Water fitness classes at the Davis Family YMCA not only help people build their strength, it’s also how many participants make new friends.

BOARDMAN — Everyone agrees that participation in regular exercise is an essential ingredient to a healthy lifestyle, however, there is one type of exercise that provides a unique way of accomplishing that — water fitness classes — which are offered at the Davis Family YMCA located at 45 McClurg Road in Boardman.

Beth Lowe, 77 from Poland, has participated in water fitness classes at the Davis Family YMCA since 2015 after retiring as an educator.

“I was not interested in exercising on the machines and was looking for something else,” Lowe said.

She accompanied a friend to a water fitness class who introduced her to some of the other participants, “now it’s part of my daily routine, a given. It’s a great way to exercise, I get a 45-minute workout, am fulfilling that exercise requirement, and it’s a great way to meet people.”

Also keeping a healthy routine at the Boardman YMCA is Campbell resident Renee Smith, who at 72 shared her insight on why water fitness classes are popular.

“From a medical standpoint, it’s the best way to exercise — I’m working the whole body. I’m doing everything that people using machines are doing, but it is less strenuous, and you get the same benefit,” she said.

Water fitness classes don’t just enable someone to participate in a good workout — there is the “friend factor.”

Ed Metzinger, aquatic director at the Davis Family Y said, “Water fitness is a family of its own which is something unique to the Y, we create this community within a community. Members The water fitness class participants are mostly women of all ages and occasionally they see a few men join in, Metzinger said.

BENEFITS OF WATER EXERCISE

Lowe provided her thoughts on the benefits of water exercise.

“I move easier, I can get up and down in a chair without support, it strengthens the muscles around my knee where I have arthritis and it provides a good cardio workout. It builds up your strength and endurance and helps to maintain mobility.”

There’s the bonus of being in good company, too.

“While there is the physical part of it there is so much more, I have met people who have become good friends — we look out for one another and pray for one another,” Lowe said.

Smith weighed in on how water exercise is a good choice.

“The benefits include the fact that I exercise five days a week which is better than sitting home doing nothing.” Smith is motivated by a member of the class who is 90 years old and attends their water fitness class faithfully.

Some folks are hesitant about water exercise because they cannot swim, but for Smith, it doesn’t impact her decision to get in the pool

“I don’t swim, and it doesn’t concern me at all. I am confident being in the four-foot water depth — I’m 5 feet, five inches tall — and have been able to stay in that area, even as we move around. The instructors want you to be comfortable and if you don’t want to go into the deep water it’s okay.”

Diving a little deeper into how water fitness classes can be good for participants, Brandon Benson, of Campbell, explained how aquatics helps with arthritis. He’s been an instructor at the Davis Family YMCA since 2013.

“For those with hip, knee, or back issues it is an opportunity to participate in a low-impact exercise. Some participants come with walkers, some were referred by their doctor, one class member was in a wheelchair and couldn’t do anything on land.”

He added that while members sign up for the classes, they stay because they’ve made friends.

“We are like a family,” he said. “When I lost my grandmother, class members came up to me and said, ‘You may have lost one grandmother, but you have all of us.’”

There’s no pressure to be a good swimmer to attend classes.

“There are areas in the pool where you can touch the floor, and you can use belts or noodles or hold onto the wall if you’re more comfortable. If there’s something you can’t do, we can modify it,” Benson said.

He’s known for closing his water fitness classes with prayer, highlighting the “C” in YMCA, which stands for Young Men’s Christian Association.

It’s an approach like Benson’s that makes Smith comfortable.

“They make adjustments to what suits you and want you to be comfortable,” she said, adding there is even a chair lift to safely enter the water for anyone unable to use the pool steps.

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