Cool down phase in an aqua class

The cool down allows participants to slowly recover from the work they have done in the conditioning phase. If the last set ended with an interval, you will want to continue the active recovery exercise for a few minutes. Then you can have participants begin to go into slower, lower intensity movements. One way to do this is to repeat the warm up, perhaps in reverse order. Another option is to include a set of toning exercises. These can be exercises for muscular strength, or they can be abdominal and core strength exercises.

Because flexibility is also important, finish the cool down with at least five minutes of stretching. Participants can do static stretches for the major muscles they worked during the class, holding each stretch for 10 to 30 seconds. If participants get chilled standing motionless holding a stretch, have them do dynamic stretching instead, moving their muscles slowly through their full range of motion. You can also include yoga poses and Ai Chi, if you are familiar with those forms of exercise and how to adapt them to the water. Tai Chi that is adapted for water fitness is called Ai Chi.

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