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The summer sun has burned itself out, and community pools are covered up around Richmond. At indoor locations all over town, though, the happy splash of churning water continues. At the Weinstein Jewish Community Center, American Family Fitness and the YMCA of Greater Richmond — among others — water aerobics classes make the joys and challenges of aquatic exercise available throughout the year.
“Any type of class that you can take on land, we can provide that same class in the water,” says Debbi Moore, regional aquatics director at American Family Fitness. “We have SilverSneakers classes, a fluid motion class, all the way to an aqua bootcamp and high-intensity training classes. We even have Zumba classes in the water.”
George Dintiman, president of the National Association of Speed and Explosion and the writer of 52 books on physical health and performance enhancement, says high-intensity training is part of the reason he’s as sharp as ever at the age of 87.
“You want to get exercise each day that will get your heart rate to at least 60% capacity,” Dintiman says. “That said, when you get older, you need more volume and less intensity in your exercise. High-impact workouts can cause joint and heart problems.”
“Water classes are so much easier on your body,” Moore says. “The impact on your joints is lower. Your heart rate will not increase as much, so it’s easier for people with a heart condition. Water workouts also increase lung capacity.”
One of the more popular classes offered by American Family Fitness is Aqua Blast, which Moore describes as “basically an aerobics class,” featuring 45 to 50 minutes of cardio. “You don’t really build muscle in the water, but you gain strength,” she says.
A similar range of classes is offered at the Weinstein Center. Their deep-water aerobics class is offered five days a week and “is nearly stress-free on the joints,” according to Myles Phelps, the center’s director of aquatics, sports and recreation. A shallow-water aerobics class, in which participants can stand comfortably, is offered three times a week. The Weinstein Center also has an aqua bootcamp with high-intensity exercises. Perhaps the most intense courses are its aquatic Tabata classes, high-intensity interval training sessions that require maximum effort for short periods of time.
“Tabata classes consist of 30 minutes of interval training, a total-body cardio workout,” Phelps says. “That’s followed by 15 minutes of mindful stretching, which helps balance the workout, improving muscular flexibility and joint range of motion.”
“Research shows that aerobic training provides protection from heart disease,” Dintiman says. But anaerobic training, generated by high-intensity interval training, releases lactic acid very quickly. It’s the reason why even Olympic 100-meter dash runners slow down around 80% into the race.
“Aerobics have gotten much of the credit for the health benefits of exercise, but now [high-intensity interval training] is showing that you can get the same workout in about half the time,” Dintiman says.
At Weinstein JCC, Tabata classes are being offered for the first time this fall, but Phelps says they are quickly gaining in popularity. The YMCA offers a range of workouts, including aqua Zumba.
For Moore, who has been in aquatics at American Family Fitness for 31 years, swimming is a lifelong passion. “As a child, I was on the swim team, and I was one of those kids whose parents would drop them off at the pool on the way to work and pick them up on the way home,” she says.
“I’ve been working in the Weinstein JCC aquatics department for 12 years now, so I’ve seen how happy it makes our participants and how important it is to their physical and mental health,” Phelps says. “Water aerobics is a great way for adults of all abilities to have a fun workout with a great group of people.”
