LIQUID FITNESS
When dawn breaks, most people in the Gordon County community are either still in bed, clinging to coffee while eating breakfast or haven’t even fallen asleep yet.
However, a group of local senior citizens are wide-awake and working out in the pools of the Calhoun Aquatic Center in order to stay afloat physically and mentally.
The Calhoun Aquatic Center provides a plethora of opportunities for senior citizens to stay in shape. The center’s Aqua Fitness and Liquid Fitness classes offer crucial, low- impact strength training of a variety of muscles by utilizing moderate to intensive full- body cardio in the pool.
Although the exercises take place in the water, the overall goal is for the senior citizens taking the classes to be able to simply complete routine tasks on dry land with ease.
A typical day in Aqua or Liquid Fitness class involves activities such as jogging underwater, high- knee exercises, stretching with pool noodles and other reallife simulated motions set to music to keep the seniors moving.
“It is a great opportunity because it involves a variety of things that can become tough for them to do on the ground,” Aqua Fitness instructor Jennifer Holley said. “I just always try and throw in new things that can help them improve their daily living.”
“We just focus on functions of everyday life, such as simple issues like reaching up for something on a shelf or cranking a lawnmower.”
The classes are open to all people of all ages and fitness abilities, but the senior citizens are some of the top students of the class, according to Holley.
“I am amazed by them,” Holley said. “Working out is new to some of them, but I think they are doing something that is changing their lives in and out of the water.”
The number of seniors participating is increasing all of the time, with as many as 25 attending per class.
Charles Todd, director of the Calhoun Aquatic Center, also couldn’t help but noticed the high level of energy the senior citizens bring to the center’s classes.
“It’s hard to tell because they are in the water, but all of them exercise really hard and work up quite a sweat,” Todd said. “I have a hard time keeping up with them myself.”
Aquatic Fitness and Liquid Fitness have also proven effective at alleviating many joint and muscle pains stemming from maladies such as arthritis and osteoporosis. Movement in the water allows joints to become better lubricated, reducing stiffness and pain and increasing their flexibility.
The classes take advantage of the buoyancy of the water, which displaces a person’s weight. This displacement causes less wear and tear to the ligaments and tendons, which is key for seniors to have the ability to exercise comfortably and effectively.
Cardio in the pool has also been shown to aid in the prevention and remedy of certain cancers, obesity, hypertension and diabetes. These classes allow seniors to raise their heart rate and increase blood flow, which has a positive effect on the entire body.
“We aim to try and raise the heart rate and keep it there,” Todd said. “They know they are always surrounded by certified and experienced instructors and teachers, so they can feel safe doing that.”
Additionally, intensive aquatic exercise has a positive effect on the brain function of senior citizens, reducing the grip of dementia, insomnia and depression.
“Overall, I think it really lifts their spirits
because they are able to do so many different things that they couldn’t have done otherwise,” Holley said.
Besides the vital health benefits, working out while submerged in the pool of the Calhoun Aquatic Center also eliminates falling, one of the primary dangers for seniors while jogging or lifting free weights.
Falling is a legitimate concern for adults over the age of 55, causing major, even potentially fatal, injuries.
Seniors participating in the Aqua Fitness and Liquid Fitness programs are shielded from that risk due to the stability and cushion by the water. It allows them to exercise as intensely as they desire without the hazard of a potential spill.
“We create a very safe environment for them to work out in,” Todd said. “I know it is a big relief for them to be able exercise without worrying about falling and get- ting injured.”
There is also the added incentive of the social aspect of the workouts that give the seniors the opportunity to meet and talk to people their own age with similar interests.
“It gives them a sense of community, and they even go out and grab lunch and dinner with each other,” Holley said. “They truly get to know each other.”
With their persistent effort to remain active and desire to stay in motion, people of any age in the community could learn a little something from this group of seniors.
“The oldest members of the class always say the secret is to just keep moving,” Holley said. “A moving body is a healthy body, and that’s something I think they all live by.”
Aqua Fitness is offered Mondays and Wednesdays at 5 a.m. and Liquid Fitness is offered on weekdays except for Thursday at 9: 30 a. m. and Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6: 30 p. m. at the Calhoun Aquatic Center. For more information, check out calhounaquaticcenter. com or 706- 602- 6817.