When my parents named me after my grandma, I don’t think they realized how similar we’d be.
We’re both pop-culture-obsessed, love a theme (her house is currently covered with the Halloween witches she’s collected for decades), will never turn down a dessert, and offer brutal honesty our loved ones may or may not always appreciate.
And now, we have one more thing in common: We both participate in water aerobics three times a week.
This 50-minute workout has become essential to our routine, allowing us to get gentle movement appropriate for her — an 83-year-old with double knee and hip replacements — and for me, a toddler mom with a second on the way.
My mom and grandma have been doing water aerobics for years, and I joined them during my first pregnancy
Around 2021, my mom and grandparents started doing water aerobics with their longtime trainer, Alex. Although my grandfather has since passed away, my mother and grandmother kept the routine going.
I’ve been relatively active my entire life, playing competitive tennis throughout my childhood and later running the TCS New York City Marathon in 2018. Before my first pregnancy, I was a member at Orangetheory and my local pilates studio, but soon realized I needed to slow down.
Around 20 weeks pregnant, I noticed abdominal coning while I was in a plank position. It wasn’t painful, but coning can be a sign of diastasis recti (a.k.a. the separation of my rectus abdominis muscles), and it motivated me to look for another, plank-free form of exercise.
So, my mom and grandma suggested I join them in the pool, and I ended up loving it. But after welcoming my son in the fall of 2023, I didn’t have as much availability to join them.
Now that I’m pregnant with my second child, past a wildly nauseating first trimester, and my son is in preschool, I feel lucky to have more time to throw on a suit and get in the pool again.
The workout is perfect for all our needs, and has been a great way for us to connect
During each 50-minute session, Alex guides us through various exercises. I’ve found that lunges, squats, and bicep curls are so much more relaxed in this environment.
Our pool weights are light as a feather above water, and have quite a lot of resistance below. Alex also shares modifications to help with my grandma’s ongoing sciatic nerve pain or to adjust to my physical needs.
All three of us feel restored, reenergized, and stronger after each workout. Plus, it’s been a great way for us to connect without distractions.
Although my son has enriched all of our lives, when he’s around, conversations among the four of us typically revolve around identifying dinosaur species or types of construction vehicles, and negotiating for just one more Popsicle.
However, for those precious 50 minutes in the pool, it’s just the three of us again; three generations getting some exercise and talking without day-to-day distractions.
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