Water Aerobics works wonders

Lynn Pierce

Lynn Pierce

Do you ever feel guilty about that extra glass of wine or the snacking at game night or bridge or the dessert at potluck? Robson has its wonderful share of social clubs and groups and most include a drink followed by a tasty snack and/or a decadent dessert. Do treadmills and ellipticals and weights defeat you? Want to have your cake and eat it, too? Relax. Water Aerobics is here to help. It can soothe the guilt, make you feel better and keep you healthy and fit. Jump right into the water aerobics classes and build cardiovascular fitness and strength. Just like swimming, water aerobics is easy on the joints yet challenging enough to help one reach new levels of fitness. Because of their low-impact format, water aerobics is suitable for every age and fitness level. It is an effective cardiovascular and strength training workout. When in the water, your body weight is reduced by about 90 percent. This reduces the amount of stress on hips, knees, ankle joints and back. Additionally, water workouts give moderate fitness. Because water is 12 to 14 times thicker than air and offers resistance in every direction, these classes can give you great muscle tone. The addition of aqua barbells increases the intensity of the exercise. They are an effective upper-body toning workout. Additionally, moving your body through the water creates a resistance that will activate muscle groups. While focusing on cardiac training, water aerobics differs in that it adds the component of water resistance and buoyancy. The heart works just as hard as in land-based aerobics. Water aerobics is beneficial to a multitude of participants because the density of the water allows easy mobility for those with medical conditions such as arthritis or osteoporosis or those in physical rehab. Additionally, water workouts are a terrific cross-training activity for runners and cyclists. Water aerobics classes are offered six days a week. The schedule is as follows: M/W/F from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.; Tues/Thurs from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. and Saturday from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. For more information contact Lynda Harris at 262-0101.