Many health seekers choose water exercise classes because they want or need lower impact fitness activities. However, there is still impact present in shallow water and it is important for instructors to offer techniques for reducing impact. Aqua HiLo showcases the impact reduction technique known as Grounded Movement. Instructors will also take away a template for creating a total body aerobic workout by dividing exercises by Movement Planes. This video includes an optional online course and CEC quiz worth 2.0 AEA CECs.
Hi-Lo Inspiration
The idea for Aqua HiLo was based on a suggestion from a subscriber to do a sequel to the Liquid HiLo workout that was filmed as a DVD in 2008. My intention was simply to create a fun and splashy HiLo aerobic workout in the pool. However, as I started tweaking and re-tweaking the exercise selection, I realized that the content had a meaty science-based framework that would benefit instructors with more in-depth explanation. Therefore, I created an optional online education course that includes a 9-page educational handout and a 20-question quiz worth 2.0 AEA CECs. There are now 23 Fitmotivation Online Ed courses available to subscribers. Premium subscribers pay $10.00 per course and Basic subscribers pay $20.00 per course.
Hi-Lo History
Long before HIIT there was Hi-Lo. Hi-Lo aerobic classes became standard studio fare in the 80’s after it was discovered that lots of people were getting injured in high-impact aerobics classes, bouncing around in their leg warmers like jackhammers on the unforgiving hard surface of the aerobic studio floor. The fitness industry’s solution was to offer Hi-Lo classes that blended low-impact grounded moves with higher impact aerobics in order to maintain intensity while reducing impact. The premise of “lo” was to keep one foot on the studio floor at all times so that impact was eliminated. Aqua HiLo simply adapts this same formula into the pool.
Hi-Lo in the Pool?
Water aerobics is considered low-impact exercise and so you may wonder why there would be a need for Hi-Lo in the pool? The fact is that there is still impact present in shallow water exercise. When exercising in water at chest depth, a class participant would still be bearing about 25-35% of their body weight. Exercising in water that is waist depth increases that impact to 50% of body weight. Traditional aquatic base moves will be affected by this impact. One-footed moves, such as knee-high jogs, heel-high jogs, kicks and pendulums are executed with a transfer of weight from one foot to the other, which causes impact. Two-footed moves, such as jumping jacks, cross country skis, moguls and tucks, feature substantially more impact because they are performed by a jump or transfer of weight onto both feet. Knowing that many class participants choose water exercise because they have joint impact issues, it is imperative that instructors understand techniques for reducing impact. One technique for reducing impact is to ground movement by keeping one foot on the pool floor at all times. 
Grounded Movement
Many instructors perceive grounded movement to be less intense, equating low impact with low intensity. This simply is not true. Aqua HiLo was my way of proving that aerobic training does not get diminished by adding in grounded moves. Instead, intensity is maintained while reducing impact of by 50%. Grounded movements use drag resistance to provide intensity and challenge. The goal is to use more aggressive arm and leg patterns when anchoring movement. All base moves can be grounded and doing so will add more creativity and exercise variations to your program. Additionally, grounded moves are taught more easily by instructors on deck. In summary, adding more grounded moves into a class format reduces impact, maintains intensity, increases muscular endurance, adds more creativity and makes the class easier to teach on deck. Ready to to take the Hi-Lo challenge?
Aqua HiLo Workout At-a-Glance
The Aqua HiLo workout includes a warm-up and cool down, as well as five segments that are intended to train cardiorespiratory and muscular endurance. This is good old-fashioned aerobic training that was designed to keep the heartrate at a steady-state medium-high intensity for over 45 minutes, providing optimal fat burning and cardiovascular conditioning.
HiLo #1: Sagittal Plane – Short Lever
In this segment, the focus is on quadriceps, hamstrings, biceps and triceps with shorter lever moves that feature the joint actions of flexion and extension with movement directed forwards and backwards in the sagittal plane. Shorter lever moves are implemented in the first segment as a means of gradually increasing intensity in the workout. Shorter lever moves are less intense than longer lever moves because they encounter less drag resistance.
HiLo #2: Sagittal Plane – Long Lever
The intensity dials up in this segment with longer lever moves that demand greater effort. The movements are still performed in the sagittal plane with flexion and extension, but this time the longer levers put more emphasis on hip flexors and glutes in the lower body. The longer lever arm patterns in the upper body target the larger muscle groups of the chest and back with shoulder flexion and extension, while still involving biceps and triceps.
HiLo #3: Frontal Plane
Switching to side to side movements in the frontal plane, this segment features abduction and adduction of the shoulders and hips, as well as lateral flexion of the spine. Get ready to target different muscle groups in this block. For lower body, the emphasis will be on inner and outer thigh. For upper body – the focus is on shoulders, as well as chest and back.
HiLo #4: Transverse Plane & Multi-planar
In this segment, movements are performed horizontally with transverse hip & shoulder abduction & adduction, as well as torso rotation. The main emphasis is on core training with movements that include spinal flexion and rotation. This segment also includes multi-planar exercises which include circular, diagonal and spiral movements. Multi-planar movement enhances joint flexibility and better prepares the body for the tasks of daily living.
Final Exam
It simply wouldn’t be a "Mark workout" without a grand finale. In this case, we’ll call it a final exam as all of the movement combinations from the previous four segments are taught together with reduced repetitions. The body moves briskly in all directions as the aerobic training comes to a dramatic and intense close. 
Webbed Gloves
Equipment is not needed in this workout. The water’s drag forces provide plenty of resistance. However, if you want to add more resistance to your upper body, webbed gloves are highly recommended.
Music
The music used in this workout is from Power Music. The playlist, Latin 1, is 130 bpm and is available to download for $14.95.
Exploring Hi/Lo formats for your shallow water classes is an excellent idea because it will challenge your ability to create grounded variations for base moves. The participants will benefit from enjoying shallow water classes that maintain intensity while reducing impact.