Water Walking is the Answer!

The US Water Fitness Association (USWFA), a non-profit educational organization, is such a strong supporter of water walking that they offer instructors certification courses for the activity. Facilities around the country report scheduled water walking and deep water jogging classes fill up very quickly. Water walking works like a magic magnet, attracting people to swimming pools!

In fact, water walking has become more popular than lap swimming. Reports reveal that there are currently more people in pools water walking than swimming laps.

Why has this activity caught on?

·         Fitness: Using good energy, you can get or keep in shape in the water.

·         Rehabilitation: Water walking can help with recovery from injuries and accidents, and it combats the aging process.

·         Social: You can meet new, interesting people, and you can talk while exercising.

·         Stress-reducer: You can enjoy the relaxing aspects of water and get de-stressed.

·         People-watching: Pools are a great place for this activity.

·         Joy and laughter: This type of exercise lends itself to a good time all while you get healthier.

·         Longevity: Water walking helps combat the aging process with a fun exercise.

How did this sport start? In 1986, when USWFA founder John Spannuth was senior aquatics director at a YMCA in Oklahoma, he saw Dee Moscoe, a man of about 70 years of age, walking in chest-deep water in the pool. Arthritis prevented Moscoe from land walking, so he exercised in the water. John roped off lanes for water walkers, and by the end of 1988, more than 2,000 people regularly water walked at that YMCA. Today, many aquatic facilities are building shallower and one-depth pools for water walkers and others interested in non-swimming water exercises.

For more information, please visit www.uswfa.com.