| Uniting AEA’s IAFC with ATRI’s Symposium, the International Aquatic Fitness & Therapy Conference allows you to customize the week of training to suit your needs – therapy, fitness, or both. Here is a highlight of one of the fitness-focused sessions being offered at IAFTC 2023 in Orlando, Florida (April 30-May 5) from Author Paulo Poli. |
| With various high-intensity protocols adapted to the aquatic environment, let’s explore the keys to success in this type of programming. Know Your Audience The first principle of fitness training is biological individuality. It is important to align your exercise program with your audience’s main characteristics. Consider goals (personal or group), risk factors, history of injuries, and exercise experience. Exercise Choices Adaptations to training are specific to each exercise pattern and the correct choice of exercise for each phase of the class will be critical to the success of the program. Here are some factors to consider when choosing an exercise: – Number of muscle groups – Priority muscle group – Lever length – Impact level – Use of equipment – Transitions – Technical preparation Every movement of the upper limbs will have a transfer of force to the shoulder girdle, just as every movement of the lower limbs will have a transfer of force to the pelvic girdle. In the middle is the spine; therefore, stabilization and alignment of the spine will be fundamental for safe and correct execution. Carefully define body alignment, ground support, range of motion, limb coordination, and spine stabilization. This will provide efficiency and safety to the movements. When teaching a new technique or correcting a certain movement, initiate the movement with slow practice. Only after the correct movement has been assimilated do you progressively increase the execution speed. Monitor & Control Intensity and Volume Intensity is another key to success. The energy used in short, high-intensity exercise is different from that expended in prolonged, moderate-intensity exercise, so it is essential to organize the intensity and stimulus time of each exercise. There is a relationship between exercise intensity, physiological wear, and training outcome. In aquatic exercise, it is suggested to use subjective perception of effort and the individual’s maximum intensity to control the exercise intensity. To target the anaerobic energy systems, high intensity protocols normally use sprints of 10 seconds up to 1 minute, as the loss of speed and/or the sensation of pain may limit the continuity of the exercise. When performing maximal exercise, we initially lose speed as ATP-CP decreases; later, as blood lactate increases, the sensation of muscle soreness inhibits maintaining exercise intensity. Thus, recovery periods will be necessary to allow the body to perform additional sets of exercise. Motivation Remember that results are only achieved with the continuation of the physical exercise program. For this, we must keep our students motivated. Some helpful tips: – Pay attention to the individual – Educate your students – Praise their progress – Understand the difficulties – Think about mental health – Create a commitment to return. |
| AUTHOR Paulo Poli is one of AEA’s amazing IAFTC 2023 Presenters. Find out more about Paulo and the sessions he is offering here. |