Water Aerobics: A Progressive Low Impact Workout Program

At my last job I was in charge of lifeguarding a group of sweet and very energetic ladies, who wanted nothing more than round arms and smaller waists. Not that any of them particularly needed either, they still set goals and wanted to work for them. Their insistence that I aid them in overhauling their work out program aided in inspiring this program. While in the introduction I mentioned swimming predominately, water aerobics are a viable and quite intense form of exercise in the pool.

The great thing about water aerobics is that it's low impact. While you do need load bearing exercise on a daily basis in order to promote good health, if you have certain joint or limb restrictions preventing you from exercising to your fullest, this sport is perfect for you.

It should be stated here, I have no formal training in water aerobics instruction. Everything I offer here are exercises that were already in use by the ladies and tweaked for full range of motion and more resistance training in order to promote a symmetrical muscle development. In designing the program I looked to Gym Jones for inspiration. The program in place was a static system allowing the ladies an opportunity to converse more so than work towards the goals they had set. Further more the idea that if you offer an exercise or workout you should be part of the process.

That being said, I devised a progressive system that was broken down into phase training. This is to create a dynamic system that was easy to remember for the ladies and possible to work for an hour a day. The exercises remained the same with the occasional inclusion of a new exercises thought of by myself and or the ladies. On more than one occasion I tried the program myself and found it incredibly difficult when the exercises are executed precisely.

The phases are devised to build upon each other. At the time of leaving the pool, I have only developed three phases and was working on a fourth. The breakdown is as follows:

Phase 1 - Athletic Base. This phase is paramount to the entire program. If a participant is unable to maintain a base athleticism they will not be able to sufficiently complete or participate in the following phases. It is crucial for all participants to establish proper muscle memory during the exercises in order to prevent injury and stimulate proper muscle growth. Failure to maintain excellent form in the execution of exercises can result in under development and preparation for later phases.

Phase 2 - Aerobic Threshold and Increase in Resistance Training. This phase is specifically designed to take the aerobic movement and resistance exercises drilled in the first phase, and expound on them. The aerobic movement is increased in distance and speed. The resistance exercises are changed from a purely repetition based approach to a mixture of repetition and interval work. In this phase we begin to track the number of repetitions during interval training on a schedule. This phase has proven to be the most difficult phase yet. Being able to maintain proper execution of range of motion while increasing performance is crucial. At the start of this phase, the interval training should be small repeating intervals, such as, three rounds of _______ for one minute. As the phase progresses and the athletes are able to perform the intervals with less trouble the interval becomes longer.

Phase 3 - Aerobic Threshold and Resistance Work to Lactic Acid Development. This phase is a natural evolution of Phase 2. As the athletes develop their abilities and performance in the workouts, the sessions begin to develop more and more into longer intervals or increased speed in a set number of repetitions. The goal in this phase is to continue the aerobic base and threshold work at the beginning of the sessions, but introduce resistance training in these portions. Making sure the athletes continue proper range of motion and correct execution in order to prevent injury. Furthermore, the interval work is extended even longer. It is not uncommon for sessions in this phase to extend beyond just an hour.

As with any exercise program, flexibility is key. One of the biggest points I made sure to emphasize with the group was maintaining full range of motion. It became rather common for me to remind the group that it was alright to sacrifice the number of repetitions in order to complete a full range repetition.

-Fast Swims and Safe Times

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