From 16 years · an hour classes
Aquacise
Fitness in the warm water. And a proper social.
You don't need to be able to swim. The whole class stands in the shallow end, so swimming ability doesn't come into it at all.
What you do need is an hour, and a willingness to have a laugh while you're working.
It's as much about the company as the fitness
The regulars know each other. They arrive early and talk, work hard for an hour, and some of them carry on talking in the car park afterwards.
We put on a social twice a year. Nobody has to come, and everybody enjoys it.
If you're after a gym where you can keep your head down and say nothing to anybody, this isn't it.
What happens in a class
- A class standing in the shallow end, using the water to make the work happen. No swimming involved.
- The water takes your weight, so it's kind to joints that don't want pounding — and the resistance gives you a proper full-body workout at the same time.
- As hard or as easy as you choose to make it. The same exercise is gentler or tougher depending on how far out of the water you work.
- We use woggles — the long foam noodles — and foam dumbbells, to add resistance when you want it.
- The pool is warm, so there's no shock getting in and no getting cold halfway through.
- High intensity if that's what you want, low impact if it isn't. It's built around the person, not the other way round.
- Several of the women who come two or three times a week have changed shape considerably over a year or two — mostly what happens when you find something you enjoy turning up to.
Right for
- Low impact exercise
- Joint-friendly fitness
- Non-swimmers
- Rehab and building back up
- Meeting people
What people get out of it
It isn't a weight-loss class. But several of the women who come two or three times a week have changed shape considerably over a year or two — which is mostly what happens when you find something you actually enjoy turning up to.
Price
- Per session
- £7
What to bring
Yourself and a costume. That's the short answer.
Bring
- Yourself
- A swimming costume
Nice to have
- A towel, though plenty use a dry robe instead
- A water bottle — the pool's warm and an hour is an hour
- Pool shoes, if you like something on your feet
Don't need
- Goggles — you're not putting your face in
If you come of an evening, nobody blinks at people changing straight into their pyjamas afterwards and driving home. It happens most weeks.
Come and try one
Ring us on 01422 247500 if you'd rather ask a few questions first — quicker than reading a website.
Ogden Hall
24 Causeway Foot, Ogden, Halifax, HX2 8YB
There's a large car park on site, and it's free. You won't be hunting for a space.