How to increase intensity in an aqua fitness class (shallow water)

In certain times during your aqua fitness class (interval training) you would want to increase the intensity of your programme so that the participants’ heart rates climb up into the upper level of their target heart rates for a short time. That will help them improve greatly their cardiorespiratory fitness. A good aqua fitness instructor should know how to increase and decrease intensity, and how long to have participants work in the upper level of the target heart rate.

There are six factors you can use to increase intensity in shallow water:

• Speed: Increasing speed effectively results in performing the move faster without compromising range of motion. Often participants go faster but make the move smaller. Encourage them not to go so fast that they find themselves doing tiny moves at top speed because this is not an effective way to increase intensity. 
• Range of motion: Increasing range of motion involves performing exercises with long levers (arms and legs slightly flexed) through their full range of motion.
• Suspended moves: In suspended moves, participants pick up their feet and perform the moves without touching the bottom of the pool.
•  Power: Increasing power is about pushing harder against the resistance of the water.
• Travel: Travel involves moving through the water from one part of the pool to another. Participants can achieve some of their highest intensity levels by traveling through the water at maximum speed. They can travel forward, backward, or sideways.
• Rebound: Rebounding means jumping. Some younger participants love to jump, but older adults, obese participants, and people with hip, knee or feet issues should not rebound. If you choose to increase intensity by using rebounding, offer options for those who should avoid jumping, such as performing the same move in a neutral position with the hips and knees flexed and the shoulders at the surface of the water.

To decrease intensity, participants can slow down, decrease their range of motion, allow their feet to touch the floor following a suspended move, ease back from the power moves, perform the exercise in place, or drop back from rebounding to a move that keeps one foot on the floor.

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