Warmer temperatures welcome summer fitness programs and aquatic sports to our fitness routines. If you are looking for summer time fitness fun, aquatic fitness classes can help you burn calories, tone up, and stay cool. Certified personal training courses, such as water aerobics and aquatic fitness, provide the professional certifications you need to become a group fitness instructor specializing in water sports and fitness. Health and wellness coach programs will often include aquatic fitness because it can be enjoyed by all ages and fitness levels. Individuals who may be recovering from a sports injury and need special modifications, like rehab quad exercises or rehab knee exercises, are able to work out safely while being in a pool. Here are some popular summer aquatic fitness exercises to try:
- Walking lunges. Walking lunges can be difficult for those who have weak knees or misaligned hip joints. Performing walking lunges in the pool can help give you the same benefit as lunges provide, without the pressure or stress to the hip, knee, and ankle joints. The deeper the water, the more resistance you will have. For an extra challenge, move out of the shallow waist deep water and move to the deep chest deep water.
- Jumping. Plyometric moves, such as jumping, improve cardiovascular fitness, endurance, and stamina. High impact exercises also burn the greatest number of calories and can help speed up your metabolism as well. Being in the water displaces your weight and turns this high impact exercise into a low impact favorite.
- Under Water Running. Under water running is excellent for improving hip flexor health and can make you a stronger and more powerful runner without increasing your risk of injury. Under water running is also a smart choice for distance runners who train with high mileage each week. Doing a large portion of your training under water helps limit the impact your joints take from pounding the sidewalk each day.
- Weight lifting. Water weights can be used for resistance training in the water. The water itself and gravity helps create natural resistance that can be used with water weights for a low impact full body workout that tones you from head to toe.
Aquatic fitness can be personalized to help you meet your individual fitness goals. Fitness software programs can be used to help you create you training plan and track progress. If you are looking for a fun summer activity that builds personal fitness, try aquatic fitness for a full body workout and summer fun!
