“Go Get Your Noodle!”

​My now-wife, Cedar Barstow, and I had been together a mere half year when we decided to use our federal Silver Sneakers benefit as elders to join the local YMCA for free. Apparently, some money-wise experts had found that seniors who exercise regularly were less likely to cost the Government money and therefore successfully advised Medicare to invest in free access to some 40,000 health clubs around the country for its members. Not only that, but we decided to attend a thrice-weekly hour-long program called Water Fitness. During the last 14 ½ years, its leadership has changed, but the exercises were always worthwhile and have really kept us both, now nearly 85 and 80, in good mental and physical health.

Our program leader for the past half dozen years—we were fellow students before that—is a wonderful, knowledgeable woman named Roxanne, now 75. Prior to retirement, she was the long-time popular chief judge of the Boulder court. The course itself consists of four parts. Part one, lasting ten minutes, is an informal warm-up. The 23 of us, the enrollment limit which we almost always reach, tend to use this time to socialize. Roxanne reminds us to “keep moving.” The real workout begins, however, with the second segment, H.I.I.T., or High Intensity Interval Training. This part lasts between 20 and 25 minutes. As the name suggests, each of the four to six exercises consists of three rounds of 15 seconds of intense movement, with what feels like five but is probably ten seconds of rest in between. Roxanne selects exercises that collectively work all parts of the body. Our equipment includes a set of rubber dumbbells and a Styrofoam swimming noodle, both provided by the Y as floatation devices. Some class members also bring their own rubber floatation rings. (You can see all three in the photo of Cedar, below.) For H.I.I.T. Roxanne will shout, “Go get your noodle [or dumbbells]!” Since most of us including Yours Truly use our noodles during the warm-up, I’m always pleased when it’s an H.I.I.T. noodle day. That way we don’t have to swim to the side of the pool to get our dumbbells. The third segment, of ten-to-fifteen minutes, consists of slow strengthening exercises, again selected by our teacher to work all our various muscle groups. The final section uses whatever time is left for a variety of stretches while we hang on one side or the other of our 25-yard pool. As with the other segments, Roxanne selects from her list of activities so that there is always some variety from session to session. She makes sure here too to exercise all parts of our bodies. Exercises get explained each time for the newer members, but it’s helpful for us old-timers to be reminded as well. We always conclude the hour with Shoulder Rolls Back and Forward, first holding on in one direction, then in the other. Our Y’s heated pool helps us do this final exercise as well as the others.

​The average age of class members is probably 70. Of the 23, all but three or four are female. I’ve thus dubbed the class “Swimmin’ with the Women.” Those who know me won’t be surprised that I’m the class clown. Occasionally, Roxanne will ask me to cool it. She has a great dry sense of humor, but we all, including me, listen up when Her Honor requests order in the pool. She easily commands our respect. But beyond that, she is a great teacher, and at the end of each session we tend to applaud and state our thanks. Oh, and since you have to reserve your spot on the Y app starting 50 hours before each class, if you’re more than a minute late, you land on the waiting list and may not be able to go get your noodle. That’s life I guess.

Cedar armed with noodle, dumbbells, and swim rings.