January 02, 2004

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Publication Date: Friday, January 02, 2004

Come on in - the water's great

Water aerobics was a great way to exercise last summer when I discovered the city classes at the Aquatic Center. The 6 p.m. plunge into the water was a joy on a 100-degree day, and the classes were early enough to leave my evenings ahead of me.

Shallow water aerobics are held Monday and Wednesday, and deep water on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I would choose the two most convenient days. Deep water is held in the diving pool, and buoyancy equipment - worn around the waist or the ankles - is provided.

Both are great for toning muscles and getting a cardiovascular workout, and I loved the camaraderie that developed as the group of women (and an occasional man) exercised to the music. Best of all, my efforts - and my figure problems - were hidden under the water.

But the days quickly became shorter. As we jogged and jumped and twisted and turned throughout the fall, we watched some beautiful sunsets. When daylight savings time ended in October, so did the mild weather.

But my hardier classmates didn't view the plunging temperatures as a deterrent. They donned hats and wet suits and came bundled in parkas. So I did, too.

Donna Batchelor, who works at Hacienda Business Park, is still going strong after two-and-a-half years of the classes and tries to make it all four nights. She said she is definitely in better shape now and has lost a lot of weight.

"I really enjoy it in the wintertime, when the air is still," she said. "But when I started going I had no intention of doing it in the wintertime. My friend who I come with encouraged me. Once I'm in, I'm glad I'm there." Afterward she takes a hot shower in the heated dressing room and dons her sweats.

"In the summertime we get a lot of women in their 20s," added Batchelor, who is in her 40s. "They are the first to go when the weather cools off." Classes also attract many women in their 60s and 70s.

Frances Steuer-Silva, senior recreation leader, said attendance drops in the wintertime, but in the summer the pool is crowded. She has her staff take the classes so they will understand that they are not as easy as they may look. "Water exercise is a totally different workout," she said.

They try to keep the water at 80 degrees, which is comfortable in the wintertime. "We aim for 80 in the summer, but sometimes the temperature outside gets too hot," she explained.

Adele Warholic has been teaching water aerobics for three years and she leads the evening classes Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. She got hooked at a class she took in Dublin and then pursued her certification from the Aquatic Exercise Association. Sharon Lindsey teaches the morning classes and Monday night.

"I think water aerobics is well rounded," said Warholic. "It doesn't stress the joints, as with land-based pounding all the time. The other advantage is that you work both sets of muscles, biceps and triceps at the same time, on the way up and on the way down. On land you have gravity helping."

The teacher stands on the side of the pool so students can see her movements, and she wears a microphone. If it rains too hard, Adele joins her pupils in the water, she said. "The disadvantage is I don't have a submersible microphone. And it is harder to see what I'm doing."

From her position out of the water, she can keep an eye on how the students are moving. "If I see people are not doing something correctly I will restate it," she said. "The most important thing is alignment, to keep the posture correct, which is ears over shoulders, shoulders over hips. It's important to keep in position while the water is trying to move you in many different directions. You're working every set of muscles and increasing endurance."

"In the winter I will vary some of the exercises," she said. "Some are more stationary and may cool the participants. In the summer I try to alternate fast and slow."

She said she finds it tempting to stay indoors on cold winter evenings, as do her students. "Even for me I'd rather stay home in front of my fire," she said. "But everyone says, 'Oh, I'm so glad that I came. It's fun.' The only bad part is getting from the pool to your clothes to the locker room."

The classes are very social, Warholic noted, although the one at 6 a.m., like the evening class, is mostly people who work. Before the two-week holiday break, that class met for breakfast one morning at 6:30. The later morning class had a Christmas party at someone's home. And the evening class went out for coffee on the last night.

"It's not like a gym, where you're on display," said Warholic. "It's a more friendly environment. The music helps and the water helps, from the standpoint that it's relaxing."

She suggested a fleece hat in the winter, to keep in body heat and to repel the mist and rain. And a neoprene suit is helpful. "It you're not shivering, you're going to have more fun," she said.

I've found it is easier to lower myself into the 80-degree water when the temperature outside is in the 40s than when it is hot outside. I'm still experimenting with parkas and towels and a wetsuit.

I've only been once when it was raining lightly and the teacher used an umbrella. The class bonded in a special way that night and I decided: Water aerobics is a great way to exercise in the winter.
Take the plunge

The city's evening water aerobics classes are held at 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday at the Dolores Bengtson Aquatic Center on Black Avenue. On Mondays and Wednesdays, it's regular Water Exercise, to strengthen and tone muscles plus improve cardiovascular fitness. On Tuesday and Thursday, it's Deep Water Workout, held in the diving pool.

The evening Aqua Aerobics session running Jan. 5-28 includes seven classes for $35, or $38.50 for non-residents. Deep Water Workout runs Jan. 6-29, eight sessions for $40, or $44. Morning water exercise classes are listed in the Park & Community Services Activities Guide. The drop-in fee is $6.25. The city also sells 10-class punch cards for $57.50 for residents, and $62.50, non-residents.

For more information, call 931-5340 or visit www.ci.pleasanton.ca.us/parks.html

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