Water exercising

Roblyssa

Anyone had any success losing weight in the pool?

I love the water and I am finding that water running, swimming, treading water etc burns calories and fast. Is this evident with weight loss?

I have just started on my journey again (after a year) and I've not worked out in the pool in 8 years. Just wondering how effective people find it?

Kellie

nena49659

I haven't personally tried it. However, my cousin had hip replacement surgery. His physical therapy was in the pool and he lost a noticable amount of weight.

haroon_awan

I'm not sure what you mean by "water running". All exercise is effective for weight loss when combined with a caloric deficit. There other factors you should consider. Swimming (as opposed to not swimming or not exercising) in general is beneficial, especially so if you have injuries or joint problems, but as it is not a weight bearing exercise it will not increase bone density for example, which can lead to a decreased risk of osteoporosis in the future. Weight bearing exercises, such as walking, running etc are weight bearing so there are benefits to this. That doesn't mean stop swimming or cycling by any means. It just means find the right exercises to meet your current needs, but also your long term needs.

Fat loss can be more tricky as it requires a diet sufficient in protein (0.8g/lb of LBM), a structured weight training program, and/or high intensity interval training and eating enough food to meet your body's needs in terms of vitamins and minerals.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1017045-a-very-interesting-and-informational-read-on-deficits
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

WindyJenny

Short answer: yes. Water exercise has helped me lose weight.

I water jog 2 hours a day, 3 or 4 days a week. It was a great way to get started with vigorous exercise when my knees couldn't handle jogging on land, but I needed more challenge than just walking. I jog in water between my waist and my chest, so the resistance of the water not only affects my forward motion but also forces my body to stabilize itself. I also include water weights some days to work my arms more than just the regular running/pumping motion.

Now that I have lost enough weight that I can more comfortably jog on land, I alternate water and land days. I also find that I am pushing myself harder and faster in the water, trying to get in more laps during my 2 hours than I did the workout before. And honestly, I enjoy my outdoor water jogs more than I do the land jogs.

TNBelle35

Yes...Try Aqua Zumba too...cardio in the water and you stay cool but also burn calories and have lots of fun!

nena49659

I don't understand...fat burning can only be achieved thru weight training?

Does not "burning calories" = "burning fat"?

Athena53

I have a backyard pool and if I'm traveling and staying at a hotel pool, a swim is always my preferred workout.

After I got a heart rate monitor, I realized how lazy my swim stroke was, and I sometimes run across the pool at waist depth or tread water vigorously to get my heart rate up. Now I tend to do about an hour of other cardio (in the gym, running or out on the bike) and then take a 15-20 minute swim after I get home.

It can be fantastic exercise, though. I work with a woman who swam on her college team and she said she'd eat 5,000-6,000 calories a day just to maintain her weight.

Amalthea_Rose

Thank you for posting this! I'm getting ready to start doing water exercise classes because I have a busted knee and all I have been doing is high impact .. I was wondering the same thing on it

MostlyWater

I'm pretty sure I've heard that swimming isn't the best for losing weight. I don't remember why though. It certainly beats lying on the couch!

Ninkyou

I also highly recommend Aqua Zumba! Soooo much fun! Not sure if all YMCA's have it, but the few around me all have it.
You could also look into things like a Deep Water workout if you want a group fitness. Otherwise jogging waist-chest deep in water is great and low impact.

JillianPMehlhaff

I do water aerobics 5 nights a week and the #1 thing I notice is that like everything, but especially in the water, you get out of it what you put in. I am buoyant so it is easy for me to make smaller moves, or not push as hard as I should, but still be doing what the rest of the class is doing. I have to really focus to get my heart rate up. But it is great muscle toning. Lap swimming is fantastic cardio. In less than a month I have lost almost an inch in each of my arms and about 15 lbs. So yes, water workouts can definitely help with weight loss!

larsensue

I LOVE water workouts! they are (for me) better than any land workouts! I tend to work really hard during the whole class...

Athena53

I'm pretty sure I've heard that swimming isn't the best for losing weight. I don't remember why though. It certainly beats lying on the couch!

It may be that you get muscled. The co-worker I mentioned still has a big, powerful-looking body. My nephew was dating an Olympic swimmer (he's one, too) and she had massive shoulders and biceps. I'd take that over my slightly flabby upper arms any day, but I'm betting all those muscles added pounds.

dollfc61

I LOVE the Aqua Zumba! Its helping with my sore knees, but losing weight has helped with that too!

spfldpam

I love my gyms aqua exercise classes-Aqua Zumba, Water In Motion, Aqua Logix and others. They do give you a workout. Water in Motion claims to burn 500 calories in one hour. The Aqua Logix class I went to on Tuesday of this week in the morning while still off work on vacation was the toughest one. The trainer has you moving the entire 60 minutes and my heart was a pounding. I loved it! It is low impact and good for people with bad knees or joints or backs or people that are overweight and out of shape. Less chance for injury. You can also wear resistance footware, belts or flippers that will make it harder and burn more cals too!
Enjoy!

Roblyssa

Thanks everyone for the replies.

I am having a really hard time getting my HRM to pick up my heart signals when in the water, so I am not really getting accurate workout calories from it at the moment.

I am going to start with the Aqua Zumba and Aqua Aerobics and see how I go.

Lots of interesting information in your replies, thank you!

Kellie

dolphin_queen

Aqua Fitness is fantastic! I am recovering from a really hard work out even as we speak! You can add resistance bands and "dumb bells" to help with your work out! Combining those with treading water or suspension moves and it will kick your butt!!

dnunny70

I spent a lot of time floating away...but still enjoy it!

I do water aerobics. I find that I seem to lose inches; and people ask if I lost weight.

I currently do my own thing at the pool. I will set up "stations" in the pool. I swim a lap; do jumping jacks; swim another lap and run in place etc.

I do water exercises due to arthritis in my knees. No way I could do 50 squats or lunges on land...but in the water-you bet!

Mollymoog

I do aqua circuits which is really good and combines weights and cardio with loads of fun. Have done aqua Zumba which was ok now and again but I started to get bored of it.

gracie2911

I'm doing muscle toning in water using weights and bands. I was not able to find anything in the exercise list that shows calories burned. Any idea how to calculate?

MaitreyeeMAYHEM

Aqua is amazing!! I teach aqua zumba and my students love it. Water takes a bit longer to adjust too cuz its so different from land. I would give it about a month. You sweat in the water and it can be difficult cuz of the buoyancy and resistance of the water. There are so many different types of water classes you just need to find whats good for u. I personally like shallow water work outs but that's just me. I am currently working on getting my aqua group fitness license through AEA. I just got my text book and it's intense. Aqua aerobics works all your muscles and there is more to it than people think. Once I get my license I want to explore more with aqua such as aqua aerobics and silversneakers aqua.

Love62

I teach water aerobics and I'm losing weight and so are my clients in the pool. Because I have neuropathy, water aerobics is the best workout for chronic pain as well

PinkPanther318

Hi,

I love swimming I have chronic pain and it is so nice to be able to do things in the water that I can't do on land. At my gym I met with someone who does pool orientation with me every couple of weeks until I feel like I have enough fun exercises. When we meet she also makes sure my form is correct.

KatherineLynnKane

Aqua Fitness has far too many benefits to list !
For best results find a class where the teacher is qualified instructor. If in doubt, ask.

Years ago I was told that swimming and water aerobics would not burn fat because of the body reaction to the cold water temperature (resistance to hypothermia) and the because it wasn't a load-bearing exercise.
That theory is no longer valid since most recreational pools are heated to 80 degrees and there is much more aqua fitness equipment available for resistance and strength training....including weights.

Most obese individuals get enough load-bearing exercise carrying extra pounds around with them all day, so imagine the relief they feel when they can jump and jog in the pool with either low or no impact on their joints and less chance of injury.

As a member of the YMCA I participate in a variety of fitness classes but AquaFIt is my favourite because no one can see my fat wiggling and jiggling under the water.