Jump in the water, have fun and get a good workout. Swimming is a lot of fun and also a great form of exercise.
“Kids from 7, 8, 9 and teens hang out here,” said Heather Hagstrom, aquatics supervisor at the Community Recreation Center in Schaumburg, home of The Water Works and its three pools. One has a water playground and rapid water channel plus a zero-depth entry pool, made for the littlest tots. There are three water slides with one emptying into the diving pool. The lap pool is ideal for families who want to swim together.
Free trial swim lessons are offered in January and June. “If families are not familiar with our lessons, it’s an opportunity to get kids in the water,” Hagstrom said.
Swimming lessons are offered year-round at the indoor facility. There are 10 different program options: parent/infant swim, parent/preschool swim, teen and adult swim lessons, adult individual swim lessons, advanced swimming skills, tiny tot swim, advanced tiny tot swim, learn-to-swim, schedule your own swim lessons and youth individual swim lessons.
Parents can start babies as young as 6 months old in the program. “This is more about water acclimation,” Hagstrom said. “We take a child-centered approach for lessons.”
Aqua group fitness classes are offered during the day at three levels, from low intensity to high intensity. Six classes are offered: aqua interval, a cardio workout with higher intensity intervals; aqua motion, low-impact water aerobics combined with range-of-motion movements; aqua step, low-impact cardio in the shallow pool; body sculpting, strength and cardio training in a low-impact class; deep dynamics, nonimpact workout held in deep water with buoyancy equipment; and power splash, high-energy, low-impact total body workout in shallow water.
“Most exercises in water by nature are low-impact classes,” Hagstrom said. “Classes are in shallow or deep water, treading water. You use different muscle groups for each.”
Aquatic exercise is perfect for those with knee and joint pain and is easier on muscles.
“Swimming uses every muscle in your back,” Hagstrom said. “If you’re on your stomach you’re engaging your core, arms and legs. It’s respiratory and cardio activity and takes the strain and stress off your body.”
Donna Longo, who teaches a number of aqua fitness classes, said she advises students to “Smile, breathe and hold their tummies in. It’s a form of exercise but it doesn’t feel like it.” She laughs. “I hate exercising on land. Personally, I’m not a lapper.”
She always wants to know if her students are afraid of water. “Then don’t go in the deep end. Some can’t swim and I always ask, ‘Are you a swimmer or not?’ Then don’t be in the deep end even with a (flotation) belt.”
Longo said the underwater movements in her class replicate a lot of movement on land. “Basically like water walking, but now it’s evolved to rocking horses and kicks to the side. Resistance of water is 12 to 1, so we get their cardio up and make it fun. You’re working out with your arms and legs.”
Certain exercises work best in deep water and others are better in shallow water. “You’re constantly moving in deep water because you’re treading water,” Longo said.
“I like taking other classes from other teachers so I can adapt a land class and put it in water,” Longo said.
It’s a common belief that water exercises are the best for injuries and soreness, but Longo said that’s not always true. “If people have an injury, then don’t push it. Remember, water moves at a resistance of 12 to 1. If it hurts on land then it can hurt in the water. It may not hurt in the water as much, but if it hurts, stop doing it.”
Instructors can modify any move depending on an individual’s situation. “People know their bodies. I hurt my tailbone, it was awful and stiff outside of water, but in water I can get into a good stretch and I made it better. Some people can’t do things so they modify everything. If it’s a big class and I know by the look on your face then I might suggest something else. Shoulder injury? Slice the water, don’t scoop it.”
Longo believes aqua fitness classes are one of the best forms of exercise. “It’s one of the easiest ones to learn and enjoy. No one’s judging you in the water if you do it wrong. It’s great for toning and is a physical activity that works with any kind of comeback injuries like knee, hip, and it feels good.”
As an instructor, she’s seen her students succeed. “I see people transform and lose weight. It’s beneficial to them and me. It’s always fun to be in the water.”
One benefit to the indoor pool is it offers a year-round opportunity to learn to swim. Accidental drowning is one of the leading causes of death among children ages 1 to 5. And that’s been a constant for years.
“This is why we encourage early exposure at six months, pouring water on her head,” Hagstrom said. “At around age 3, at tiny tot, when a child enters a class and is very aware of her surroundings, that fear sets in. It’s important to build trust and independence in the water.”
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What happens if a child falls into the pool and can’t swim? “When you jump in, how do you get to the wall? That’s one thing we also teach them to do, to bob,” Hagstrom said. “If your feet touch the deep water, how do you get yourself back up and out of the water to take a breath? More practice leads to less panic.”
Staff members are giving out cards with quick facts and things to do in case of a water emergency as part of its water safety campaign.
“Parental supervision is the key,” Hagstrom said. “You can never be too vigilant in watching a child.”
Shonda Talerico Dudlicek is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.
The Water Works
Activity: Swimming, aqua fitness classes
Where: 505 N. Springinsguth Road, Schaumburg
Hours: 5:30-8 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 4-8 p.m. Fridays, noon-5 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays. Lap swim 6:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, 6:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays
Tickets: Adults: $7 for residents, $9 for nonresidents; Kids: $5 for residents, $7 for nonresidents
Information: 847-490-2505; www.parkfun.com/facilities/pools/the-water-works