Calories Burned by Water Aerobics

Water aerobics has become a rage all over the world. It is due to many the many health benefits it offers. The amount of calories burned is just one of the advantages. Before we get to the calorie details, let's read a little about aqua aerobics itself.

What is Water Aerobics?

If you have previously tried aerobic exercises and for whatever reason, it did not suit you, you should try water aerobics. The most important advantage of water aerobics is that, it has a low impact on the joints because water displaces up to 85% of weight, depending upon the amount of water in the pool. Since water aerobics is easy on the skeletal structure, this form of workout is beneficial for people of any age, size or fitness level. To take up a class of water aerobics, you do not necessarily have to be a swimmer. There are some classes where they do ask for lap swimming for a few minutes but more often than not, the whole exercise program is conducted standing in water. Due to the natural resistance that water provides, water aerobics provides a good workout. The number of calories burned by water aerobics is quite impressive.

How Many Calories are Burned in Water Aerobics?

The number of calories burnt doing water aerobics will not be dependent on intensity of the workout but on the depth of the water. On an average, for 10 minutes of water aerobics, approximately 80 calories are consumed. On an average, it is seen that 450 to 700 calories are burned in an intense session of water aerobics.

The deeper the water, the more the number of calories will you burn. In the initial part of session, it may seem like you are just having fun splashing around in the pool. However, the muscles work harder due to the resistance offered by water.

The weight of a person is directly proportional to the number of calories burned. More the weight of a person, the more will be the number of calories burned. Let us understand this with a few examples. If a person weighs 130 to 140 lbs, he/she will burn approximately 236 calories. If the person weighs 160 lbs the number of calories burned will be 281. On the other hand, a person weighing 190 lbs will burn as much as 345 calories with a water workout session of 45 to 60 minutes. The reason for this is that more energy is required to push a large mass through water. Therefore, it is obvious that a person who weighs less will require less number of calories to navigate through water than a person who weighs more.

Advantages of Water Aerobics

Now that we have seen the amount of calories aqua aerobics burn, let us look at its advantages.

• At chest level, about 80 to 90% of the body is supported due to buoyancy. Therefore, the joints and bones are well protected.
• You will shape and tone up faster as water provides more resistance.
• Flexibility and balance improves as there is a wider range of motions that can be performed in water.
• Last but not the least, it is not healthy to run in higher temperatures, whereas, health care professionals recommend getting into water on warm days.

I am sure that now you are keen to go join a class of water aerobics. The burning of calories will not take too much of efforts. However, I will recommend that you undertake water aerobics under a trained and qualified instructor only so that there is no mistake in your stature and you do not injure yourself. It is advisable to pay for a series of classes rather than pay per class as payment per class will turn out to be costlier than a payment for a series of classes.