Aqua therapy classes are offered at many gyms for strength training and cardiovascular fitness. Aqua therapy is also used by hospitals and physical therapy offices for rehabilitation or for people with conditions such as arthritis or fibromyalgia. You can do effective aqua therapy exercises in your local pool or at a gym.
Walking
The easiest aqua therapy exercise is simply to walk. You can make this more challenging with aqua runners, shoes that make walking through water more difficult. Treadmills designed to be used in the pool are becoming more popular. You burn calories as on a regular treadmill but also strengthen all your muscles against the water resistance.
Upper Body
Two easy exercises for the upper body are the diving forward and diving downward exercises. Both can be done with no equipment or with aqua fins for your arms to provide more resistance.
Stand up straight in the pool with your arms out to your sides below the surface of the water. For diving forward, bring your arms straight in front of you from the sides to meet at the center of your body. Open your arms back to your sides to complete one repetition--keep going until your arms and chest are fatigued.
The diving downward exercise is similar, except that you will bring your arms forward and down, crossing them in front of you to make an "X" in front of your legs.
Lower Body
The high kick forward and a kick backward exercise is a strengthening exercise for your legs and will increase mobility in your hip joint. You can wear ankle fins to make this more challenging.
Stand with your feet hip-width apart and hold your arms to your sides. Swing your right leg straight forward and up as high as you can comfortably go, working the quad muscles in the front of your thighs. Bring your leg back down and then kick it straight backward to work the hamstrings and glutes. Keep kicking until you have fatigued your leg muscles, then repeat with the left leg.
Tags: your arms, your sides, Aqua therapy, arms your, arms your sides, bring your, bring your arms