I convinced a bride friend of mine that Aquafit at her local gym was the way to go. In Cowtown, her gym is the biggest and best - full of young and old. I was hoping to debunk the myth that aquafitness is only for old people. I was wrong.
We were late in getting there so as we rushed in and Mrs. L scanned the pool area (the adult pool area) looking for our class, I happened to spot them first. We only had enough time for me to turn to her and say 'I am really really sorry'. Our class was in the training pool, as in training to be a duckling, duck, dolphin pool. And we were the youngest 'ducklings' by about 30 years.
The thing I love about older people is that they love us 'young-uns' and they all smiled as we jumped into the pool. And by jumped I mean splashed as it was three feet deep. They told us to go up front to the 'deep end' - maybe 3'10''? So here we were in our bikinis (I was on vacation so only had my ruffly deal that kept coming up around my nipples all class. Besides, we're in our twenties and childless - we don't have one pieces yet!), surrounded by a graceful woman with white hair in her seventies, an old punjab lady wearing a shower cap, a lady in a bright red bathing suit who wore her glasses the whole time, and two women who were, ummm, how do I say, rather buoyant.
Aquafit is suprisingly tough, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You are using the water as resistance which makes lunging and jumping back and forth quite difficult. So difficult that Mrs. L got a blister on her big toe from trying to keep hold of the pool bottom. Pretty sure she is the only woman in the universe of Aquafit to get an injury.
Unless you count water up your nose and a near drowning to be an injury. I took a pretty good head dive when I tried to jump over my noodle like a skip rope. I know that I am an uncoordinated gal but come on! I fell head first into the pool making all the other women snicker as I bobbed up like a drowned rat. Clearly I was too tall for the pool and my top heaviness made me topple over. That is what I will tell myself anyways. The Punjab lady kept having to show me what to do, including how to jump without risking one's life. Aquafit is where the seventy-year-olds have us beat - they know the drill.
I also enjoyed the seventy-year old men sitting in the hot tub across the pool taking in our performance. Watching the hot old birds get fit. It's like the bar for old people.
By the time we got out, I was pooped. I looked like I was pooped too. With mascara running down my face and my hair plastered to my head (they make women coming out of the pool hot on TV. It's a myth). All the old ladies asked if we would come again. Come again to be humiliated in the pool and get more blisters? Sign me up!
And bless their hearts, they thought we were going back to school after class. That's the best thing about Aquafit: even though you may have just turned 29, you will always be the youngest person in the class . . .
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