Participants jump into health and happiness at the outdoor Powassan community pool<\/p>\n
Not everyone enjoys exercising, but the smiles and giggles coming from the newly renovated Powassan Lions Community Pool on a Monday or Wednesday night indicate that the aquafit program is a hit.<\/p>\n
The fact that the classes are held at the outdoor pool brings the experience to the next level.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so much fun. We\u2019ve got the sunshine, and everybody is in a good mood. It’s summertime, it’s party time, it’s holiday time,\u201d grinned instructor Cathy Rowe.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople really love it; they\u2019re excited to find out it is an outdoor pool. So, it is kind of like they\u2019re off to the cottage when they come here.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is a steady tidal wave of participants who travel from across the area to participate in the twice-weekly classes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got people coming from North Bay, South River, Trout Creek, Bonfield, Astorville, and, of course, Powassan. They\u2019re all coming here for the summer experience,\u201d stated Rowe.<\/p>\n
The concept is easy enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone gets in the water; the pool is heated. We get in, we warm up, we do some cardio. The most important muscle we have is our heart, and then we take out the equipment, mostly pool noodles. They\u2019re professional ones, and I\u2019ve been told they\u2019re the equivalent of lifting 20-pound dumbbells because you have the water to resist you,\u201d explained Rowe.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, anybody that\u2019s got any issues with body mobility, the water will support them, but it will also give them some resistance, so they get a good workout.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lisa Harwood attends classes regularly and is one of those people with mobility issues who is benefiting from the workout.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe water is there to help you stay up. I have diabetic neuropathy in my feet, and this seems to help.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0Harwood credits her friend Donna Turgeon for motivating her to get out and get active.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re co-workers and actually, it worked out really well because we\u2019re in a stressful environment and this is a good stress reliever,\u201d Harwood explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cI enjoy the fresh air, and there\u2019s a lot of laughs because a lot of the things you\u2019re trying to do in the pool are like \u2018this isn\u2019t working, I\u2019m not coordinated enough to do this,\u2019 but you try your best. Sometimes we see equipment flying, especially the flutter boards. They like to launch themselves every once in a while as you try to lie on them,\u201d laughed Harwood.<\/p>\n
Friend Donna Turgeon experiences both the mental and physical benefits that outdoor aquafit offers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe exercise, the social gain of it, and just coming out and enjoying it. I come out twice a week, normally when it is warm, but I liked it so much that I\u2019ve been coming on the cooler nights too,\u201d grinned Turgeon.<\/p>\n
Her preference is the outdoor classes versus the indoor aqua fit classes.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust the sun, the fresh air, and, believe it or not, the coolness. It is enjoyable, and you work at your own pace. So, for a good time and good laughs, you can come and just relax. I go home, take a nice warm shower, and then go right to bed and get a good night\u2019s rest. I sleep great afterwards.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is also a social outing for many in the group.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s wonderful. Most of them come with a friend or two, or three, and everybody is always happy, they\u2019re laughing, they\u2019re kidding each other, \u201cstated Rowe.<\/p>\n
The participants tend to be older adults, mostly women.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say 60ish, give or take five years on either side, but I\u2019ve got some young folks coming in that are in their 30s, almost 40s, and I\u2019ve got some grandmas who are in their 70s and 80s.\u201d<\/p>\n
All agree that there is something freeing about doing aquafit outdoors.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like as my group ages, including me, we actually come for the benefits, not just for the fun, for the workout for our body, to keep it moving, to stay mobile, to stay well. The social commitments are really, really important too because a lot of people are isolated, they live in the country, they\u2019re out in the middle of nowhere. So, to gather with their best friend, or their niece, or their daughter, is always a big deal to come in to. It is social and physical.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n
The classes are held on a drop-in basis, running from 6:30\u00a0to 8 p.m.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is $5, we\u2019ve got to pay for those lifeguards. We work out for an hour and then they have a half hour free swim, and that\u2019s their social time,\u201d Rose pointed out. \u00a0<\/p>\n
As Turgeon noted, don\u2019t think twice about joining the group, just jump right in with both feet.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is enjoyable, and you work at your own pace. So, for a good time and good laughs, you can come and just relax,\u201d said Turgeon. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say go for it, have fun. That is what we\u2019re all here to have is fun, and get fit. Nobody is watching what you\u2019re doing. The deeper you go, the more you\u2019re covered,\u201d laughed Harwood.<\/p>\n
BOLD articles focus on healthy outdoor activities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Participants jump into health and happiness at the outdoor Powassan community pool Not everyone enjoys exercising, but the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":164679,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[1198,210,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-164678","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-fitness","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115068660633729426","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=164678"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164678\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/164679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=164678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=164678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}