This post is part of my 2017 New Year’s Resolution to try every group fitness class offered at my gym, The Equinox in Chestnut Hill. See the full list of reviews here.
Progress: 28 Classes Down, Approximately 15 To Go (class offerings sometimes change)
It was great to see my swim coach Brittany! I haven’t seen her since before the summer and it was fun to take a class from her.
I swam pool lengths for about 15 minutes after class before hitting the steam room (best part of the day so far) and then heading to school pick-up and the dentist for the kids. I told my kids if they left the plastic toy rewards offered by the dentist’s office they could have a little extra time playing Minecraft.
They’re building a world together and have somehow “trapped pet ducks” into a house they built. I don’t know much about Minecraft, but we checked it out on Common Sense Media first and put them in creative mode so there aren’t any zombies and then connected them only to each other.
They really didn’t mind skipping the plastic goody bags of toothpaste (which they always refuse to use because it’s not their normal flavor) and the little plastic toys. 10 minutes of building together instead was a no-brainer for them. And for me, because I reduced our carbon/waste footprint ever so slightly and got an extra 10 minutes to write this blog post.
Today’s Class: Aqua Strength with Brittany Roman-Green
Class length: 45 minutes
Description from the Equinox: Harness more water power in a fully aquatic strength-training and conditioning class. Push, pull and press against the natural resistance of water, and then add equipment to take your power to the next level.
What Class Was Like
Very similar to Aquasport but perhaps with a little more strength work added to the aerobic conditioning. Aquasport had a slightly different description and used to be offered at the same time but is no longer on the calendar. Not sure if the class was tweaked and renamed, but if you liked Aquasport you’ll probably enjoy Aqua Strength. You get out what you put into this class; the more you can work against the water’s resistance the stronger you’ll get.
Sample Exercises
- Pool deck pull-ups (three different sets, I did about 20 in each set, so a decent arm workout!)
- Holding barbells out to the side and then down to float the body and then moving legs without touching pool floor
- Using the barbells like parallel bars and then moving the body from a feet extended forward position to a feet extended back position
- jogging in place, high knees, butt kicks
Who would love it?
Anyone looking for low impact cardio with some strength mixed in.
Know before you go
Wear a comfortable bathing suit and remember to shower before you hit the pool. Barbells were provided on the pool deck. There is a pool chair that lowers people into the pool if they’re not able to use the pool ladder. Music wasn’t too loud, it was easy to hear the instructor.