When the sun starts to shine and the mercury starts to rise in the summer, many people seek the comfort of a swimming pool. Well, this group of seniors in Warner Robins are not only seeking the cooling waters for relaxation, they are also making waves to get Amped Up and improve their physical fitness.
Instructor Lauren Posten explains, “I like being able to help them with exercises that are good for their joints and their bodies. They get to tell me about their bodies and it’s a great exchange of information which is good for me because I get to learn all kinds of things.”
Four days out of the week, twice a day, the Fountain Pool is open to an hourlong water aerobics class put on by the Warner Robins Recreation Department, but active seniors like 75-year-old Wendell Franklin and swimmate 68-year-old Sandy Setinsek take advantage of the morning sessions so they can continue to grow more heart-healthy.
“If you have arthritis or something like that, you can get in the water and there is no impact,” explains Franklin. “So you can do the exercise without impact and the pain is gone while you’re in the water.”
Both Wendell and Sandy have been wading in the shallow end of the pool with workouts for more than 10 years and say the results are worth making a splash over.
“I come from the camaraderie as well as the exercise,” says Setinsek. “I can tell the days I don't come I get stiff. It’s just wonderful low impact exercise for us older seniors. Very important, in fact, every time I go to the doctors, they ask me how much I exercise and they are very pleased with water aerobics.”
And when one wins, they all win while encouraging one another to keep pushing along with their journey.
Posten says, “They get really excited when they come in and say, 'I lost 5 pounds last month.' We all get to celebrate with them because as a collected group everybody is invested with them. They spend a good bit of time socializing beforehand then we start our exercises and they cheer each other on and it's really fun to watch.”