According to the World Health Organization, aging is a sequential, cumulative, irreversible, individual, universal, and non-pathological process of deterioration of a mature organism, typical of all members of a species. Aging cannot be avoided, but there is a way to ease the process of progressive loss of functional capacity, which influences the quality of life. Thus, data referring to the fragility of the elderly in relation to health care must be identified.

Compare the functional capacity of elderly practitioners of hydrogymnastics and functional training.

This is field research, exploratory, descriptive, comparative, longitudinal, with quantitative and qualitative data analysis, carried out from April 2018 to June 2019 at Instituto Senior. The 6-minute walk test (6MWT) and the Duke Activity Status Index (DASI) were applied. Both the test and the questionnaire are reliable tools for assessing functional capacity.

A total of 22 hydrogymnastics or functional training practitioners were evaluated, 4 men and 18 women, with a mean age of 65.95±5.48. Separating by activity, 14 practiced water aerobics (2 men and 12 women) and 8 performed functional training (2 men and 6 women). An average distance of 479.29±72.13 and 462.50±78.92 was observed in the 6MWT and an average score obtained in the DASI of 41.49±11.42 and 49.92±12.24 for practitioners of water aerobics and functional training respectively. It was evidenced that even with aging one can maintain or improve the functional capacity through both modalities.

The practice of physical activity is directly linked to the promotion or maintenance of functional capacity. In the 6-minute walk test, hydrogymnastics practitioners had better performance, in the DASI, functional training practitioners obtained a higher score than those of hydrogymnastics.

The data show the benefits of practicing water aerobics and functional training in maintaining the functional capacity of the elderly, serving as valid alternatives to preserve the independence, well-being, and quality of life of this population. In addition, the use of assessment tools should be routinely performed in order to monitor the evolution or functional decline of the elderly, demonstrated here by the 6MWT and the DASI, which are easy to apply.