Aqua training is a water-based, core conditioning, cardio workout. Basically, it’s running in water. It is a no impact sport- no bouncing, pounding, or stress on your joints and bones. It is also a high resistance sport. Water offers more resistance than air and the resistance is multi-directional. This helps strengthen all your muscles equally.
Aqua training is a great way to recover from, or avoid, injuries without losing fitness. Due to no impact you can continue your fitness routine while recovering from injuries such as stress fractures, shin splints, knee and ankle pains. When you are suspended in water, stress is reduced on all parts of your body. Your arms and legs can move more freely and with equal resistance. This enables opposing muscles to work equally. Running in water helps increase your range of motion. Aqua training also benefits the uninjured athlete by helping him/her avoid injuries while exercising.
As with any cardio exercise, aqua training burns calories. Your body requires lots of complex carbs for energy. If you skimp on your calorie intake, you may not be able to exercise as efficiently because you won’t have the energy. To calculate your calorie needs:
- Multiply your weight by 10. That’s how many calories you need to sit in a chair and think or sleep.
- Add another 50 percent to that number to calculate how many calories you need every day to shower, fix breakfast, go to work, and other normal daily activities.
- Add an additional 100 calories for every mile you run, bike, swim or aqua train in a week, spreading the additional calories out over the week.
- If you are trying to lose weight, decrease the number of calories by no more than 20 percent. If you lose more than a pound or two a week, you are not getting enough calories. When you lose weight too rapidly you lose muscle mass along with the fat loss.
Since aqua training is also a resistance exercise, you need boost your intake of protein as well. The World Health Organization recommends 0.2-0.4 grams of protein per pound per day for daily-living activities. For aerobic runners they recommend 0.5-0.75 grams per pound per day (a Jody Victor® suggestion). An average 140-pound runner needs around 75-100 grams of protein per day. Make sure you are getting enough protein especially if you are aqua training to heal from an injury. You need extra protein to build muscle and repair the injury.
Water is another requirement when exercising. And just because you are running in water doesn’t mean you can’t get dehydrated. You have the same water requirements as you would when running on land. Recommended water requirements for exercising: 2 cups of water an hour before a work out and 1 cup every half hour while exercising (a Jody Victor® suggestion).
Aqua training has its own special equipment besides a deep swimming pool. The most popular piece of equipment is the hand-held buoy, the dumbbell of aqua training. Another popular piece is the aquajogger. It is a device that straps around your waist in the shape of a belt. It is made from EVA foam, which keeps your body afloat. Other devices include a wet vest and aquarunners for your feet. The aqua training devices help to suspend you in the water decreasing the stress on all parts of your body as you exercise.
All the Best!!