Yahoo Finance Why you should include water-powered workouts in your fitness regime
Pooja Arora who hosts HydroFit workout sessions at Conrad Bengaluru makes a compelling case
There’s a strong case to be made for water-powered workouts. For starters, in a country such as ours where you’re sweating buckets no matter what time of the year, hitting the pool seems like a reasonable idea right? But fitness expert Pooja Arora has far more practical reasons why you should start working out in water. Arora should know, she runs weekend aqua fit classes at Conrad Bengaluru.
1. It’s a lot safer than working out on land
Sweating it out in the gym may leave you feeling accomplished, sure, but all those heavy weights and hours on the treadmill come at a cost. Your joints tend to take the brunt of your weight as well as your shenanigans in the gym. “The buoyancy of the water takes away that pressure on the joints,” Arora says. “If you’re 70 kg, the weight on your joints when in water, depending on how deep a pool you are in, can be as little as 7 kg. So, the most compelling reason why you need to shift to aqua workouts is simply so that your joints will thank you in the long run.”
2. It is extremely effective
Don’t once make the mistake of thinking that just because aqua workouts are easy on the joints, they aren’t challenging. Arora says: “Because of the water’s resistance, it’s more challenging to do even the most basic tasks under water. Even standing without support or walking can be challenging because the water, no matter how still, will keep resisting. On land you just have gravity, the resistance of water is much higher so, even though working out under water is soft on your joints, the exercises can tend to burn as many as 500 calories in under an hour.”
3. It’s a lot more fun to be in the pool
For most of us, swimming pools tend to bring back happy memories. Being in water can be therapeutic and doing anything therapeutic can help you throughout the day. If you’re happier, chances are you will look forward to the workout, Arora points out. “Chances are you’ll find gym to be a chore but water workouts rarely ever are.” That just means you’re more likely to attend an aqua workout class at, say Conrad Bengaluru, than hit your local gym.
4. It works out your core
If getting those six-pack abs is your goal, you’ll likely know you need to work out your core. “An hour in the pool is the best workout you can ask for,” Arora says, “You tend to lose balance in the water and so you have to work harder to stand or do any activity. To do that you tend to engage your tummy and backbone. That itself is a workout. This not just helps you lose weight but also improve your posture.” Arora says that aqua workouts are also great for seniors, pregnant women and people with injuries. “My classes tend to have women as old as 70 and as young as 20 years!”
You can participate in aqua fitness classes from Monday to Friday between 7 am and 8 am class at Conrad Bengaluru, 25/3, Kensington Rd, Someshwarpura, Halasuru, Bengaluru, 560008
