Normally Tuesday and Thursday evenings I am in a dragon boat, training. I’m so used to that schedule that when training season ends and I have those evenings free I feel a little lost…what am I supposed to do now? Usually, for a month or so I just have fun doing whatever, either staying in or going out, doesn’t matter what I do I feel like I am in the wrong spot, like I’m cheating on the team lol
Training has been done for quite a while now and I’m trying to find something to replace it, I’m much more likely to not skip a workout if it is planned and I’m expected to be there. Gotta love accountability! 😛
A teammate suggested I join her at aquafit class on Tuesday evenings. Normally I would have begged off, uh, bathing suit? No thank you! But ever since my cliff jumping and subsequent swimming in the ocean I have been wanting to get back in the water. I had so much fun swimming in the ocean that I spent the rest of the summer wanting to repeat the experience. Every body of water I saw while on the rest of my vacation elicited the question “can we swim in that?” and the answer was always “no!”…makes you think about just how horrible humans are to the planet that there are so many different water sources and none of them are safe to swim in, what’s with that?
When I got back from vacation I thought I’d hit up the pool near me but it was under construction and wouldn’t be usable for a couple months, sucky timing that. I have been waiting for the pool to re-open when KR texted me about going to aquafit with her at a different community centre and I figured, yes, go for it! Forget about the whole people-seeing-me-in-a-swimsuit-thing and go, swim, enjoy!
This has been my third Tuesday in a row going to aquafit and I’m really liking it. I always thought of aquafit as something old ladies did lol but this class is an intermediate to advance and has a wide variety of ages, oh, and there are guys there also, not cute guys, old guys, but whatev.
The class is an hour long with 40-45 minutes of cardio, the rest uses these dumbbell foam things to do resistance work in the water. It works the muscles surprisingly well! 🙂
the foam dumbbells
This evening I messed up on the time and was an hour early, oops! Last week I purposefully went early to use the fitness room in the community centre, I hopped on a treadmill and went for a run before meeting my friend for the aquafit class. Apparently my brain is easily confused because when I was getting ready this evening I was remembering being there for 7pm but thought that was for the class, not for the run then the class *rolls eyes* I didn’t take my running clothes because I wasn’t planning on running before the class, and I didn’t realize my error until I was in the hot tub waiting for what I thought were the last ten minutes before class started. I wasn’t about to go get dried off and try to find something to occupy myself for a little under an hour just so I could come back and get dressed in a wet swimsuit lol So I sat in the hot tub for an hour, oh the hardships! lol I actually spent most of that time sitting with my legs dangling in the hot tub, but close enough lol 😛
I know some people scoff at working out in the water, everyone knows it is easier on the joints but somehow working out in the water, in a lot of people’s minds, equates to a less effective workout. Perhaps because you can’t see the sweat? Here are some facts about water workouts that may surprise you…
– Working out in water means your muscles are forced to work harder, burning more fat and toning them up faster than land-based exercises. This is because they are fighting the water every time they move.
– Jogging on dry land will only burn up approximately six calories per minute. But aqua jogging can burn over 11 calories a minute, giving you a better workout.
– The extra pressure of the water on your legs also pushes more blood back up into the top half of your body. This makes your heart work harder, raising your heartbeat and burning even more calories during your water workout.
– Aqua-exercises also have a cooling effect on the body. Because you are working out in the water, your body is not sweating as much to cool the muscles down. This means there is less chance of you becoming dehydrated during your workout.
– People with lower back problems can benefit from aqua-exercises as the water supports them, taking pressure off the spine.
So there ya have it! Don’t mock those of use that work out in the water, we’re getting in shape faster than you are! 😉 lol
I bought a ten visit pass and plan to go to aquafit every Tuesday, most Tuesdays I will go for a run first, might as well utilize as many of the community centre’s resources as I can. 😉
Now to find something to do the rest of my evenings…
The Amazing Shrinking Woman 