Aquatic exercise opens up the exercise world to populations that otherwise might not be allowed to participate in exercise. I, personally, love my landlubber workouts. I, however, do not have any physical limitations dictating what type of exercise I can or can't perform. Thousands of others are not so fortunate.
Water exercise makes for a great workout, and at the same time, spares unnecessary stress on bones, joints and connective tissues. Overweight individuals that have carried around excessive weight gain for years, may suffer from degenerative joint issues. Others may be one more step beyond having undergone hip or knee replacement surgery.
The beauty of aquatic exercise is that water provides some resistance, but also some buoyancy. Load/resistance can be added gradually to mitigate risk of injury to the lower extremities. Buoyancy allows the exerciser to perform movements that defy gravity, and water, itself, provides a chance to increase the range-of-motion with many movements. There is aerobic benefit to aquatic workouts and a wide variety of exercises can be geared towards shallow or deep water. More exercise variety can be added via use of specialized equipment. Such equipment might include aquabells (dumbbells for water), webbed gloves, kick boards, etc.
As a professional participating in an aquatic workout, I notice the generalized resistance that water provides. There is less muscle specificity with this type of workout than traditional resistance training. I also notice a generalized, yet thorough fatigue once bearing my full body weight out of the water. There is a certain delay in perceiving muscle fatigue in the water thanks to the gravity defying environment. In other words, you do not realize your butt has been kicked until you journey out of the pool.
A well designed aquatic workout is thorough and will accomplish everything achievable in a typical gym environment. Aquatic fitness classes can benefit seniors, arthritis sufferers, rehabilitation patients, overweight populations or those just seriously deconditioned. I firmly believe that there is some type of exercise enjoyable for everyone, and this is a great avenue for any exercise-hater to pursue. Sadly, one can only fall in love with things through exposure to them and trying new things is often scary to creatures of habit. Continue to "spread your fitness wings" by trying new things. At minimum, help a newbie grow their fitness wings through consistent encouragement and by being a program of attraction for a healthy lifestyle.
