Benefits: Unlike conventional gyms, this one has no weights, only plastic floats to pull through the water. However, since water itself provides natural resistance, it provides a great form of low-impact strength training. It is widely used in hospitals as rehabilitation equipment for patients who have suffered heart disease or strokes. "An aqua-gym circuit can be very tough as it is recommended to jog from each piece of equipment to the next to maintain your body temperature," says Dean Hodgkin, fitness director of Ragdale Hall in Leicestershire, UK. "It is a great alternative to conventional weight training for people who have problem joints or who just feel self- conscious using a weights room at the gym."
Poolates
What it is: A current hit in New York's gyms, this is a fusion of Pilates and water fitness that aims principally to strengthen your core abdominal muscles. However, the buoyancy and resistance of the water means that other muscles are worked harder than usual too.
Benefits: Beyond fitness, Pilates has many preventative benefits for a range of common ailments. Back pain, for instance, is often triggered when your body is pulled out of alignment: Pilates helps to pull it back by strengthening the core muscles around your lower back and stomach. Studies at Queensland University in Australia have shown that Pilates exercises can develop the muscles that support the back. It is much more effective for preventing back pain than yoga. Since the water provides extra cushioning, the pool-based class is said to be at least as beneficial, although many teachers of the traditional method pooh-pooh Poolates as a gym fad.
Swim4fitness
What it is: As its name suggests, this is a program to help those who like swimming to get the most out of their lengths in the pool. It includes drills such as using a kickboard in your hands at arm's length to work your legs or, to work your arms, holding the kickboard between your feet.
Benefits: Swimming is generally regarded as the best all-round fitness activity as it works all the body's major muscle groups and has an aerobic effect. Different strokes work different muscle groups. Even a slow front crawl will burn 300 calories in half an hour.
Find out more: swim4fitness.com
Aqua-dance
What it is: Fast-moving dance classes with themes to suit your mood or fitness level. At some of the Virgin Active clubs in the UK, for instance, people can try Jazz Aquadance or Island Jam Aqua. "They are a more up-to-date and fun version of aqua-aerobics," says Beale. "They really get you moving in every direction so that all muscles are worked. But the music helps you to forget how tough it is."
Benefits: "When you dance," says Sammy Margo of the UK's Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, "your body is forced to engage the core muscles in the center of the body around the trunk and lower back." At the same time, a dancer engages the inter-scapular muscles between the shoulder blades so that the middle back opens up and posture is improved, she says. Studies have shown that regular dance can improve mood and researchers reporting in the New England Journal of Medicine recently found that regular dance reduced the risk of dementia in older people.
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