Active recovery is essential after a high-intensity workout. Treat your class members to a restorative recovery that includes soothing movement for joint mobility and muscular flexibility. Aqua Restore with Claire Barker-Hemings will help you take away ideas for active recovery for interval training, as well as movement for cool downs.
High intensity aqua classes are all the rage now. Heart-pounding cardio and strength training are typically what people associate exercise with. Class members expect an intense workout. That is all perfectly fine, but without pliable joints and flexible muscles, aging bodies become more prone to stiffness, pain and ultimately injury. In the absence of healthy joints and muscular flexibility, an older adult begins to endure an endless cycle of injuries, recovery and even surgeries. Optimal physical fitness and wellness require a spectrum of exercise activities. A class member can’t participate in high intensity workouts if they are sidelined with an injury.
Active recovery is a concept that is becoming increasingly popular in the fitness industry. Active recovery is all about doing an extended period of low intensity exercise after a hard workout. This has historically been called the “cool down” in classes. However, cool downs in most classes are typically rushed due to a lack of time, and rather lackluster. Active recovery should be 3-5 minutes of movement, followed by 5-10 minutes of static stretching. Active recovery can also mean doing low intensity exercise on a day off, instead of sitting and resting completely. Active recovery should serve as the transition between the main component of the workout and the final stretch. The low-intensity exercise should focus on dynamic stretching and joint mobility.
VIDEO SUMMARY
Aqua Restore is a 28-minute shallow water aqua fitness video that includes joint mobility, dynamic stretching and controlled movement patterns designed to improve flexibility, posture, balance and overall movement quality. There is no equipment required. Your class members can simply submerge into the water and enjoy some soothing movement medicine.
RELATED ACTIVE RECOVERY VIDEOS
Looking for other active recovery videos like Aqua Restore? Below are just a few suggestions from the Fitmotivation library.
Pool Mobilize & Stretch – 20 minutes, shallow water
Fluid Magic – 50 minutes, shallow water
Deep Flex Rx – 30 minutes, deep water
Flexibility in Motion – 20 minutes, shallow water
Joint Tune-Up – 18 minutes, shallow water
Deep Revive – 30 minutes, deep water
Fitmotivation extends a big thank you to Claire for sharing this active recovery workout, and for returning this summer to film once again. Check out her full library of Fitmotivation videos.