Splish Splash
Fish aren’t the only things in water making air bubbles.
When Kristen Prosser taught water aerobics in California, she said one elderly woman habitually passed gas when she lifted her legs for workouts.
But water aerobics isn’t just a lot of hot air.
Prosser, a junior in interior design, said it’s a cardio workout designed to tone muscles and put the least amount of stress on joints. The best part, Prosser said, is anyone can do it.
Tamar Arnoldson, a junior in interior design, said she has taken water aerobics for the past three years and is currently taking the classes at USU.
“Some people think it’s cheesy, but it’s not,” she said. “It gets you in shape, but you don’t feel like you’re exactly doing a lot. It seems easy in the water, so you can push yourself more and not know it.”
Arnoldson said she knows of members from a high school football team who attend water aerobics to improve their muscle tone. Melanie Haddock, water aerobics instructor at USU, said there are even a few guys signed up for her class.
“Water aerobics is not only a girl sport,” Haddock said in an interview. “I’ve got guys coming in saying, ‘I just got a workout I’ve never dealt with. The pool is different.'”
With five to seven times more resistance than air, Haddock said water aerobics “creates a wall you have to push pass.” This means it is five to seven times harder to do aerobics in water than to do the same movements on land. Due to the change in body weight while in water, Haddock said a person’s body is not as heavy to work with, which will help create less stress on joints. This creates a low impact workout, so Haddock said injuries to knees, joints and/or back don’t happen as often.
Sarah Wagstaff, a senior in liberal arts, said she was told once that this workout provides a better body stretch in the water than on land. This helps effectively stretch joints or muscles that may have been previously injured.
“I know of at least two USU cross country/track runners who used the [water] equipment for aqua-jogging to continue training while recovering from injuries,” Wagstaff said in an e-mail.
Wagstaff said she has taken water aerobics and HydroFit on and off for about six years.
“HydroFit is basically the same as shallow water aerobics, but in the deep end of the swimming pool, your feet don’t touch the bottom of the pool,” Wagstaff said. “This allows you to almost eliminate gravity.”
To help keep afloat in the deep end, Wagstaff said people can use buoyancy cuffs. Wagstaff said she called them “water wings for your ankles.” Participants can also wear buoyancy belts to keep them afloat.
“The first time I went to a HydroFit class was with my mom,” Wagstaff said. “We put on the buoyancy cuffs, and then it was time to get in the water. I jumped into the water from the deck and had no problems, so I told her to just jump in too. She did, but instead of her head popping up her ankles did. The ankle cuffs just want to pop out of the water. She was trying to get her feet back under her but was struggling. In the end the lifeguard had to jump in the pool to help her get upright in the water. Needless to say, she doesn’t jump in anymore. I guess that is why they have ladders.”
If being in a bathing suit is holding a person back, Prosser said not to worry.
“People are there to exercise,” she said. “No one cares what you look like. I think water is therapeutic, so you can go at your own pace. You don’t even have to know how to swim.
Both water aerobics classes taught by Haddock, a senior in broadcast journalism and art, begin at 7:30 a.m. Arnoldson, one of Haddock’s students, said she finds it tough to get out of bed and deal with Logan’s winter weather so early in the morning.
“But it helps you get up and done, so it works out,” she said. “Besides, you can come in your pajamas.”
Whether people make waves or air bubbles, water aerobics will give them a workout meant to tone their bodies.
“Anyone can participate in HydroFit [or water aerobics],” Wagstaff said. “But like any other exercise program, you get what you put into it. It’s up to you to get the results you want from the class. No one can do it for you.”
-britg@cc.usu.edu