A few weeks ago, one of the young lifeguards I work with commented about the older ladies living their best aquafit life, and I found myself feeling very defensive on behalf of these women.
They are generally older, having lived through a time when they had no access to credit or even credit records in their own names, and few job opportunities. Many are widows. Some have health conditions that limit their ability to do certain sports. They have a community that meets regularly to exercise while listening to fun music. They really are living their best aquafit life.
Aquafit is coming back into my life almost 40 years after I first tried it in university. It was fun at a time when Jane Fonda and dancercise were all the rage, but fell off my radar as it evolved a low-impact activity that appealed to women my mother’s age.
At our last in-service training, we had to do a mini aquafit class, which I am sure was an attempt to convince some of us to get our instructor qualifications. I surprised myself by realizing
- it’s actually fun; and
- it can be hard work.
Today I joined 349 others plus at least 5 instructors and Santa at the Nepean Sportsplex for Jingle Bell Splash, in an attempt to set a world record for the largest aquafit class, and raise funds for the Ottawa Food Bank. We succeeded!
As we were leaving, my colleague Carine, who is an aquafit instructor, encouraged me to do the training the next time an opportunity arises. Even if I don’t want to teach regularly, there are occasional opportunities to step in when someone needs a replacement.
One of the prerequisites for the instructor course is to have completed at least two aquafit classes. I think I will enjoy that. Maybe I’m finally ready to start living my own best aquafit life.
