Want A Good Cardio Exercise? Get Wet

Exercising is good for us. Actually, if we want to live long, lose weight and stay healthy, we need to exercise. The problem is that exercising is easy for healthy people, but for obese people, who need it most, it is an agony. People with many conditions, such as arthritis, joint problems or any other bone disease have great difficulty exercising, even if they are very determined. Scientists from the Montreal Heart Institute found that exercising in water is much easier for obese people and people with disabilities, and it provides equal benefits.

Not just any exercise

Although even just plain swimming is better than nothing, to get the full benefit of water exercise, scientists suggest immersible ergocycle. It is just a fancy name for an underwater stationary bike.

The scientists who conducted the study found that the belief that exercising under water is less effective workout is wrong. They tested healthy participants on underwater stationary bikes, submerged up to their chest. They kept increasing the intensity of the exercise until the participants had to stop from exhaustion.

Very effective workout

The tests showed that the maximal consumption of oxygen, the sign of a good workout, was equal to the same exercise on the normal stationary bike.

Another interesting finding was that the underwater biking was more efficient from the cardiorespiratory point than the land biking.

In addition, the exercise under water did not increase the heart rate as much as similar exercise on land. The explanation was that the water pressure on legs provided more efficient blood circulation and the flow of blood to the heart. The exercisers pumped more blood per beat, so they did not need so many heartbeats.

According to the CDC, not even half Americans are completing the recommended Physical Activity Guidelines. As a consequence, the battle against obesity is not doing as well as we would like and more than 70 percents of Americans are obese or overweight. The new Canadian research offers one alternative to regular exercise that many people might find less stressful and easier to get used to.

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HealthStatus has been operating since 1998 providing the best interactive health tools on the Internet, millions of visitors have used our blood alcohol, body fat and calories burned calculators. The HealthStatus editorial team has continued that commitment to excellence by providing our visitors with easy to understand high quality health content for many years. Our team of health professionals, and researchers use peer reviewed studies as source elements in our articles. Our high quality content has been featured in a number of leading websites, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, Live Strong, GQ, and many more.

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Written by HealthStatus Team
Medical Writer & Editor

HealthStatus has been operating since 1998 providing the best interactive health tools on the Internet, millions of visitors have used our blood alcohol, body fat and calories burned calculators. The HealthStatus editorial team has continued that commitment to excellence by providing our visitors with easy to understand high quality health content for many years. Our team of health professionals, and researchers use peer reviewed studies as source elements in our articles. Our high quality content has been featured in a number of leading websites, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, Live Strong, GQ, and many more.

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