Thursday, October 29, 2009

Splish Splash Cardio


I hate exercise, plain and simple. It’s nasty, sweaty and boring. Then I discovered water aerobics. Our local gym has a dynamite instructor and now three times a week I actually have fun exercising!
Our class is made up of 15 to 20 men and women of all ages and sizes. We jump around in the pool, using all our major muscles and the water’s resistance for a wonderful cardiovascular workout, increasing our flexibility and toning ourselves in the process. It is a great way to exercise, make new friends and, best of all, no sweating!

You can actually burn 350 to 700 calories per hour in the pool, depending upon your motivation, all with very little stress on your joints. We do many of the things one would do in a regular aerobics class but in the water everything is low impact. Our routine includes the use of weights and noodles (no, not pasta, silly, the buoyant pool toy). This morning we danced in the water – a bit of ballet, some river dancing and the hustle, but usually we just work hard for 60 minutes, having a good time in the process.
Make no mistake, this is no sissy sport. It's a great workout! So if you’re anything like me and shy away from all things physical then give water aerobics a try! If you're not sure exactly how it works there are lots of great videos on YouTube. Here's one:

Have you found your own way to make exercise fun? I'd love to hear about it.

4 comments:

FOODalogue said...

I've been doing water aerobics as part of my fitness routine for about 15 years. Living in FL makes it particularly easy and you're right...it non-impact and refreshing way to exercise. In fact, you just motivated me to get on my suit and catch the next class!

Jim Page said...

Hi Ellen,

Actually, Tammy & I started morning walks, which led to nature walks, which led to us tromping all over Florida. We still "count carbs" (guess THAT dates us) which seems to help limit the upside, but has not been terribly effective at getting pounds off. And of course all bets are off once Turkey Day arrives...

Ellen said...

How I would love to take a morning walk, but it is so difficult to find the time. Well, it is off to water aerobics this morning...

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