Types of Exercises for Water Aerobics

Participating in water aerobics allows you to reap all the benefits of resistance strengthening and cardiovascular conditioning without straining your joints. Many water aerobics exercises involve additional equipment, such as flotation belts for buoyancy, or floating weights for further resistance. You can add these items if you need to adjust the intensity of your workout. There are several key aquatic exercises for strength building and cardiovascular conditioning.

  1. Front-Back Kicks

    • Stand in the shallow end of the pool with the water just above your waist, your feet a hip-width apart and your arms curled gently by your sides. Keep one leg on the bottom while raising your other leg, and slowly kick straight out in front of you. Return your leg to the starting position and slowly kick behind you. You should feel the muscles through your upper legs and inner thighs working. Complete the front-to-back kicking motion ten times on each leg for a single set. Complete three sets total.

    Jumping Jacks

    • Stand in chest-high water with your feet together and your arms at your sides. Slowly raise your arms to shoulder level, and spread your legs while standing on the balls of your feet for balance. Then jump back to the starting position. Your arms should come back to your sides as well. This exercise strengthens your calves, inner thighs, upper arms and shoulders. Repeat the motion, going from standing to spread for a single repetition. Do ten reps for a single set. Aim for three sets total.

    Springboard Jogging

    • Stand in chest-deep water with your feet a hip-width apart and your hands by your sides. Raise your knee to a forty-five degree angle, then switch legs just as you would if you were doing an exaggerated jogging motion. As you move your legs, tighten your abdominal muscles, bend your arms at the elbow and swing your arms through the water as if you were jogging on land. You may either jog in place or jog across the pool, depending on the space available to you. You should feel this working the muscles of your upper legs, abs and shoulders.