Water Walking at the Acacia ridge Leisure Centre
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning at 7.30am, the Acacia Ridge Leisure Centre is filled with the sound of laughter, chatting and splashing. The Seniors water walking group is a social group of people who want to stay active and healthy while having a great time with friends. It is wonderful to see the numbers in this group steadily increasing, considering that in June 2003, when the group was originally formed, there were only 7 members. Some members have come and gone, but some have stayed on. Now, at any of the sessions, you will see up to 20 participants.
This is greatly due to the effort, dedication and passion that Sharon Knight offers to the group. Sharon is considered the new group "Motivator, she has taken on this role after the
unfortunate circumstances that have led to the previous motivator to no longer be able to continue with this role. Sharon arrives at the centre early for every session, and does a great job at leading the group their water walking session. They stretch and chat, they walk and chat, and they do their exercises and …Chat! It is not uncommon to hear Sharon singing out "come on you lot, let’s get moving!" She works the group to its full potential but always with a smile on her face and a kind word to everyone.
Sharon and the Water Walkers are enjoying the abundance of health benefits that come from exercising in water, including low impact exercise, greater joint mobility, low / no weight bearing whilst using the resistance of the water to gently strengthen. The majority of the group suffer health conditions or physical restriction including hip replacements, arthritis, knee replacements, general age ailments and the list goes on..! The group find walking on land hard on their joints and suffer with aches and pains afterwards; however, when they come to the pool for water walking, they all get our feeling GREAT!
The water walkers are always looking for new members, so if you think that water walking might be for you, please contact the Acacia Ridge Leisure Centre on 32778686 for more details, OR drop in to try out one of the classes.
The group have obtained a high level of respect and awe from staff and other swimmers in the centre. It is so great to see such a happy, vivacious and active group of seniors committed to creating and promoting a healthy lifestyle.