Just Keep Swimming...

Now that I’m officially 30, I found that it is high time I start acting my age.  Which is why I decided to do a water aerobics class at the gym on Saturday.  

Kidding.

I did the class because my injured back continues to permit me from doing any other exercise. This would be my first real workout activity other than walking on the treadmill in more than a month, which I celebrated as a victory.

I brought a friend with me as a metaphorical flotation device—maybe it’s a girl thing, or a me thing, but when I try something new and unfamiliar for the first time, I like to have someone there with me so we can support each other, a.k.a. laugh at each other or curse the instructor under our breaths.

Now, water aerobics classes have a certain stigma attached to them — they’re filled with old people, they’re not that hard, etc.  Well, I am here to tell you that everything you’ve heard about water aerobics is true:  

·        *       I am pretty sure we were the youngest in the class… by at least 30 years.

·        *       It was filled with older women (one woman was serious… she had hand wraps) and a few hairy old men.

·         *      Every time the instructor announced the next exercise, a choir of groans echoed throughout the pool.  The groans got even louder when she announced that we’d be doing said exercise for 45 seconds… apparently that is WAY too long. When we had to do one for a minute, some woman exclaimed that this was the longest minute of her life.

·        *      At one point the instructor got so irritated that people weren’t following the proper instructions or taking the class seriously, she slammed a water noodle on the floor and yelled at us.  Honestly, if I was the instructor I’d be annoyed, too.  The old ladies seemed to use this time as a social hour in the pool rather than a serious workout.  

The class wasn’t too bad until we had to do an exercise where, while straddling our water noodles, we had to grab on to the back of someone else’s noodle and form a chain.  Not only did I feel like a 10-year-old, but I was forced to partner with one of the hairy old men – let’s just say I grabbed back hair before his noodle.  That is the moment I mentally checked out of class and vowed never to return.  

To be fair, I didn’t put in 100 percent effort because I didn’t exactly get permission from my physical therapist to do this class. So maybe it is a really good workout, I just didn't get to experience it this time.  I’ve also never really been a fan of over-chlorinated pools filled with strangers. 

And most importantly, I really miss running. I think I’ll stick to walking on the treadmill – my water aerobics class days are over.  At least for the next couple decades.