Burning Calories in Water Aerobics Vs. a Land Workout

If you want to use exercise to help reach a healthy weight, you are probably considering the types of workouts at your disposal. Every exercise helps you burn calories, but they do so at different rates. Joining an athletic center to take water aerobics classes provides a low-impact workout, but this type of exercise doesn't burn calories as quickly as most workouts on land.

  1. Calories

    • Burning more calories than you consume is a simple approach to reducing the amount of fat you carry on your body. You won't see fat loss overnight, but dedication to a steady workout regimen that includes aerobic exercise can be effective in reaching a healthy weight over time. According to MayoClinic.com, you must burn an excess of 3,500 calories to lose 1 pound of fat. The clinic suggests that trying to lose 1 to 2 pounds per week is a reasonable goal.

    Water Aerobics

    • You'll burn more calories during a vigorous water aerobics class than you will participating in one at a moderate pace, but Harvard Medical School reports that water aerobics isn't an effective way to burn calories at a high rate. A 155-pound person burns just 149 calories during a 30-minute water aerobics class. This rate of calorie burning puts the exercise on par with activities such as stretching, horseback riding and walking at 3.5 miles per hour.

    Land Workouts

    • Land workouts take many forms, but if they're more vigorous than stretching or walking slowly, they will help you burn more calories than you can burn during a water aerobics class. A simple land-based workout such as jogging is an effective way to burn calories; a 155-pound person will burn 298 calories in 30 minutes of jogging at just 5 miles per hour (a moderate pace of 12 minutes per mile). A 155-pound person riding a bicycle between 16 and 19 miles per hour will burn 446 calories in 30 minutes. Even general calisthenics burn calories at a quicker rate than that of water aerobics: a 155-pound person will burn 167 calories in 30 minutes of moderate calisthenics.

    Exercise Benefits

    • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention note that water-based exercise helps relieve the symptoms of chronic illnesses such as arthritis and can also improve mental health and strengthen bones. The benefits of standard aerobic exercises, according to MayoClinic.com, include helping maintain a healthy weight, boosting stamina, strengthening the heart and reducing risk of illness. Although you'll burn more calories on land than you will during water aerobics, don't discount water-based workouts entirely. Exercising in the water provides a low-impact workout, which is especially important for people with joint pain or injuries. Swimming laps, for example, is an effective way to burn calories in the water. The butterfly and front crawl burn calories faster than the backstroke and breaststroke do, according to Harvard Medical School. A 155-pound person who swims the front crawl for 30 minutes will burn 409 calories, which is the same as running at 6.7 miles per hour for 30 minutes.