According to the American College of Sports Medicine, the fastest growing exercise population in the country is 55 and older and in ten years the fastest growing exercise group will be 85 and older. Nearly 40 % (39.5) of middle-aged adults, defined as 40-55, are classified as obese and that an additional 29.1 % of adults were classified as overweight* That is over two-thirds of the adult population of the United States and 40% of the group currently defined as the fastest growing exercise population, not just overweight, obese. The 60 and up group are not far behind, 35.4% are obese.

Aquatic Exercise
I am not going to get into all the medical considerations and health care costs, I want to talk about something much nearer and dearer to my heart, aquatics, as in why are we still, as a colleague of mine so elegantly put it, still the bastard stepchild of the exercise world. There are major certifying organizations that don’t even offer an aqua track at their conferences. We are taking a deconditioned population, many with medical issues that require active management and slotting them into personal training, cardio classes, group weight lifting, etc. all in the name of improving our participants overall health.

Why Aquatic Exercise?

WHY are we recommending aqua exercise instead? Six weeks after our middle aged/senior clients have dropped out of the land based program because they are sore, or it’s too hard or whatever. Don’t get me wrong, I love the diversity of exercise modalities available to us today, both for ourselves and our clients, but we should be putting them in the pool! All of the exercise modalities that are available on land are available in the water, with much less risk to our participants and proven strength, cardiac, pulmonary and balance building benefits. If elite athletics rehab in the pool,** why not our at-risk clients?

Benefits of Pool Exercises Over Land Exercises

We know that water exercise is easier on the joints than exercise on land, a crucial consideration for our overweight clients. It provides 800 times the resistance of air, provides similar strength benefits*** superior pulmonary benefits**** and is excellent cardiovascular exercise. The pool is the single most expensive piece of exercise equipment in any club or assisted living facility and one of the safest. Let’s face it if you fall in the pool, your hair gets wet; it is highly unlikely you will injure yourself, a very real consideration in land-based classes.

Pushing Aquatic Exercise into the Forefront

There is a wealth of aquatic programming available from Poolates® to Water in Motion® to Hydro YoChi® to AcquaPole®, yet when deconditioned clients present themselves to a club to “lose weight and get in shape” they are not being offered aquatics as a viable path to fitness, even when it is available. How do we change this? This is not a rhetorical question. We know that aquatic exercise is the best bet for many of our clients and should be the exercise of choice. How do we push aquatics to the forefront of the exercise industry? Shoot any ideas over to the Poolates® Facebook page. I am looking forward to hearing from all of you!

*Ogden CL. Carrol MD, Kit BK Flegal KM Prevealence of Obesity among Adults United States 2011-2012 NCHS Data brief 131 2013

** Experience Life

*** Len Kravitz Ph.D. JJ Mayo Ph.D. Physiological Effects of Aquatic Exercise

**** Andrea Salzman PT MS

Aquatic Exercise pool imageUsing water for rehabilitative purposes can be extremely beneficial after suffering from an injury. It can take away all the negative and painful aspects of exercising on dry land. The buoyancy of water helps you exercise and rehabilitate without putting your body through strain. Using water for rehabilitation and exercise gives you the ability to maintain fitness levels and helps you recover from a past injury. You should always consult your doctor before starting any rehabilitation exercises.
Walking

Doing something as simple as walking in water, chest high
Doing something as simple as walking in water, chest high, can help you maintain fitness levels without putting your body through strenuous exercise. Doing so while injured is also ideal to get back into shape after your injury. Walking in water can be helped to treat different spine injuries as well as arthritis. You can also try to walk forwards and backwards for conditioning without putting stress on your joints. If you really want to challenge your body, you can try using weight and even swinging your arms as you walk. The ideal amount of time to spend on this exercise daily is between 20 to 30 minutes.
Shoulder Flexion and Abduction

To help build range of motion in your shoulders

To help build range of motion in your shoulders, you can perform several arm reaches. To do this, have the water reach shoulder level. Then, for flexion, lift your arm out of the water as high as you can, after reaching the top of your range, bring your arms back slowly into the water and repeat. One set should comprise of 10 repetitions. After, for abduction, put your arms to your sides and raise your arms up slowly, having your palms down and away from the body. Bring your arms up to shoulder level, then lower your arms and repeat. This exercise is also ten repetitions for one set.
Leg Raises

Leg raises can help you strengthen muscles in your lower back

Leg raises can help you strengthen muscles in your lower back, hips, and your legs. You should perform this exercise by grasping the side of the pool. To perform this exercise on your right leg, stand in the pool with your left side facing the wall in the pool. After getting into position, use your left hand and hold that side of the pool. When doing this, you should bend your knees slightly. When in position, slowly star swinging your right leg to the side. Once it is at the side, hold it there for a few moments. Lower your leg and then repeat the process. One set is comprised of ten repetitions. Do the same with your other leg.
Superman.

The superman exercise

The superman exercise helps to stretch out your back and shoulder muscles. To begin this exercise, get into the water and make sure it is chest deep. Grasp the side of the pool with both of your hands. Make sure that your feet are planted to the bottom of the pool. After, push your feet from the bottom of the pool slowly. Your body should now be floating on the water. Now, try extending your arms so that the elbows are straightened out. Make sure your legs are also extended. As the name of the exercise indicates, you should resemble Superman at this point. Hold the pose for ten to twenty seconds. After holding the pose, bring yourself back to the original position. One set consists of five repetitions.