Water aerobics instructor Jennifer Bonnett works up a sweat as she jogs in place on the side of the pool.
As she calls out instructions and demonstrates exercises, 35 heads bob up and down in the pool, imitating her motions.
Water aerobics is one of the most popular workout classes offered at the YMCA of Concord. 8:30 a.m. classes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays frequently fill the pool to its 50-person capacity.
Participants scatter across the pool, each absorbed in their own rhythm. The majority of students cluster in the shallow end, closely following Bonnett’s instruction. Some gather on floaties towards the deeper side of the pool, chatting in small groups. Others hang off to the side by themselves, floating on their backs or performing Bonnett’s exercises at a slower pace.
Bonnett, who has been a water aerobics instructor for the past 26 years, can’t say enough good things about the water. “It’s a great workout, it really is,” she said.
The majority of her students are senior citizens, and music from the 1950s and ’60s accounts for the majority of her playlist. When Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” comes on Bonnett’s speaker, the class starts singing along.
“We’ve got people in their 80s, people with hip replacements, knee replacements, scoliosis. You might have somebody who can’t walk on land, but in the water they can walk and do workouts,” she said. “There’s a woman who is wheelchair bound. She’ll get on the lift, and I tell her she comes in for her carnival ride. She laughs at me.”
Although the water is easier on the joints, it poses its own set of challenges.
Passing out pool noodles in the shallow end, Bonnet leads students in sillier exercises, like sword fighting and tug-a-war, as well as in a series of more intense exercises that produce real fitness results.
“The water is also harder in some aspects, because when you move in the air, there’s no resistance whatsoever. In the water, you’re getting resistance forward and back,” said Bonnett. “It can be completely high impact, or it can be totally chill. It can be PT. It just depends on what their needs are.”
Some YMCA water aerobics class participants are extremely devoted to the sport.
Brenda Demary has participated for seven years. Before coming to water aerobics, she said she worked out lifting weights in the gym for a decade, a lifestyle that left her with back pain that resulted in a 14-hour surgery.
“It took a toll on my body, and the doctor said, ‘You need to get in the pool,’” she said. “It’s wonderful.”
Jean Barnes, another participant, reached a point where floor exercises were almost impossible to do. Working out in the pool was a different story.
“It’s great when you’re a senior because it’s easier on your joints in the water. It makes a huge difference,” Barnes said.
The water aerobics class has also built a tight knit sense of community among participants.
Students like Joyce Steward independently organize coffee socials in the YMCA break room every other Friday after Bonnett’s class.
“They sign up ahead of time what they’re bringing for food. I call them and give them a friendly reminder. I remember the one and only time I didn’t and we had no food!” Stewart said with a laugh. “So, I call every time.”
Consistent social interaction is an important yet easily neglected side of healthy aging.
“When seniors live alone they have a tendency to isolate themselves, and just watch TV or read, and that’s not healthy when you’re 85. You need to get out,” said Barnes. “As you see, we all get along. It’s just people that are having a good time and exercising in the water.”
At the coffee social, participants call and write cards for fellow students who have been out of class for a few weeks.
“We take care of one another. If someone’s out, if they’re not here for like two different classes, we check up on them,” said Demary. “We text, email, call them. If they’ve been in the hospital, we write a card. It’s kind of like a family.”
Laughter keeps participants coming back to the water.
“We’re singing, and then, after a while, you just start laughing,” said Barnes. “I’ll be laughing too much sometimes!”
Many of Bonnett’s students have faced considerable hardships and life experiences. She cherishes the opportunity to bring them joy.
“This woman, she came up to me and said, ‘I just want to tell you, that’s the first time I laughed in the last like three weeks.’ Her son passed away, and I mean, that hit me so hard,” said Bonnett. “I hugged her so tight, and we had a nice talk about everything… I remember that day. I cried so hard.”