The effects of nonswimming water exercises on older adults.

Exercise in a water medium reduces weight-bearing stresses on the skeletal joints, which may be advantageous for older individuals needing rehabilitation. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of nonswimming exercises on muscle endurance, % body fat, and aerobic work capacity of an older adult population. Twelve subjects were in an exercise group (10 females and two males), and eight were in a control group (five females and three males). The mean ages of the groups were 65 (+/- 5.29) years and 56 (+/- 6.78) years, respectively. Before and after 12 weeks of training, subjects were measured three times weekly for resting heart rate, maximum heart rate, VO2 max, body composition, and work capacity in water. A general linear model ANCOVA was used with age as the covariate. The exercise group improved significantly (p < .05) on all dependent variables examined except body composition after 12 weeks. However, the control group experienced no significant changes on any variable over this period. In the comparisons between groups, the exercise group significantly surpassed the control group on all variables except body composition, where neither group experienced change. Nonswimming exercises appear to be a viable and effective means to improve cardiorespiratory function and physical work capacity of the elderly.

Overview of non-swimming aquatic research.

Research from 1967 through 1994 on non-swimming aquatic exercise has been reviewed to determine the physiologic parameters involved. The literature is replete with studies that deal with swimming but few have demonstrated the efficacy of non-swimming activity in an aquatic environment. The results of the review indicate that aquatic exercise performed in warm water-given the proper parameters of warm-up, intensity, duration, frequency, mode of training, and cool down-can influence maximal oxygen consumption, heart rate at rest and during exercise, upper body strength, and muscular endurance. It has also been noted that there is a paucity of clinical studies; therefore the need for application of this physiologic data appears paramount. As more clinical studies are performed, physicians can feel confident in referring their patients to aquatic physical therapists and other licensed professionals.