Water Aerobics Ultimate Secret to Weight Loss Revealed

The single most common question personal trainers have is “how to lose weight?” There are three simple secrets revealed in this article.The body is a complicated tool and everything is tied together. Becoming your own fitness advocate is necessary because everyone is different. Everyone’s resting heart rate, every one's body fat; everyone’s muscle tone is unique and different. For this reason, a good personal trainer is well worth the money. Let me share 3 secrets to effectively combat the battle of the bulge and get you on a solid pathway to fitness.

Most importantly, let me share with you the ultimate secret to weight loss using water aerobics.

5 Critical Ingredients to Fitness

Fitness is composed of 5 ingredients - 3 parts exercise (aerobic, resistance and stretching), 1 part proper nutrition and 1 part consistency. All of these are critical to your health but within these 5 lies three secrets to weight loss.

Weight Loss Secret #1 - Learning Proper Nutrition

The term diet I feel is inappropriate. Understanding proper nutrition is half of the problem. Once you learn how eating wrong hurts your body; once you learn why your body needs nutrients, minerals and vitamins your whole perspective on food changes. For instance, if you knew you were allergic to a particular food you would stop consuming that food. Similarly, if you knew your body was deficient in a certain vitamin, you would take a supplement or change up your eating pattern or as a real fitness advocate for yourself preferably both.

Bottom Line: You cannot lose weight without proper nutrition. Proper nutrition also includes understanding the harm of glutton to your body, learning the appropriate portion sizes and learning about how your body responds to deficiencies.

Weight Loss Secret #2 Target Zone for Fat Burning

On land we are taught about the heart rate and how there is a target zone for fat burning. In the swimming pool, what I commonly see is that we forget that fact and simply go for the exhilaration of the endurance. Endurance training has its place and its purpose. This is where being your own fitness advocate and understanding fitness is critical.

Talk Test

The simplest way to monitor your heart rate is what Ruth Sova calls the "Talk Test". You should not exercise beyond the comfort level of being able to carrying on a conversation.

Weight Loss Secret #3 The Thighs Have It!

The Secret Is In the Thighs - In Plain View!

This is the one item where water aerobics is deficient for many of us. Because the water has no gravity, the largest and longest muscles of our body tend not to get the amount of resistance that we need.

Your metabolism and your knee joints are severely impaired without muscle tone in your thighs.

For many of my clients, I recommend low impact leg exercises. For some, walking is sufficient. For those with bad knees help is here! Soft squats or ballet squats are often hated but very effective. Universally the low impact leg lifts are very effective and well received. For myself, I have found my knees NEED the high resistance of the leg press.

REMEMBER - IT IS MUSCLE THAT PROTECTS THE KNEES!

Remember it is muscle that protects the knees.

The only way to build muscle is with repetition. Toning muscles with a consistent weight does not create bulk. Building bulk demands progressive weight.

Repetition equals results.

Options for building the thigh muscles, target toning the quadriceps:

• Water Aerobics - Rocking horse water aerobics – simply change your hands to push more water. If you cup your hands and forcibly rock, really push the water with your entire body, you should feel your quadriceps engaged from the added resistance.
• Water Aerobics - Change your marching and water walking to kicking - engage the quadriceps. My clients LOVE kick boxing!
• Water Aerobics - Add resistance with a larger noodle or other resistance fitness tool.
  
• Land - Low Impact Leg Lifts
• Land - Ballet Squats or Soft Squats
• Land - Lunges
  
• Land - Weight Room - Leg Press
• Land - Walking, Jogging, Running

Benefits of target toning the thighs:

1. Changes Your Metabolism
2. Protects the Knee Joint
3. Greater Balance and Stability

ULTIMATE SECRET TO WEIGHT LOSS FOR WATER AEROBICS

The Thighs Hold the Ultimate Secret to Weight Loss for Water Aerobics

Aerobic exercise has long been touted as the end all for weight loss. And yes, it is critical and one of the top three components. And yes, proper nutrition (including portion control of course) is critical too. But the one item often overlooked is a great visual indicator - the thighs - or more importantly the lack of muscle tone in the thighs.

Overall, the easiest way to lose weight is to closely monitor your thigh muscles. A good personal trainer, group instructor will always give you a full body workout. But without the muscle tone in your largest and longest muscle in the human body, your metabolism will be slower and you run a higher chance of having sore knees. Sore knees perpetuate lack of energy. Muscle is the armor that protects your knees.

Three Week Challenge - Change Your Metabolism

Take the three week challenge and add one of the resistance training exercises for your thighs to your fitness program over the next three weeks. Evaluate your knee pain along with monitoring your weight - you just might surprise yourself!

Photo Credits:

photo courtesy of healthgoods.com

http://thevibe.socialvibe.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/thighs.jpg

The author is a certified personal trainer and aquatic group fitness instructor.

Disclaimers Copyrights and Disclosures

Medical Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only. None of the products promoted or sold here are designed to diagnose, treat, or cure any illness or ailment. Please contact your physician for additional information, diagnosis, testing, or advice on how to use the information/products listed on this site.

Copyright: © 2010 Gma Goldie All Rights Reserved - GmaGoldie loves to share her ideas but greatly appreciates credit for her hard work. Please email the author for permission for use of terms and ideas shared in this or other Gma Goldie articles on health, fitness and exercise.

FTC Disclosure: The author holds an MBA and is a certified personal trainer. She has held various leadership positions in major corporations and premier governmental agencies. She is the inventor of the patented EZ Swimmer - a fitness tool used in water aerobics to help target tone using your own body weight in the swimming pool. She loves to share her studies on health, fitness, the environment and filtered water. She has held various leadership roles including risk manager, Deputy Treasurer and most recently as Finance Director and Marketing Director. She maintains an active consulting practice specializing in strategic planning, finance and marketing.