Get Wet, Feel Good, Have Fun

Article submitted by Dr. Karen Wolfe, MBBS, MA.
For more information, she can be reached at 949-500-5565, or by e-mail: email@drkarenwolfe.com.

As many of you know, water isn't just for drinking, making coffee, or taking a bath. It's for a great way to exercise our aging muscles and joints. Exercising in the pool can provide the benefits of exercise without the pain or stress of a workout on the gym floor.

First, the benefits: You know the facts about aerobics so we'll have a short review: Aerobic exercises refer to any activity that elevates your heart rate and breathing and keeps them elevated for an extended period of time. To get this increased rate you have to use your large muscles of your arms and legs in a rhythmic motion. Widely recognized benefits include decreased blood pressure, increased HDL (good) cholesterol, decreased body fat, increased heart and lung efficiency, and decreased tension and depression.

Next, the low stress and pain of a workout: Since water supports your joints, it's easier to move freely and increase your range of motion. In shoulder-high water, only about 10% of your total body weight is on your joints. You can move easier with lower weight on those joints, and there's no banging your feet on the gym floor and transferring pressure to your knees (ouch!), and no "jiggling" of everything else we've accumulated over the years. Water, unlike air, offers substantial resistance to movement so we have to work to move our limbs, using the big muscles and the little ones we didn't know were there. With water exercise we can reach the same level of fitness, muscle firmness, and target heart rates as with conventional exercise. By the way, it's fun!

You can join a class, follow the leader and your class partners, and exercise at your own rate. Don't try to keep up with the ones who've been there for months or years; you'll do just fine at your beginning pace as you increase your muscle tone and cardiovascular health. Another great benefit is that you'll meet the nicest people! After a while you'll forget this is an exercise class.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Fact Book 2000-2001, arthritis is the most commonly reported chronic condition of older Americans, with a majority of us over 70 years old reporting the symptoms. Water exercise helps a lot with arthritic joints. You don't have to have arthritis to join a water aerobics class, however the Arthritis Foundation of Mobile (see Associations for Specific Illnesses in this book) can lead you to the nearest pool with qualified instructors to lead an exercise program approved by the Foundation. Also, call a local YMCA listed in the Medical, Wellness and Fitness Section of this book. Make that call, get in the pool!