Brazilian instructor Cristiana Pipoli shares health benefits of aqua aerobics and says it is perfect for those who are recovering from a muscle or joint injury and pregnant women. By Divya Kaushik
If you enjoy swimming and water sports then this is surely for you. Aqua aerobics or water aerobics is a form of exercise which is already popular in the West for its added benefits and Cristiana Pipoli says that Indians too are getting aware of its health benefits and are opening up to it. Cristiana is a Brazilian instructor who was in India earlier taking classes at the American Embassy, she left India in 2007 and is back with her training schedule at Jaypee Vasant Continental.
Water aerobics is a cardiovascular exercise suited to people of all age groups. However, it is best for those who want to return to their fitness schedule after recovering from a joint or muscle injury and pregnant women. As the exercises happen inside the pool the water provides protection to the joints. “When you exercise on the surface, be it jogging running or any other cardiovascular exercise, it has an impact on your joints and muscles. But while exercising inside water you don’t have any gravity forcing your body weight down onto your joints. Also your internal organs are relaxed while exercising. In case of pregnant woman, you remain protected because of the water around. If you are a non-swimmer even then you can do aqua aerobics as the level of water is only till your chest,” explains Cristiana.
Mostly the exercises are done early morning so that Vitamin D that we receive from the early sun rays is absorbed by the body. “It is said that any exercises done around a water body is more effective to your body and it absorbs much energy than otherwise,” adds Cristiana. Aqua aerobics is designed as per the requirement of the group or people. It can only be about some basic exercises like stretching your legs, pulling your body, kicking backward and forward and you can add more complex exercises as and when you get used to the schedule. “It is done with a very fast music running in the background but since you are inside the water it is not like matching to the rhythm of the music. Also, some people shy away from normal aerobic classes just because they think they are not able to match up with the steps of the group. But in aqua aerobics you cannot see the other, you are only concerned about your own pace,” says Cristiana, who saw lesser women from India joining her classes when she was earlier here because either they were not willing to exercise in a swimming costume or they were not ready to face the sun. “But now I can see the change. Aqua aerobics has been written about in India and women are now opening up to this form of exercise. For those who are reluctant to wear a swimming suit I suggest go for tights and tees or wear what they feel comfortable while doing a workout. But there should be some support around your chest,” shares Cristiana. She gives an example of an Indian woman who was overweight and had never exercised in her life. “But when she tried aqua aerobics she found it interesting and she just continued it as a fun activity. She realised she is losing weight too and that encouraged her to control her diet and continue with the exercises. She lost weight really fast and said gained confidence and could do things she would only dream of earlier,” says the expert.
The argument that most people have about aqua aerobics is how does it helps in weight loss when you are actually not sweating while exercising.
“This myth has been broken by recent studies that only if you sweat you lose weight. Earlier people wore thick, full sleeve clothes while doing the workout to sweat more, but today experts from all over the world suggest wearing light clothes while exercising. The fact is any exercise that increases your heart rate will help you reduce weight. And you will get to know that an exercise is making your heart rate rise when you won’t be able to talk in a normal tone. While doing aqua aerobics your heart rate does rise and therefore it helps in weight loss as well,” says Cristiana.