I have to say, when I first started this blog, I never thought I would be writing about a water aerobics class. Let’s be honest, I didn’t think I would ever be in a situation where that was an option. But when you go on a Girls Weekend with five of your favorite friends, things happen.
Between the six of us, we span the full range of fitness levels. Some of us workout religiously, some of us work out when it’s possible and some of us only see the gym once a year - during the Girls Weekend. But regardless of how they feel about working out, all of them are always willing to get out of bed at 8:00 AM, on a kid free weekend, to try a class with me. And I love them for it. So when one of them was excited to hear that water aerobics was an option, I had to go and show my support.
Every year, the girls and I pick a location for our annual trip. Over the past few years, the requirements have been the same - some place warm, some place with a pool and some place with a full range of workout classes. This year, our friend, Ronit hit the jackpot with the Carillon Wellness Resort in Miami. They offer 200 classes/week and it was clear that their focus was on fitness. The classes ranged from pilates, yoga, cycle, Zumba, the Gauntlet (blog post to follow on this one) and of course water aerobics. They even had a climbing wall and the coolest hydrotherapy circuit spa I have ever experienced.
We started our Saturday with a Boot Camp class (which was the best way to kick start the day) and then went straight to water aerobics. The class was held on a roof top pool which was heated and felt almost as warm as a relaxing bubble bath. It was amazing and perfect for the the 75 degree weather.
Right out of the gates, I knew we were in for a treat. I had never met an instructor like ours. She was full Cuban flair - so much energy, talked a mile a minute and loved to dance like no one I’ve ever met. I don’t think she stopped talking or moving her hips for the entire 45 minutes. It was amazing.
She started off by handing out a pair of large, thick gloves that were open at the finger tips. They created additional drag in the water so it definitely added to the workout. The class started off with a bang - it was more of choreographed dance routine than a warm up. Which for someone like me, is normally torture, but between the instructor’s energy and being with my friends, I had more fun than I would have expected. The warm up focused mostly on arm movements and then moved into some leg movements. The class then moved into a series of underwater arm, leg and core movements. This included everything from keeping your arms under water and doing lateral arm raises, moving through some underwater kicking activities and crunches. The hardest part of these exercises were the crunches. I kept floating around and trying to avoid swimming into the people next to me or banging into the wall of the pool was a workout in itself.
We then moved into a short swimming workout where she had us swim the full length of the pool. She had us swim freestyle and then the breast stroke. For someone like me, who rarely swims, it brought me back to being a kid.
The last part of class was exactly what I think of when I think of water aerobics. The instructor handed everyone a noodle and had us do various arm workouts and core workouts while holding onto the noodle. All of it was fairly straight forward and not too difficult. The end of class was exactly what I think of when I think of water aerobics. It was synchronized swimming at its best. The instructor had us come together in a circle, while holding onto our noodles and work through various movements. If you have ever done a Mommy and Me class at the Little Gym, it was reminiscent of all the things you do with the parachute, except with a swimming noodle. And with the music, you feel the need to be coordinated and graceful while doing it. Things that generally are not possible for me but somehow, in that moment, I felt like it was all coming together. This was hands down, one of the most memorable ‘workouts’ I’ve ever done. Grateful that my girlfriends motivated me to try something so different!
Workout Scale:
Cardio: 1/5
Core: 2/5
Legs: 3/5
Arms: 3/5