Aquaspinning

When I showed up at the pool today, our instructor lowered aluminum hydro riders into the water and we spent 20 minutes trying them out. Here is a u-tube demonstration.

http://youtu.be/2h86kC_CcBw

Has anyone tried this out? How do you find it for over-all fitness? How many calories does it burn?

Myself, I found it stressful on the lower back, and wondered if that improved at all.

G

never heard or seen it but sounds really fun! have you done reg spin before?

No, I've never done a spinning class---they always looked too arduous, and more pain than fun. I do have a cycle at home, and use it regularly. But it is more of a recumbent cycle with a good back rest, which I need. I use it because I had a knee injury and cycling helps to build strength in the muscles that hold the kneecap in place.

I don't think that you can go as fast in the water. as you can in a regular spin class. And the hydro bikes only have the force of the water to work against. You can't crank up the tension the way you can on a regular exercycle. There is no wheel to turn, your feet really have to fit in the baskets of the pedals--not confortable unless you are wearing water shoes. So the only force is the resistance of the water, and once you get a good cycle going, well, the water flows in that direction. Pedaling backwards is difficult because your feet slip out of the baskets. Having something that keeps the heel in place would help.

We did some cycling sitting down, some standing up, and fast cycles bent over double on the handlebars. And in some we added arm movements, basically doing circles with our hands in the water.

I've been looking all over the web for an indication of calorie burn, but this seems to be too new to be documented. If you know, please say so.