I recently acquired a new certification.  Red Cross stopped supporting the Aquatic Exercise Instructor Certification so I had to search out another in order to keep leading my classes. I chose IFA (International Fitness Association).  I took their course, then passed their test with a 94%! That makes it official.  I am now and IFA certified Aquatic Areobics Instructor.
 
I want to share with you some of the material they gave me during my testing phase.  In the following posts, you may pick up some interesting tips, learn something new, and even discover a little bit about why I do what I do. 

I often get asked about the benefits of working out in the pool versus on land or in the gym.  The following posts should help explain that better than I can. We can also revisit some of the cautions and details you should know too.

Land vs. Water Exercise
The principles of water based training are similar to land-based training; however, the techniques are different. The body is uplifted in water by process called buoyancy and since the viscosity or thickness of the water is greater than air, movement of the body through the water provides an increased level of resistance (drag) over land-based exercise. The buoyancy factor provides support for the body, thereby reducing the likelihood of muscle, bone and joint injuries. Buoyancy is defined as the ability of water to support a body's weight. Items float or are buoyant in water because they displace an amount of water that weighs the same as the item itself. Muscle is not as buoyant in water as fat. Therefore, both the chest and abdomen provide the greatest buoyancy since this is where air and most body fat is located. This becomes more significant in deep water versus shallow water immersion.

Benefits
• Reduced impact on joints
• Reduced stress on joints by decreasing weight bearing
• Tones muscles
• Provides resistance in both eccentric (elongation) and concentric (contraction) muscle movements
• Improved balance and posture
• Increases flexibility, reducing capability for injury
• Allows special populations to exercise easily
• Equivalent calorie burn as land-based exercise

Because of the reduced influence of gravity, joints can easily be moved through the full range of motion without excess joint stress helping to improve flexibility. Deep Water-based running exercises can provide an augmented or alternate training regimen for runners who need to reduce the chronic effects of land-based running due to impact injuries.

Since the effects of gravity are reduced in water, impact is reduced while resistance to the movement is increased due to fluid dynamics. A water based class can burn more calories than a comparable land-based class due to the increased resistance to movement while providing an increase in muscle strength and endurance. 
Both cardiovascular and strength training exercises may be part of an aqua fitness program. Strength gains are not as good as weight bearing exercises on land since the weight is reduced by the buoyancy of the water. The speed of body movements through the water will subsequently be slower due to the increase in resistance. The equivalent level of physical fitness can be accomplished in water-based exercises as with land-based exercises.

Water based exercise reduces body weight by about 90% when immersed to the chest level, and 50% when at waist level which alleviates stress on joints and the supporting tissues. At the same time, resistance is increased by a multiple factor depending on the speed of movement due to water's higher density over air, which is about 800 times greater. Exercise in water has an added advantage that it can provide a user selectable resistance to movements. In addition, water pressure on the legs assists in circulation.

Water based exercise classes provide less joint stress not only for healthy individuals, but also for those special populations affected by medical conditions such as arthritis, neck and back problems, strokes and obesity. This type of aerobics also may be more acceptable for the self-conscious overweight exerciser. Special populations should acquire a medical clearance before beginning any exercise program including water-based-exercises. It is important to note that since gravity is not as much of a factor in water-based exercise; it will not be as effective as land-based exercise in preserving bone density.
 
Cautions:

Water-based exercise programs should be avoided by individuals who have the following:

• Compromised Respiratory Functions
• Severe Hypotension
• Bladder or vaginal Infections
• Any Infectious Diseases
• Chlorination Allergies
• Open or Unhealed Wounds

How many calories did you burn?

Whether you want to know which exercise blasts the most calories or how much your workouts contribute to your weight loss goal, our activity calculator can help. Fill in the information below and click Calculate. A good rule of thumb: The more intense the workout, the more calories you'll burn (although you may not be able to sustain that intensity as long).

 

A very cool link!  Of course I chose Water Aerobics! But this calculator lets you pick from a wide list of activities and enter your weight and duration so you can see just how effective the exercise is.

http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/activity/calculators

Free Food and Fitness Journal Information!

It's hard to keep track of what you eat and how much you exercise and how to tie it all together to reach your goals. 

This is just one way. But it is sometimes just that little bit of help that we all need to get going in the right direction.


I wanted to share a great free website that I have used - it takes only a few minutes to enter your daily food and activity and you can update that each evening. 

The website home page is http://www.everydayhealth.com.

There is loads of good information here, but I want to draw your attention to the "My Calorie Counter" button.

Click on it and you are presented with another page of information.  The page should be at http://www.everydayhealth.com/calorie-counter.aspx


How to Navigate - or to get to where you want to be:

The first box currently says "New and Improved" along with a description.  At the end of the description is a link to go to Your Journal.

At this point you will need to register or sign in. 
You should only have to do this once if you tell it to remember you and don't forget to bookmark the Journal page itself.

Once on the Journal page, scroll down, you should see the meals listed (Breakfast, Lunch, Snack, Dinner) and below that is the Exercise Log.  All of these have an ADD button.
You can add the foods under the specific meal or Click the first ADD Food button on the page and you will be given the option of doing so later. 

Example:

Under Breakfast click the ADD FOOD button.  It will open a dialog box (screen shot)

This is mine, as as you can see it stored the ones I added.  The yellow stars mark it as being also found in my Favorites.  Notice the Tabs at the top say: Search Foods, Recently Added My Favorites and Entered by Me.
 
If you need to add a new food, first do a search in the box where it says What did You Eat Today?  


If you don't see a food listed that is exactly what you need, you can add your own - just use the label information on the specific package you purchased at the grocery store and plug in the numbers.  Same with the exercises, although it may take a bit of research on your part to find the calories burned information.

 
The thing I like about this particular counter is the ability to add unique food items and to save all of them to your Favorites (click on the star to turn it yellow).  So if you are a creature of habit, then be sure to save foods you eat all the time in your Favorites and just click to add them every day. Exercises too!

This counter is very flexible and allows you to use the drop down boxes to select the meal, when you ate the food (today?), and how much or how many.

 
I believe they have also added a feature that lets you copy entire meals to another day - say for instance you eat the same thing for breakfast every morning.

There are many other features you can use, a water tracker, daily reports, and community support.

Once you have done a few you can see how much you are eating, how much you should be eating and how much of each macro nutrient you are getting. There is also a section where you can, and should, enter your current and goal weight. That way it will tell you your caloric requirement and be a little more accurate.

Another website that I recommend is http://whitetigerllc.com/Trainer.html.  Here you can find recipes, workout tips and many pages of great nutrition information.

A load of great information!!!!  Didn't I tell you!?