Tired of aerobics and treadmills? Looking for something to liven up your workout schedule? Just ho+p in a pool and try a session of sweat-free but fat-burning aqua aerobics.

During your workout, there’ll be lots to keep you interested. Training sessions are accompanied by high-energy music and take place in both the deep and shallow ends of the pool. To keep afloat while you’re working out, aqua aerobics employs a mix of buoys, paddles, noodles (1.5 meter-long styrofoam tubes), kickboards and/or hydro-fit equipment.

Aqua aerobics imposes no age or fitness-level limitations. Since your body weight in the water is only 10 percent of your actual weight, the strain on your joints and spinal column is dramatically reduced, while the overall workout is as intense as a regular gym session, especially if you do aqua aerobics in a pool with water counter-flow. This is why aqua aerobics is recommended for people with weight or joint problems or other disabilities and for pregnant women.

Like many other fitness programs, aqua aerobics is both a total-body workout and a stress reliever. If you’re going to become a regular practitioner, a lot depends on the level of professionalism of your trainer. Your aqua aerobics instructor should be a specialist in aquatic sports. A good instructor will give students useful advice on how to do the exercises properly, and will make up an individual program for you.

There are lots of different aqua aerobics programs, depending on your level of fitness. If you’ve only heard of aqua aerobics but have never tried it, specialists from Moscow’s Aquaclub recommend that you come in for a beginner lesson, which costs 330 rubles. If you like jogging, a good option is to try various techniques of water running in special boots. If you want to improve your coordination, we recommend "Noodles" classes, while for fans of Eastern martial arts there is a special program on offer at the Sport Line Club near Paveletskaya metro station.

If all this doesn’t appeal, you can try a workout with the Aquagym machines at the Olympic Star Fitness Center, though you’ll have to buy a one-year membership for $3,000. The card will also entitle you to unlimited use of Olympic Star’s other facilities.

The Scandinavian Health Center has the same policy and includes aqua aerobics in the list of services available to its members. The difference, however, is that to start you can buy a monthly membership for $225.

Few Moscow fitness centers offer one-time aqua aerobics sessions. Your options are limited to the seawater pool at the Atlant Sports Complex for 300 rubles, the Aqua Fitness Studio for 250 rubles and the Sportservice Club for 220 rubles. Pool sessions run from 40 minutes to an hour.

According to Vasily Klochkov, development director at Sportservice, it is important to take the relaxing effect of water into account when choosing a fitness regime. Don’t forget about this advice if you’re thinking of doing aqua aerobics in the morning before work – you might end up snoozing on your desk. Late afternoon or evening is the ideal time for aqua aerobics to relieve stress after work.

Aqua aerobics is relatively new to the Moscow fitness market; therefore, we recommend you start with a one-time pass and then, if you like it, you can buy a multiple pass.

According to the managers of the city’s aqua aerobics clubs, the popularity of aqua aerobics is constantly increasing. Muscovites seem to like the triple effects of the workout. First, training in the water stimulates heat-exchange processes in the body, thus helping to burn calories. Second, the water massages your body while you exercise – an effective method in fighting cellulite. And third, water provides resistance in all directions, helping to work those groups of muscles that are hard to develop doing regular gym workouts. The last benefit is particularly useful for men, for whom there are special aqua aerobic programs.

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