Deep water Exercise, aka, Water Aerobics

I have struggled with osteoarthritis for the past 10 years--yup, I had a slight limp that began when I was 38 years old. My mom noticed it as I maneuvered my way down a flight ramp when I paid her a visit in Tennessee in 1999. Once I returned home to Wisconsin, I made the necessary appointments with the medical community; beginning with my primary care physician, through orthopedists and rheumatologists, to ultimately a scary bone test of some kind to rule out any kind of carcinoma.

When all was said and done...the verdict...early-onset, idiopathic (cause unknown) osteoarthritis. I was given prescription strength, non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs like Advil/ibuprofen, but Rx) in the form of Arthrotec (like Celebrex--kind of). This drug has, and continues to be my saviour.

However my exercise regime of obsessive walking had to change. At one point in my life I had walked on 982 consecutive days! I'll address my struggles with arthritis and pain medication addiction at a later date, but the long story short is that after having both hips replaced, and putting on 25 pounds in the last two years..that's one pound a month, or about an extra 125 calories a day...I had to find some exercise that I could do--especially during the winter months in Wisconsin when an outdoors walk is not always welcome.

So I joined my local YMCA and discovered this:


At my Y, they call it deep water exercise, but it's also known as water aerobics. It is a 60 minute workout that includes 30 minutes of cardio, 20 minutes of strength training with foam dumbells, and 10 minutes of a very lovely and soothing stretch. The first class that I attended was three weeks ago--a spry, little 70-year old lady named Joyce, taught the class--showing us what to do from land as we tried to copy the moves in the water. There were five women in our group and we all wore life-belts as we were in the 'deep end'! Joyce warmed us up with jogging, wheelchair-ing, canoeing, and all kinds of other awkward moves--at least for me. As this was my first class, Joyce was very attentive to me, reminding me that I should "pace myself"--which I did. I really felt good about the whole experience and couldn't wait to come back the next morning.

However...and doesn't it seem that there's always a 'however'...I came down with the H1N1--oink-oink flu. As a side note--this flu didn't take me down and out so much as just kept me down for a looooonngggg time--like two weeks. Sore throat, desert-dry hacking cough (that I still have) and a general feeling of weakness and malaise. So I wasn't able to get back in the pool until this Monday--three days ago. And of course, the schedule had changed and there was no class on Monday, but I did my own thing for a half hour and swam breaststroke laps for 15 minutes.


But yesterday and today, classes were held and I can already feel an improvement in my energy level, my mood, and my muscle tone. On both days, I took the entire class and then swam breastroke/backstroke laps for an additional 15 minutes. I am obsessive about tracking calories consumed and calories burned and I discoved that 15 minutes of lap swimming burns--for me anyway--268 calories. That is more than what I could burn walking at 3mph for 40 minutes...and well...it feels good.

I also have arthritis in my shoulders so I have to be careful in the pool, but I'm hoping that strengthening the muscles around my shoulder joints will help.

Another positive for water exercise--and we all had a good laugh about this--is that you can be as awkward and as 'bad' as you want when trying to figure out these moves...but no one can see you! No making a dork out of yourself in land-style aerobics!!!

More history and my plan

'Fat and Disgusted' may be how I feel today--well, maybe yesterday--but it's not in my future. If nothing else, I've always had good plans of attack on most obstacles in my life, and I've come up with one to achieve 'Healthy and Pleased'.

I had my left hip replaced in 2004 at the age of 43, and last year I had my right hip replaced--now I set off all the bells and whistles at the airport but I have bionic hips! Thank God to all the orthopedists out there who make this possible--if not I would most definitely be in a wheelchair. So this spring, when the Arctic tundra of Wisconsin turned to hard brown grass and eventually fields of green, I began walking--again. I was very consistent throughout the summer--walking 4-6 times a week for about 40 minutes. I felt good and had stopped the weight gain anyway.

This September, my mom who's retired and living in East Tennessee, develops a bowel obstruction, and her hubby cannot deal with it. So...Kate to the rescue...leavin' on a jet plane...silver wings shinin' in the sunlight...down to soggy land of rain and humidity. My walking plan came to a halt. Mom happily lives on to exercise another day--all of 108 pounds of her after no food for a week, and I return to the Great North.

But the cold Canadian winds swept into Wisconsin early in the autumn of 2009--snow flurries and gloomy skies. And, I also had the fortune to join the Swine '09 Club--two weeks of weakness, sore throat, and desert-dry hacking cough. At one point in this very confusing season, I had the wherewithal to realize that my walking days were numbered--icy, frigid winters in Wisconsin are not conducive to a consistent walking program. So, I checked into the financial assistance that my local YMCA offers to those community members who are 'economically challenged': Me; out of work and poor as a church mouse (more on that at some other time). I was able to join the Y at an affordable fee. Yeh!

So, before, the oink-oink flu had me in its' grips I was able to attend one Deep Water Exercise Class, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Having been unemployed since the first of the year, I have isolated myself way too much. Truth be told...I'm kinda' shy. But...today, I made it back to the pool for a Monday morning class...only to find out the schedule had been changed! Classes are now Tuesday through Friday, but there were a number of other women who were as misinformed as myself and we 'suffered' on.

So...in the past week, I have walked on five occasions for an average of 40 minutes, I did one session of weight training, and I exercised in the pool today--including swimming laps for 15 minutes--for a total of 45 minutes. I've also been logging all of my calories into Livestrong.com.

Tomorrow: More pool time, and if the weather continues to hold...another walk in Wisconsin November light. Track calories on Livestrong.com...continue to pursue new career goals.