Activity: Aqua Fitness
(Mental Note... be sure that everyone else in the photo is also making the 'I'm a bad ass' face... or else you look ridiculous! LOL. thanks to Peggy for the photo!)
Adress/Location: St. Joseph's College 278 Whites Bridge Road, Standish, ME
The pool is in the Alfond Center.
BIG thanks to my friend Wendy for sharing directions... I had thought about going here before for thsi class, but was worried I wouldn't know where to go... so I got all anxiety-ish about it and have put it off.. turns out it is super easy... follow Wendy's direction's as she explained them to me!
Basically, you turn into campus at main entrance and drive straight ahead until the road ends (highlighted in red on map). At the end of that drive, you'll see the Alfond Center right in front of you. But you must bear RIGHT to get to parking lot. The lot says staff and faculty but is open to visitors after 5 p.m. Once you park, follow the walking path to the front of the building (highlighted on my map in blue). Enter through those doors and I'll be waiting there on the right in front of the pool.
Cost: From St. Joe's website
- FREE for all SJC students
- Staff/Faculty and Alumni Drop in: $3 or $25 for 10 punch card
- Community-Drop in: $7
- 12 punch pass: $60
(Standish residents receive a $10 discount on punch passes when presenting appropriate ID.)
Parking: See parking info above in directions.
FMI: Visit the Aquatice Program Page MOST of the time this class is held 6:30 - 7:30 on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. But... check the schedule because this changes if they have special events or meets going on!
Notes: A couple of important logistics about this pool/process..
- You enter the Alfond Center, go to the desk and check in.. (pay or get your card punched) they give you a 'pool card' you must take this out on the pool deck with you as your ticket to get into the class.
- Locker Rooms are beyond the desk to the right a bit... there are some bathroom stalls and some shower stalls. the shower stalls do not have two areas, a changing area and the shower area, just the shower area... I choose to change in the bathroom... (Miss Modesty!)
- You must shower before getting into the pool
- there is a sauna in the locker room. . (At least in the women's locker room... I can't speak to the men's locker room!)
- when you go into the pool you will want to get a pool noodle to have easily accessible (leave it on the side of the pool where you can get to it) as well as a waist belt, if you want a little help staying afloat for the ab part of the workout. You also want to pick out a set of 'barbells'... the thicker they are the harder they are because they have more resistance.
- Bring water! I drink a lot of water... and made the mistake to not bring a water bottle.. for some reason I thought that being in a pool would mean I wouldn't get thirsty... I was wrong!
We did not take more photos..because...well we were in the pool and none of us had waterproof cameras! Ha! I attended this class for the first time on March 21st with some gals from Fit Maine's Social Club, Shelby, Peggy, and Wendy. We had a blast! It is so fun to have people to go with... and laughing is good for our abs!
Since then I returned for another class AND have purchased a punch pass... I plan to go at least a couple of times a month!
The class was GREAT! I slept so well on the nights I went. The class started with warming up... which basically was walking across the pool... side to side, not shallow end to deep end! (People go to the depth where they are the most comfortable.) The instructor (who I think is hard to hear, but it is easy to follow the other people and there are enough 'regulars' to help you out! Everyone is super friendly!) gives instructions to start getting our heart rates up a bit...some sprinting in the water, as well as leaping and some jumping jacks and some xc ski movements... as always - you do you! Do the movement at a level that is best for you. We then did a bunch of arm exercises... I kept chanting Michelle....Obama....Michelle....Obama... I want her arms!!!!
Eventually we moved towards the deep end (again, go where you are comfortable) and did some ab work... If you think you won't feel that the next day.. think again!
The class wraps up back in the shallow end of the pool where you use a pool noodle (the square ones are more buoyant than the round ones so are a little harder providing more resistance) with our legs... some resistance moves and some stretching. Who knew using a pool noodle to stretch works so well?? I loved that part of the class!
The class is an hour long... and it feels so good afterwards! I really enjoy this! It is SO worth the drive!!!
If you want to go and are nervous to go alone, let me know and if it works with my schedule I will join you!
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