Aqua Fitness for Weight Loss

Healthy and intelligent weight loss requires many of the same characteristics as a healthy and intelligent lifestyle. One of the most important of those is exercise. Losing weight and maintaining weight loss should involve physical activity. And that leads to the question- which activity is best?

The answer is more a matter of self-assessment than it is of finding the correct piece of advice. The best activities are the ones that you will enjoy. Enjoyment of the activity, after all, increases the chances that you will continue doing what you set out to do. However, if you are looking for an activity that is enjoyable and efficient, you should consider aqua fitness.

Mimi Adami, a renowned fitness lecturer says that "movement, water, and music [are] three elements that are basic to life. The body needs movement to maintain health and well-being; it needs water to sustain its most essential functions; and music, well music is the most universal of languages, giving us joy and comfort, and providing us with a motivation and stimulus to exercise and relax. Aqua fitness is a combination of these three elements..."

Aqua fitness is enjoyable exercise made more efficient and effective by the use of water. And yes, most of the time music is part of the scene.

There are two common misconceptions of aqua fitness and it serves you best to understand how completely inaccurate they both are before you talk yourself out of the idea.

Myth: "Aqua fitness is really just swimming exercises."

Aqua fitness has nothing to do with swimming. You do not even need to know how to swim. With the exception of a few more advanced, and of course optional, exercises, the water need only come up to your chest and your face will never be submerged.

Myth: "Aqua fitness classes are for old ladies."

Aqua fitness is a smart choice for people of all ages, sizes, and fitness levels. Among those who have found success with aqua fitness programs are the US Marine Corps and the Dallas Cowboys- not what most consider a bunch of old ladies. In many cities, the range of classes and class times are designed to attract as wide a range of participants as possible.

Aqua fitness is an intelligent weight loss activity because at the top of the streaming list of benefits is the fact that aqua fitness is one of the most efficient activities you'll find. Almost every exercise that you may consider-walking, jogging, crunches, weight-lifting, cycling- is maximized in water.

Consider some of the benefits:

Cardiovascular activities are essential to weight loss.

Cardio determines how well oxygen circulates to your muscles. Oxygen is a tool that your muscles use to eliminate energy. Aqua fitness is a prime cardio activity.

Aqua fitness gets your heart and lungs pumping and burns unwanted calories much faster than land based exercise. Walking against water, which is much denser than air, burns substantially more energy than just walking.

Exercising in water requires no muscle targeting.

For example, normally, when you work your triceps, you must consciously find a way to equal the attention placed on your biceps. Aqua fitness provides multidimensional resistance, meaning that all of your muscles are worked without you being required to place special emphasis on certain areas.

Body fat decreases.

Your body is composed of lean body mass and body fat. Without exercise your body fat increases. Since aqua fitness is multidimensional, it exercises muscles that are rarely used on land even when you do exercise. Not only is body fat reduced but body fat is reduced in areas that you may otherwise find very difficult to target.

You get visual and physical improvement, not pain.

Aqua fitness allows you to use the minutes spent exercising more wisely. But still, it is a low-impact activity. You will definitely get a good night's sleep from aqua fitness but you will not have to experience muscle fatigue or soreness, two things that often discourage people from sticking to their exercise goals.

The visual results are encouraging.

Whether your goal is slimming, toning, strength building or a combination, aqua fitness can produce results at least four times faster than out of water exercises, providing you with motivation to keep going.

Aqua fitness is fun!

Aqua fitness isn't confined to one method or routine. It's fun and flexible. Classes include aqua toning, aqua abs, deep water jogging, aqua dance and more. Even if you take the same class with different instructors, you'll find variety.

You can, of course, get aqua fit on your own if you have access to chest level water and no desire to go to a class.

Since the best activities for you must be decided by you, just remember two things. First, you will have to uphold your commitments to get results. Second, the most intelligent activity will be one like aqua fitness that is effective and lets you enjoy meeting your weight loss and fitness goals.

For more on aqua fitness and other exercise techniques, visit the EnvyMyHealth.com Fitness Channel or Weight Management Channel!

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