Betty Walter shares...
"I am not an exercise person and for most of my life I thought water was for drinking, bathing, and sitting beside. When I retired I knew I needed something to keep me moving and a friend talked me into water aerobics. For the first quarter I dreaded every session. When there was a quarter break, I found I missed it. Exercise keeps the body moving--like a good lube job-- and moving in water is easier then on land. We are fortunate to have a number of options for exercising in the pool. C'mon in, the water's fine..."
Harry Higgins shares...
In April 2005 I had some chest pain that led to bypass surgery that was followed six months later with cleaning my right carotid artery. I had been going to the pool before this but after the usual rehab that follows heart surgery I started spending more time in the pool. At first it was swim a lap or two and rest then repeat again and again. In time I would swim more laps between rests until I was swimming 15-20 laps without stopping. I was told that the pool at Taylor Glen was 54 feet long but I wanted to be sure so I measured it myself and found it to be 53 feet 6 inches. With this measurement 50 laps in the pool would be 70 feet over one mile. I set a goal for myself to swim 50 laps without stopping. With encouragement from April Walton, our Life Enrichment Program Coordinator, I reached that goal about two years ago. Sometime later I started swimming 50 laps every time I went to the pool which became 5 times a week. I started adding some extra laps and now I have reached two miles (100 laps) without stopping. This may sound like it would be hard but it is the same as with jogging or walking, the more you do the easier it gets. Its not that I think swimming 2 miles makes me more healthy than one mile or even half a mile but its that I like to set goals for myself and then try to reach them. When and if you meet a goal then you must move the goal post a little further down the road. We must never be satisfied with what we have done or who we are but always strive to do better and that will add joy to our lives. When I see my primary doctor and my cardiologist they tell me my health is very good for an 86 year old and to keep doing what I am doing. This is advice from my doctors that I follow.