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Women become estrogen deficient in the post- menopausal period, which increases the risk for cardiovascular disease. Research has show that moderate intensity exercise can reduce cardiovascular disease and the overall risk of death. However, at this higher age, moderate- or high intensity exercise can be hard for these women to carry out because of their risk of injury, of pain incurred due to painful joints. Therefore, these women need a safe and low impact exercise environment, that reduces joint pain and risk of injury. Training in water can create the optimal circumstances, where relatively high and continuous musculoskeletal load can be achieved while the risk of injury of joint pain can be reduced.
A recent article in Scientific Reports by Nature covers the effects of High Intensity Interval Exercise (HIIT) in an aquatic environment, compared to exercises outside the water, in terms of muscle oxygenation and physiological parameter responses.