The workout gets wet!

Hello workout friends!
Thanks for stopping by the blog. This week brings another adventure - and a workout Sonya and I NEVER do. Water aerobics. If this conjures up images of your grandmother and her peers - forget it. This is tough stuff.

The class is called "Aqua Boot Camp" and the name should've given us a clue as to what we were in for. "Just the sound of it has brought a lot of people in, "says instructor Jill Reding, "because they want a really hard water workout." And right off the bat, she has us working hard. There is a lot of running and kicking to start with as we warm up our legs, and oftentimes Jill has us "go suspended" - doing the moves without touching the bottom of the pool. Before long we start interval training. At first it's twenty seconds of work followed by ten seconds of rest, but Jill keeps adding more and more time to the clock - thirty seconds, then forty, and sometimes up to a minute - and of course the rest period stays the same! Jill is really great about constantly giving us cues, which is helpful since neither one of us does this type of workout. She's always reminding us to relax our shoulders, tuck in our abs, squeeze our glutes ... it's a lot to think about and you have to keep your mind and your muscles engaged.

We are working way harder than we imagined we would, and then Jill drops this bombshell, "OK! This is the part where we drag each other to the other end of the pool!" Soon we're connected by bungee cords, with one of us acting as dead weight for the other. Then we have to get to the other end. The method doesn't matter - you can run, swim, wiggle any which way you choose - but let me tell you, your heartrate goes through the roof on this drill!

Once we reach the other end, we do arm work. First bicep curls, then another length of the pool, chest presses, another length of the pool, triceps, another length of the pool ... you get the idea. It's hard. Really hard.

We're feeling really pooped, but Jill has more lined up for us. The next round is cross country skiing and our heart rates are jumping again. All of this takes more coordination and strength than we dreamed it would. "A lot of people think water aerobics is easy, they think it's just good for your joints," Jill grins, "but you get so much resistance in the water, you've got resistance in and out and up and down!" And ALL AROUND! Ab work is next and it's just a tough! First we do a V-sit move that also works our inner and outer thighs, followed by a fast-paced tuck and press. The last move is something Jill calls "humdingers" and they are as hard as they sound! "I always tell class members - it's what you put into it. You can work really hard or you can slough off, because you can't see in the water!" That's so true, but this workout is also a lot of fun and we're pretty sure you'll feel great about donning a swimming suit after doing this for a few weeks!

If you'd like to try Aqua Boot Camp, contact Prairie Life:
4875 Mills Civic Parkway
West Des Moines, IA 50265
515-223-5999
www.prairielife.com

Keep sending us your workout ideas!
EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com