If you’re looking to elevate your fitness routine while enjoying a refreshing and invigorating workout, consider exploring the incredible benefits of aqua fitness classes at an indoor swimming pool in Calgary.
At The Riverside Club, our adults-only facility provides a professional and serene environment where you can focus on your fitness goals without the distractions often found in more public settings.
Whether you’re seeking a low-impact workout, a full-body exercise regimen, or a fun and social fitness experience, this indoor swimming pool in Calgary offers a perfect setting for adults to achieve their health and wellness objectives.
From enhancing cardiovascular health to improving strength and flexibility, let’s dive into why aqua fitness classes are an exceptional choice for anyone looking to elevate their fitness routine.
Low Impact, High Reward
One of the standout features of swimming and aqua fitness is their low-impact nature. The resistance of the water reduces the stress placed on your joints and muscles, making it an ideal option for those recovering from injuries, dealing with chronic pain, or simply looking for a gentler alternative to high-impact exercises.
An aqua fit class, also known as water aerobics or aqua aerobics, typically includes a series of low-impact exercises performed in a pool, designed to improve cardiovascular fitness, strength, and flexibility.
While each class may be different, here’s what an aqua fit class typically involves:
- Warm-up – Gentle movements like walking or jogging in place to get the body used to the water and ready for exercise.
- Cardiovascular exercises – Water-based moves such as high knees, kicks, jumping jacks, or jogging, which use water resistance to boost heart rate and endurance.
- Strength training – Exercises that incorporate water weights, resistance bands, or pool noodles to strengthen muscles, targeting the core, arms, legs, and back.
- Flexibility and balance work – Stretching or controlled movements that improve flexibility and balance, often using the water for support and resistance.
- Cool down – Slower movements and stretches to bring the heart rate down and relax muscles.
- Core exercises – Abdominal workouts like leg lifts or tucks, which engage the core while using the resistance of the water.
Despite this low impact, these workouts are highly effective, providing a full-body workout that can help you achieve your fitness goals without the risk of excessive strain or injury.
Complete Full-Body Workout
Despite being gentle on the joints, swimming and aqua fit provide high-intensity workouts by challenging both the cardiovascular system and muscles. This balance allows for a full-body workout that’s effective for building strength, endurance, and flexibility.
Every stroke, kick, and movement engages multiple muscle groups simultaneously. The resistance of the water helps build strength and stamina, ensuring a balanced and effective workout that targets various fitness components.
Aqua fit classes involve many factors that contribute to a full-body workout:
- Resistance of water – Unlike air, water provides continuous resistance, meaning every movement, whether you’re kicking, stroking, or even just maintaining balance, works your muscles. This resistance targets both major and minor muscle groups, from the arms, shoulders, and back to the core, legs, and glutes.
- Cardiovascular fitness – Swimming and aqua fit raise your heart rate, improving cardiovascular endurance. The water’s buoyancy reduces strain on the joints, allowing for more extended periods of aerobic exercise without the impact of other exercises such as weight training or running on a treadmill.
- Core engagement – To stay afloat and balanced in water, your core muscles are constantly engaged. Movements like kicks, twists, and strokes all work the abdominals, obliques, and lower back.
- Flexibility – The range of motion in water is often greater due to buoyancy, which helps stretch and lengthen muscles, improving flexibility and joint mobility.
Boosts Cardiovascular Health
Engaging in regular swimming and aqua fitness can significantly boost your cardiovascular health. The resistance of the water forces your heart to pump blood more efficiently, which strengthens the cardiovascular system and improves circulation. Regular participation in these activities can help lower blood pressure, reduce cholesterol levels, and enhance overall heart health. It’s a fantastic way to get your heart rate up while enjoying an invigorating workout.
Enhances Flexibility and Range of Motion
Flexibility and range of motion are key aspects of overall fitness that are often overlooked. Swimming and aqua fitness classes incorporate a variety of movements and stretches that help improve flexibility and joint mobility.
Aqua fit provides a supportive environment where the water helps to buoy the body, making it easier to perform controlled stretches and movements that may be challenging on land. This reduces the risk of injury while increasing mobility. The varied movement patterns in aqua fit routines, which involve rotating, stretching, and bending in multiple planes, encourage greater flexibility and improved joint function.
With regular participation, the water’s resistance allows muscles and joints to move more freely, gradually enhancing overall range of motion and flexibility.
Burns Calories and Aids in Weight Management
Swimming and aqua fitness are highly effective for burning calories and managing weight. The intensity of your workout and the resistance of the water combine to create an excellent calorie-burning effect. Swimming, in particular, can burn up to 500-700 calories per hour, depending on the intensity and style.
Aqua fit’s water resistance requires more energy to perform movements, leading to increased calorie expenditure. While it feels less strenuous than land-based exercises, it can still burn a significant number of calories, making it effective for weight loss or maintenance. Additionally, aqua fit improves cardiovascular fitness by raising the heart rate during exercises like water jogging, jumping jacks, and swimming strokes, which boosts metabolism and contributes to fat burning.
Accessible and Adaptable for All Fitness Levels
Swimming and aqua fitness classes are accessible and adaptable to various fitness levels and abilities. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned athlete, there are options and modifications available to suit your needs. Many facilities offer classes designed for different skill levels, allowing everyone to participate and benefit from the workout. The adaptability of these exercises ensures that you can progress at your own pace and continue to challenge yourself as you improve.
Join an Aqua Fit Class in Calgary
Last but not least, aqua fit and swimming are not only effective workouts but also fun and enjoyable activities. Incorporating aqua fit or swimming into your regular fitness routine is a great way to keep things fresh and break up your weight lifting routine.
Adding variety to your fitness regimen keeps you motivated, helps prevent burnout, and engages different muscle groups, making it a perfect complement to strength training. If you’re looking for a relaxing facility without the big-box gym feel, check out our adults-only indoor swimming pool in NW Calgary.
Give us a call at (403) 283-3200 or stop by 110 Point McKay Crescent NW for a tour and sign up for a free 7-Day fitness pass.
