Arthritis gone, pains gone!

Seventy-two-year-old Paul Samuel calls himself the “King of the Class”. His fellow aqua aerobics buddies who include Barbara and Alma, both 74, Rita, 67, Pearl, 69 and 25 others are still looking for “his” queen. The modest Baidwatti Jagat, his 54-year-old wife, who had just returned from the changing room after “aqua-cising”, simply offered a smile. She allows him his fun “for the time being”.

Maybe it is because of his seniority and four years as a member of the Trinidad and Tobago Fitness Academy Aquatic Fitness and Therapy class, Paul is quite qualified for the self-appointment. Paul and his classmates agree that getting up in the morning simply to make it to their 8 o’clock class (which especially caters for retirees and the aged) at The Centre of Excellence, Macoya every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning is totally fulfilling. It beats reading the newspaper or knitting a blouse for an hour! The Pasea, Tunapuna, resident and his wife start their morning at 5 am. “We devote time to our prayers, take breakfast and then we get ready for the pool. When I first heard about it (aqua aerobics), I said I should try it and it keeps me fit.” Although Paul has had open heart surgery three years ago, he said he has little difficulty in carrying out the leg kicks and various abdominal exercises in the water.

Irma Rocke, 66, of Petit Bourg, San Juan, said that since her cousin introduced her to the class, two years ago, she is more energetic. Barbara Caesar, 74, said that the exercise helps “keep my diabetes and blood pressure at a good level.” She added: “I’m not afraid of the water too,” and has no qualms about donning a bathing suit for a day at the pool. Marjorie Yates, 73, said that aqua aerobics keep her fit and gives her energy to deal with her three grandchildren. “I’m happy I joined and I wouldn’t leave it for the world.” “It’s lively, they (colleagues) are a great bunch of people,” said Alma Jordan, 74, of Valsayn. “I was sent to the class by a doctor for my back ailment, I think it’s a muscular degeneration, which escalated in 2000. The physiotherapy I was taking before didn’t really help and now, I am seeing tremendous improvement.” How is she managing with the frog hops and cross country ski exercises. She exclaimed: “Oh yes plenty (difficulty). None of them easy but at the end of it, I feel much better... We enjoy the class because we have good instructors.”

Aquatic instructors Ian Levia, Kenneth Wafe and Joanne Bartholomew of the TT Fitness Academy Aquatic Fitness and Therapy Class ensure that their clients, apart from being helped to manage their ailments, “feel welcome in an open, cool and happy environment.”  Joanne said: “We know they enjoy socialising.., so first and foremost we provide that warm atmosphere and we let them know that regardless of their injury, we care about their individual case and that they’re not lost in the crowd; that we are interested in their individual progress and commend them and tell them when we notice their improvements.” The class is divided into three groups including therapy, general fitness, and the more athletic. “With the therapy group, we give them individual attention. Included there are persons with recovering injuries, as well as those with arthritis. For the latter we target more long-range movements than with the general fitness group which goes at a faster pace,” Joanne added.

Unlike weight training, she said, one aqua aerobics class provides an all-over work out, toning the whole body.   Pearl Cupid, 69, has been a member of the class for four years since its inception five years ago. She said she had been very ill, and had arthritis in her legs. “I went to the US and all over the world to get better and then a friend of mine recommended that I come here.” Since then, she said her legs have been pain-free. “I just have to watch what I eat. I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. Before coming here this morning I juiced carrots, celery and drank that. It’s what my instructor recommended,” the Trincity resident told People. Rita Courtney, 67, who meets up with one of her colleagues to catch the bus to get to class said that she now experiences “no pains, no aches” a few years after having surgery for a pinch nerve. “It’s the physiotherapist that send me here and it was very helpful,” said Rita.

Her instructor Kenneth Wafe, also a fitness specialist, said that the water exercises can have that effect on persons with problems and ailments but the aqua aerobics class “is no miracle cure”. “We are honest with our clients. The first thing we let them know is that their ailment is not curable but manageable with the fitness therapy we provide and we try to educate them about their problem.” Kenneth said that the possibility of a pinch nerve client experiencing little or no pains after a prolonged period of attending the aqua aerobics class, may be a result of the pinch nerve returning to its normal position. This, he said, can occur after the client acquires muscular strength and flexibility so that the framework of the body is better supported.