 seconds.
Keep your torso straight and your belly tucked in.
4 – Leap of the frog
Standing in place, perform an upward jump, belly in, arms deflecting the water.
Come back down and do another jump, opening your legs, bringing your knees up and keeping your torso straight.
Repeat the exercise for 60 seconds, alternating between the two types of jumps.
5 – Flying kick
Standing in place, kick forward with the semi-extended left leg, keeping the back straight and pushing the water down with the arms to balance the weight.
Bring the leg back to the ground and pushing on the legs, perform a jump bringing the right leg stretched forward and the left leg bent in…
