7 Reasons to aquafit your way to better health

More than simply a place to swim laps or take the grandkids for a paddle, your local swimming pool could actually be the key to better health. Safe, low impact and surprisingly effective, aqua aerobics have made a serious splash when it comes to fitness for seniors.

So what could aquafit do for your body? Here are five reasons why aquafit has us dashing to grab our togs, and hit the pool.

Low impact fitness

Everyone knows that a good cardio workout can do wonders for the body. But along with the benefits of burning calories is a whole lot of high impact stress on your muscles and joints. This can cause soreness, swelling, fractures and long-term injuries. And let’s face it when you’re 50+ it’s all too easy to do a little damage. But in a water environment, the high impact factor is cancelled out. This means you can still reap all the benefits of an intense workout, without putting too much strain on your body.

Buoyancy

Thanks to buoyancy, aqua fitness virtually eliminates the effects of gravity during your workout. Basically, water supports 90% of your weight, which means that it’s much easier to move your body. If you’re overweight, lack physical strength or find exercise painful on your joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments, an aqua workout could be just what the physio ordered.

Avoid injury

We’ve already explored low impact fitness, as well as the benefits of buoyancy. Together, these make aquafit a great way to avoid injury when working out. Compared to most land-based exercises, aquafit is amazingly strain free. This makes it a savvy option for seniors who want to stay fit, without putting their bodies at risk of injury. It’s also a gentle way to work out during rehab or rebuild strength after an injury.

Resistance

Water is viscous, which means that it puts up a resistance that’s equal to the force exerted against it. This makes H20 a natural weight training machine that actively burns calories and strengthens your body as you move. Add in specialised aqua fitness equipment like a buoyancy belt or webbed gloves and it can be a bona fide way to tone your muscles.

Healthy for your heart

When it comes to your heart rate, the unique properties of H20 can work wonders. Hydrostatic pressure is distributed evenly to all surfaces of the body, which helps the heart circulate blood. As a result, your heart rate is around 10 to 15 beats lower per minute than what it would be if you were doing the same workout on land. So, if you suffer from heart problems aquafit is a fantastic alternative to intense workouts in the gym or on the track.

Gentle on the joints

If you suffer from pain, stiffness and inflammation in your joints, aqua exercise is one of the most comfortable and effective ways to stay active. You’ll keep your body moving but won’t put any unnecessary stress or pressure on your joints.

Shed the kilos

Last but definitely not least is the fact that aquafit has genuine benefits for adults who are obese or overweight. Often, workouts can be much harder for the bigger guys and gals among us. But with aquafit, water eases the strain on the body, supports your weight, increases resistance and still burns bucket loads of calories.

A couple of other things we love about Aquafit… You don’t have to be a strong swimmer, you get to have a good laugh and it’s a great excuse to splash out on a new pair of bathers.