My Water Aerobic Routine example essay topic

Physical activity is an important part of daily life. It allows for many benefits in health and well-being, just 30 minutes a day can reduce the risk of developing certain diseases and conditions. This includes water aerobics. Aerobic exercise in general is important because your body uses oxygen to produce energy for physical activity. Aerobic means with oxygen.

This can be accomplished by participating in water aerobics. Water aerobics is a good way to achieve an aerobic metabolism. Aerobic metabolism occurs when the body breaks down fat and glucose by combining them with oxygen. During intense aerobic exercise, your body uses more oxygen and your breathing and heart rate increase. Over time, regular aerobic exercise will improve your health and fitness and reduce levels of body fat. There are many benefits that are gained from participating in water aerobics.

Water Aerobics allow the expansion of physical range of motion, along with improved strength and flexibility. Another advantage is that resistance training feels easier because of the way the water controls the weight (s). Water displaces the stress that weight training (on land) can put on the body, especially joints, which is particularly beneficial for those with arthritis. It is also used to rehabilitate people who are recovering from injuries and accidents or just to heal muscles. Water aerobics is also used for people with disabilities to increase the speed of motor skills.

Some other benefits are increased circulation, stronger heart, improved physique or figure, and increased energy. Other benefits that are gained from water aerobics relate to social interaction. One of the social benefits is, camaraderie, which occurs between many different types of people, because water aerobics benefits everybody, including athletes, those who need walkers to walk, and pregnant women. It teaches discipline due to the regularity of a weekly class. Water aerobics teaches time management skills because you learn that daily / weekly exercise is important in maintaining good health. The last social benefit that happens during water aerobics is increased self-confidence and self esteem.

For my water aerobic routine I'm going to use different types of water activities to meet the criteria for each specific section that includes a six minute warm up, some cardio, some toning exercises, and about five minutes of cool down. For the warm up I think we should use a mid paced song, I think Incubus's clean will work well. The warm-up should consist of mostly stretches for six minutes. In order to prevent injuries all stretches should be held for 3 minutes each. So for my warm-up I would include lunges on both legs each held for 3 minutes for a total of six minutes of warm-up.

Your front leg in your lunge should always be flat and your knee should never bend past the tips of your toes (your foot and knee should be parallel). The back leg should be slightly bent and the tips of your toes should be the only part of your foot touching the bottom of the pool. For added flexibility, stretch your arms at the same time, by crossing one arm across your chest and use your other arm to stretch it bye bending your arm at the elbow and pulling your extended arm in towards your body. Make sure to switch arms when you switch legs while your lunging. Cardio is an important aspect of all aerobic exercises.

For my cardio it is important to use low impact walking in the water, and gradually build up to a higher impact jog or run done in a deeper part of the pool. For added resistance to your legs, running backwards will push the current against your body instead of with you, which occurs when you run foreword. "The warm-up activities at the beginning of the class should be low intensity and prepare the person for more vigorous activities during the formal work-out period. As the exercise moves from the warm-up to the actual exercise routine, it is important to control exercise intensity". (bodybuilding. com) If you " re just beginning an exercise program, start slowly by walking in shallow water. Gradually increase the intensity of your workout by moving to waist-high, then chest-high water, and adding movements that use both arms and legs. Cardio should be done to an upbeat song like, the way you make me feel by Michael Jackson.

Start by walking in the water (by width) in the shallow end for about 1 1/2 minutes. Then start to run in deeper water 4-5 feet deep, for about 2 1/2 minutes, 1 1/2 minutes going foreword and 1 minute going backwards. To make this more challenging, add arm movement having both arms bent equal to shoulder level and then straighten toward the ceiling like a military press. An alternative is fists in touching the chest and then outward horizontally, to add even more of a challenge add wrist weights. Continue these movements both arm and leg for a total of 4 minutes.

Toning is one of the most important parts of an aerobic workout as well. Toning gives shape to the body and also helps turn fat into muscle. In order to achieve toning in the water do what you would typically do on land, but in the water. Using a flotation belt, I would work on the core doing high intensity sit-ups.

For this I would do about 15 regular crunches, having your legs bent at the knees and bringing you neck and upper body toward the ceiling. Hold for 2-3 seconds then come back to flat. After that I would do about 20 superman's (these are done while lying on your stomach). Simultaneously lift your arms and legs as high off the water as you can for as long as you can. I would do this for about 3 minutes total to the song Pig by Dave Matthews Band. The last part of the routine is the cool down; this can be done to a slow paced song, such as, Galaxy by Jason Mraz.

I would do the cool down for only about 2 minutes. In my cool down I would incorporate various yoga and palates movements. "For example, the yoga 'warrior' position performed in waist-high water provides relaxation, relieves stiffness in the waist and rib areas, stretches the entire body, and strengthens arms and legs. Water's support and the fluid movements of these exercises make them ideal during pregnancy and rehabilitation". (WebMD. com) This is done by standing straight foreword and just spreading your legs, with one leg bent and the other straight and extended, both feet parallel to each other with your lower arm reaching toward the bent leg and the upper arm reaching over your head stretching your upper body over the bent leg.

Switch bent legs after about a 1 minute. This will allow for a total of 2 minutes cool down time. Recently, many health and fitness organizations are extending their classes that are offered in the water. "The key to a hard water aerobic workout is in the depth of the water. A half-hour of deep-water running burns 300 calories, compared with 200-250 for running on land, 150 for tennis, and 150-200 for aerobics. Also, a 150-pound person swimming at his or her target heart rate burns about 600 calories per hour". (heart highway. org) Water aerobics has become one of the largest growing classes offered.

Proving that a workout that is low impact but still burns a lot of calories will appeal to many different types of people.