Water gym: the benefits of gymnastics in water

Water gym: a brief history of water gymnastics

Holidays are the ideal time to focus on your well-being, restore your mental and physical balance and discover the benefits of gymnastics in water, or water aerobics.

Water gym, also called water fitness, is a form of gymnastics done in water and allows you to work on different muscle groups, including abdominal muscles, buttocks, thighs, arms and shoulders. This discipline is suitable for all ages and its roots have its roots in antiquity: to think that the benefits of water were known since the times of the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans.

It was the Italian actress Eleonora Vallone who understood the potential of gymnastics in water, of which she is considered a real pioneer. In 1984, after a serious car accident, the actress found a solution to her physical and psychological problems in the water, inventing a series of exercises that mix the movements of other sports previously practised by the Walloon: swimming, winter and water skiing, horseback riding, tennis, ballet, modern and South American dance, belly dance, skating (roller and ice), trapeze, jogging, yoga, cycling, soccer, rowing, motor rally and speed, savate (a combat sport) and golf.

Thus, from the union between experience and fantasy, the water gym discipline composed of over three thousand exercises, differentiated by category of people and water, that the Walloon will bring success by teaching it in Italy and abroad and patenting it with the name Gymnuoto and Gymswim.
Subsequently, Eleonora Vallone founded the first School in Italy for Gymnastics Instructors in the water, assisted by distinguished doctors and experts in the field, and taught her method at the IUSM, at the University of Urbino and in Barcelona with the Spanish FIN, obtaining much success. Today, as creator and president of the A.S.D.Water TEAM, she directs the courses for Instructors of Aquagym-Gymnuoto with the issue of an International Licence C.M.A.S. (Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques, recognized by the C.I.O. and the U.N.E.S.C.O., founded by J.Cousteau), valid in 108 Federations of the world, and collaborates with the Promotion Body of the C.O.N.I. – CSAIN Lazio. She also published five books on gymnastics in water.

Acquagym: who is suitable for water fitness and what are the benefits?
Gymnastics in water is a discipline that has no particular contraindications and is suitable for everyone: from overweight people to pregnant women, from the elderly to those who need rehabilitation to restore the functionality of the joints.

It is not necessary to be a skilled swimmer to practice water aerobics: all exercises that are usually done in the gym are carried out in shallow water, both in the pool and in the sea. In this way, both children and people who do not know how to swim are protected and can keep fit in a pleasant and fun way.

Let’s see together what are the main benefits of water aerobics, a complete sport that, through a series of exercises to the rhythm of music, helps to develop the muscles and promotes the elasticity of the joints:

• Reduces trauma and easier movements: in water, the risk of trauma is reduced because you only weigh 10% of your body weight. Therefore the movements are lighter and the exercises are easier because the load on the spine is reduced and the back is not subjected to excessive efforts;
• Helps to tone: during a water fitness lesson all muscles are working, allowing a harmonious and organic development of the body and an improvement of movements and posture;
• Exercises burn fat: with water gym, you burn more calories because the body must defend itself from the water temperature. Also, w must remember that water resists movement, forcing the muscles to work harder and the body to spend more energy. Aqua fitness exercises help to burn excess fat deposits on buttocks and thighs and are an effective way to fight cellulite and slim the lower body;
• Stimulates circulation: exercises in water help to contrast problems related to poor circulation and reduce varicose veins, water retention, swelling and heaviness in the legs. In addition, the pressure of water and the hydromassage created by the movements stimulate the flow of blood to the heart;
• It is relaxing: besides the muscular benefits, water also promotes psychological relaxation, relieves pain, stiffness and stress. Water aerobics, therefore, is a sport that is good for the body and mind.

The ideal is to practice the discipline 3 times a week, for at least 30 minutes a day, in environments such as the Sports Area of Forte Village, specially designed to encourage training at the highest concentration, where you can also try the courses of Light Pilates (morning stretching) and Total Body workout before enjoying a shiatsu massage or anti-ageing facial and body treatment.

Do you want to discover the benefits of water gym and have an unforgettable holiday in a true paradise of well-being, relaxation and taste? Discover the Forte Village Resort in Sardinia.