By now, most health clubs know if they are required by law to comply with The Americans with Disabilities Act. While clubs with public pools are obliged to do so, all clubs with pools would benefit from an accessible pool. It is no secret that there are more and more health-conscious Americans over 50 years of age. In fact, according to the U.S. Census, 13 percent of Americans are now in that age group. These are the years when, osteoarthritis begins to show up, when knee and hip replacements become necessary and years when just plain climbing up and down ladders and stairs can be difficult, if not impossible. An accessible pool will keep folks coming to the club for exercise, in spite of these difficulties.
Everyone in the health and wellness industry is aware that the Center for Disease Control has announced that over 35 percent of the American populace is considered clinically obese. For the seriously overweight person, weight loss and fitness are important goals, and the motivation for joining a health club. For some, this leads to the disappointing discovery that land-based exercises are often quite painful on weight-bearing joints that are already carrying more weight than they should. There is nothing like pain to drive folks away from an exercise regimen before it even gets a good start.
For seriously overweight people with a long weight-loss journey ahead of them, it makes sense to start that journey in the pool. Research has proven that aerobic activity in the water has health value comparable to activity on land. Since water’s natural buoyancy takes the painful impact out of exercise, it is the perfect place to start, and programs with instructors certified by the Aquatic Exercise Association have proven quite successful in helping people reach their goals.
Once considered a mere social outlet for senior citizens, aquatic exercise has come into its own in recent years. Studies performed in 2006 found that “results indicate that there are no differences in the effect of aerobic activities in the water versus weight-bearing aerobic exercise on land on body composition components as long as similar intensity, duration, and frequency are used.”*
By varying activities through shallow water and deep water exercises, utilizing equipment to increase the resistance of the water, and using interval training similar to that used with land-based exercises, many individuals have been pleased to achieve desired muscle tone and weight loss through aquatic exercises exclusively.
Some obstacles remain to be overcome in building a quality aquatic exercise program. Obese individuals are often self-conscious about their appearance in swimwear and face low self-esteem issues. If access to the pool is made a simple operation, then, with a bit of encouragement, members who might otherwise just quit and go home can gain a positive result and a happy outcome. The club, of course, will have gained satisfied members who will be lifelong advocates of the facility.
Providing alternate access to the pool has never been easier or more economical than it is today. Water-powered pool lifts are inexpensive to purchase, simple to install, and provide reliable and safe access to aquatic activities. Safe for the environment, water-powered lifts operate on a simple piston and seal system that utilizes the power of clean flowing water for a safe, smooth entry into the pool. The simplicity of design does not require dangerous lithium-ion batteries or complex electronic parts to operate. This means no expensive parts to replace or hazardous batteries to dispose of.
The simple addition of a lift to the pool opens up aquatic activities to more people, increasing the popularity and profitability of the facility, making ADA-compliance a smart move!
*Gappnaier, E., W. Lake, et al “Aerobic exercise in water versus walking on land; effects on indices of fat reduction and weight loss of obese women.” J. Sports Med Phys Fitness. 46940: 564-9 (2006).
Liz Waters is the Marketing Manager for Aquatic Access Inc. and a certified AEA Aqua Fitness Instructor. She can be contacted at 502.425.5817 or by e-mail at liz@aquaticaccess.com.
