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First things first: I get it if the thought of water aerobics doesn’t exactly tickle your workout fancy. After all, many people think it’s only for those who are injured or elderly, and it doesn’t have the reputation for being the most fun or exciting way to spend your exercise time. But I’m here to let you know that water aerobics offers legitimate and amazing benefits for anyone–no matter your age or athletic background. In fact, it may be just what you need to bust yourself out of a fitness rut. Hear me out!
I, too, was once a water aerobics skeptic. As a former competitive swimmer and experienced swim coach, I didn’t take water aerobics seriously for decades. When I pictured a water aerobics class, I envisioned people leisurely splashing around in the shallow end of the pool, doing gentle stretches and low-intensity dance moves. Sure, they were moving their bodies but it wasn’t a real workout. That all changed last year when I was hired to teach water aerobics at my local rec center. I went into the job thinking it would be a walk in the park. However, after a month of in-the-pool training, I learned water aerobics can absolutely be intense—I’ve definitely gotten sore and breathless from classes—and that more importantly, it’s a really fun form of fitness with tons of benefits for all types of exercisers. This makes it an awesome choice if you’re bored with your usual workout routine and itching to switch things up. So yes, I’m now a water aerobics convert. Read on for all the information that just may make you one too.
What even is water aerobics?!
Let’s get clear on what water aerobics is. Put simply, it’s any exercise class that’s performed in the water.
Technically speaking, the term water aerobics implies a cardio component, but water aerobics can encompass much more than that—including strength, power, balance, and mobility—so perhaps a better catchall term is “water exercise.” That is how Laurie Denomme, CPT, a kinesiologist and water exercise coach in Florida, refers to her water-based workout classes. In typical classes, you might do moves like jumping jacks, squats, bicep curls, and crunches. These kinds of exercises will look similar to how you’d execute them on land with the obvious major difference being the fact that you’re surrounded by water.
Water exercise classes, also known as aqua classes, can take a lot of different forms and locations: They can take place in the shallow or deep end of a traditional pool or even in a lazy river pool (a smaller, narrower pool where jets simulate a river current). They can cover a range of intensities and workout types. At my rec center in Louisville, Colorado, for example, there are eight different water exercise classes, ranging from a lazy river class focused on core stability and balance to a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) class chock-full of challenging cardio moves and a tai chi class centered on gentle, relaxing movements. I teach the HIIT class, which is great for total-body conditioning, but my favorite class to attend is the lazy river one, since it provides a feel-good mix of gentle balance moves and targeted strength work.
What are the benefits of water exercise classes?
Denomme, who’s been teaching water exercise classes for more than 30 years, is no stranger to the stereotypes that I mentioned above. And, though water aerobics can be a stellar exercise for older people or those who are recovering from injury–in part because it’s a low-impact form of exercise—it is by no means a breeze. After teaching water exercise classes for the last couple months, here are the seven awesome things I’ve learned that can benefit folks of all ages and fitness levels too.
In a water exercise class, the natural resistance of water can help strengthen your muscles. As the American Council on Exercise puts it: “The resistance of water is perfect for a strength-training workout; instead of weights, the water itself provides the resistance.” Indeed, the Mayo Clinic lists boosted muscular strength and endurance as two key benefits of water exercise.
In fact, a recent meta-analysis of 26 studies involving healthy adults published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports concluded that regular water-based exercise had a beneficial impact on strength as well as cardio fitness. And the strength-boosting benefit also held true for people with specific health issues, like bone diseases and coronary artery disease, according to an analysis of 36 studies on adults with chronic disease in the same journal article.
The resistance benefits of water exercise exist regardless of the direction in which you move, Denomme says. So whether you’re jogging in place, stepping out to the side, or kicking your legs diagonally, aqua exercise can be a great way to build strength in all planes of motion. That’s especially important, since most of us spend a lot of time in the sagittal plane, which includes forward and backward motions, like walking, running, and biking. But day-to-day motions like stepping to the side to avoid walking into someone and rotating your torso to put dishes away take place in frontal (side to side) and transverse (diagonal) planes of motion too, which is why it’s important to train them in your exercise routine, as SELF previously reported. Aqua exercise classes commonly incorporate these multidirectional movements, which prep your body to move more safely and effectively in pretty much every scenario.
Additionally, after you get comfortable moving in the water with just your bodyweight, you can use various tools—like foam dumbbells, resistance bands, and pool noodles—to increase the strength challenge. These items may seem more like toys than tools on land: Foam dumbbells weigh less than a pound when they’re on the pool deck, but as soon as you put them underwater, the resistance becomes very real, since you’re adding the load from the water to the tool. I’ve legit had sore arms and shoulders from doing traditional upper-body moves in the water with foam dumbbells (think lateral raises, bicep curls, and chest flies).
In a water exercise class, the water is constantly churning around you, Denomme says. (This effect is especially pronounced in a lazy river class.) As you and your fellow classmates move, you create turbulence in the pool that then makes it more difficult for all participants to stay stable and balanced as you perform exercises, Denomme explains. For example, choppy water could make it difficult to stay grounded when performing squats in the shallow end of a pool. To fight this turbulence and stay balanced, you have to really engage your core, making water exercise a sneaky form of a core work—even if you’re not doing “core exercises.”
“Every exercise in the water has the potential to be a core exercise,” Denomme adds.
The very first water exercise class I attended was a 60-minute blur of combination movements performed in the deep end of the pool: Think riding an imaginary rocking horse across the pool and mimicking a cross-country skiing motion.
At first, I had zero idea what I was doing as we cycled through bodyweight exercises that involved a surprising amount of total-body coordination, such as tapping various parts of our feet with the opposite hand in an intricate pattern, or doing an inchworm-like motion to move across the pool.
Because there are lots of new and different types of exercises in a water exercise class compared to an on-dry-land workout, the coordination challenge can be real. Stick with it though, and you may notice your baseline coordination abilities improve. I’m no coordination queen myself, but have noticed that some of the more complicated water moves have become easier over time.
For many people, exercising in the water simply feels good. That’s because water exercise is a low-impact activity that reduces the pressure on bones, joints, and muscles, according to the Mayo Clinic. This means it can be a great workout option for folks with pain, injuries, or limitations that prohibit their participation in other forms of cardio exercise, such as jogging or running. (That said, if you have a history of injury or pain, check with your doctor first before you start water exercise to ensure they recommend it for you.)
At the same time, water exercise can absolutely get your heart pumping, especially if you attend a cardio-focused class and perform the movements at a pace or intensity that is challenging for you. For instance, the water class I teach follows a HIIT format where we alternate between bursts of high-effort work—like 45 seconds of squat jumps or jumping jacks—followed by brief periods of rest. These types of high-effort intervals leave class goers (and myself) pretty breathless.
When your body is immersed in water, the buoyancy and pressure of the water allows your joints to move more freely, Denomme says. This can help you achieve a greater stretch as you move your body in various positions. As American Council on Exercise puts it, “water is a welcome environment for performing stretches that might otherwise be difficult on land. Because the effects of gravity are lessened, you can move your joints through a wider range of motion and achieve long-term flexibility.” As someone with chronically tight hips and hamstrings, this is definitely a welcome benefit of water classes.
Perhaps my favorite benefit of water exercise? I find it less intimidating than other forms of fitness, like indoor cycling classes, weight lifting, or yoga. That’s because the focus is really on you, not on anyone else. When everyone’s in the water, it’s really difficult to see what your classmates are doing, and thus you can’t easily compare yourself to other people. So instead of fretting over the fact that you aren’t nailing the same exact pose as the people in front of you, you can turn your focus on what you are doing, which will ultimately help you get the most out of your workout!
I’ve noticed there’s just something about being in water that makes you feel like you’re on summer vacation. Maybe it’s the fact that the buoyancy effect of water can help you “move like you’re a child again,” Denomme says. “You can skip in the water, you can jump in the water,” she explains. These types of movements may feel silly, or simply not so great to do on land (and depending on your current health status, they may not be safe), so having the option to move in those ways in the water can feel pretty damn awesome.
Denomme says that when many of her students first came to her, they shared that they had never liked to exercise. But after trying water exercise, they finally found a type of workout they enjoyed. The joy many folks find in water exercise can keep them coming back to class and thus build a consistent workout routine.
For me, water aerobics has become a form of fitness that I know will always leave me smiling—and that’s not something I can depend on with other types of exercise.
Here’s how you can get started with water aerobics.
First thing’s first: Find a program that is led by a qualified fitness professional, Denomme says. This is important because it can ensure classes are designed with safety and effectiveness in mind. Since there are so many types of water exercise classes out there, take a minute to read a class’s description before showing up to ensure it’s in line with your goals. For instance, if you’re looking for some gentle stretching and relaxation, a HIIT cardio water workout probably isn’t for you.
Like with any new-to-you fitness class, arrive 10 or 15 minutes early to class to introduce yourself to the instructor, let them know you’re new to water exercise, and get set up with the right equipment (if you’re in a class that uses equipment, that is). As a water exercise instructor, I find this is particularly helpful for newbies because it gives them a chance to get comfortable and situated before the actual workout begins. That way, they can get the most out of the experience instead of spending class time feeling confused and lost.
During the class itself, focus on finding your “feel-good range,” Denomme says–essentially, the range of motion that feels good and safe to you. “Our bodies will tell us when we’re moving or doing something that’s not right for us,” Denomme says. So if during class, any type of motion doesn’t feel great for your body, reduce your range of motion and slow down your pace, Denomme suggests. If those two things don’t solve the issue, switch to a different movement that does feel right for you.
Lastly, know that it may take a minute to find your groove in a water exercise class—and that’s okay. The first time I dipped my (literal) toe into water aerobics, I felt like I was flailing about the entire class. But with time and repeated efforts, it became easier to move my body in the water and enjoy all the amazing benefits this form of exercise has to offer.
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