Modify your aqua fitness lesson for different populations

Aqua fitness instructors should never assume that every participant in their class have the same fitness level. Neither should they assume that older participants need a gentle workout. What they should do is to observe their participants to see what they are capable of, and teach to those capabilities. Instructors should be ready to offer options for those who want a higher intensity level as well as options for those who need a lower intensity level from the rest of the class. 

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Aqua fitness for children

Obesity is becoming a significant health care concern for children as well as adults. The level of physical fitness in children has declined significantly, and the prevalence of obesity is rising rapidly. A decrease in physical education programmes, afterschool activities, and outdoor play combined with the availability and convenience of unhealthy fast foo increase the risk for children to become obese, unfit, and consequently unhealthy. Many fitness leaders and physical educators are concerned that children are not as active as they should be. Exercise can provide the same benefits to children as to adults, and water is an ideal environment for tempting children to play and be active. Most children love the pool and water activities.

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Aqua fitness equipment

According to the Aquatic Exercise Association there are five types of equipment that professionals can incorporate into their aquatic programmes. All professionals should know the proper use of equipment, which means understanding the function, purpose, limitations, properties, safety factors, and biomechanics of the equipment.  

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Aqua cycling

Aqua cycling is quite a new trend in the world of aqua fitness. As most of the aqua fitness programmes, it started from fitness studios but with more benefits than the original and with more categories of population to be able to use it. We all know that cycling and spinning classes help you improve your fitness levels as well as strengthen your legs, abs, and buttocks. However, people with back or joint issues will be hard to keep up with the rest of the group.

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Cool down phase in an aqua class

The cool down allows participants to slowly recover from the work they have done in the conditioning phase. If the last set ended with an interval, you will want to continue the active recovery exercise for a few minutes. Then you can have participants begin to go into slower, lower intensity movements. One way to do this is to repeat the warm up, perhaps in reverse order. Another option is to include a set of toning exercises. These can be exercises for muscular strength, or they can be abdominal and core strength exercises.

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Warm up phase in aqua class (deep water)

The warm up phase in a deep water class must accomplish two things. Participants not only have to make a body temperature adjustment to the colder temperature of the water, as in a shallow water class, but they also have to adjust to the unstable environment in deep water. An upright posture is important to maintain the spine in neutral alignment so that all the exercises can be performed safely. Good posture, however, is not automatic in deep water. Begin the warm up with a vigorous, short-lever move, such as knee high jog, while offering postural cues to help participants achieve neutral alignment. Teach them how to scull, which will help them stabilize. As they begin to feel more comfortable, you can begin to increase their heart rates in preparation for the work out. The entire warm up should take between 5 and 10 minutes.

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