at the new Kroger supermarket in her area. “It’s
about a half-mile long,” she laughed. “I’m not
at all certain I could have navigated that entire
store if I hadn’t been in the program.”
Vowels was not a lifelong swimming enthusiast
who kept at it into her senior years. She grew up
in Valley Station and went to the neighborhood
pool in the summer, but mostly to hang out and
socialize, getting into the water only to cool off.
As a young mother, she took her six children to
the pool, but mostly to paddle around with them.
She retired at age 59 from her job as records
clerk at Butler High School, and she and her
husband did a lot of traveling together. Then, 20
years ago, he died “and I found I needed a reason
to get out of bed in the morning.”
“We had talked about joining the Y,” she said.
“We had relatives in the water classes. But we
never did. After he passed away, I thought, ‘Now’s
the time. And once you do, you’re hooked!”
If she misses a class, she feels that part of her
life is missing, that she didn’t do everything
right that day.
Not only is it important physically to her, it’s
also important mentally. Vowels said it makes
her feel good to exercise, provides a sense of
accomplishment. And it provides a social circle for
her, too. Most geriatricians say that seniors need
social interaction, that isolation and loneliness
are especially harmful to them.
Vowels’ class, anywhere from 20 to 30 in
attendance – mostly women – has become a
support grou p.
“We go out to lunch together every once in a
while,” she said. “We get to know each other’s
families, problems, joys. It’s something to share
with other people, which is important. You don’t
ever feel you’re alone; if you have a problem,
you can share it with your friends. They become
your friends.”
Such is the closeness that coming to class
becomes a social obligation. “If I miss a class,”
she said, “they all call. ‘Are you all right today? Is
anything wrong?’ It’s like a family affair.”
Of course, the benefits are far more than
simply social.
“I felt better right away,” Vowels explained. “I
felt like I was doing something for my body. And
I lost about 10 or 15 pounds, which I’ve kept off.
Once you get in the water, you can’t give it up.
“I’M
CONVINCED
I HAVEN’T
AGED AS
FAST AS I
WOULD
HAVE IF
I HADN’T
JOINED
THE Y.”
–Marjorie Vowels
“I know I’m getting a good workout and it’s
not taxing my muscles or joints. It’s a whole lot
easier than anything I could do on land, and just
as good a workout.”
Two years ago, she had tendonitis in her knee
and her doctor advised her of certain things she
shouldn’t do in the water. “He said, ‘you can’t
kick out.’ He said he’d never had a breast stroke
swimmer in his office who didn’t have tendonitis
in the knee. So, any activity that resembles the
way a breast stroke swimmer kicks, I shouldn’t
do that.
“I can still walk, and can still do some of the
other things. But now I know what I can and
can’t do.”
The instructors are accommodating. “They’ll all
say, ‘If it hurts, don’t do it.’ They’ll show us ways
to modify the exercise without hurting ourselves.”
(Vowels’ instructor is Dr. Donna Roberts, a family
physician at University of Louisville Physicians.)
The program includes a little free swimming –
“We call it the froggy kick” – and exercises where
they hold onto a board and kick. There are weights
in the water. Plus, jumping jacks and sprints.
“(We do) practically anything you’d do on land.
I think I can still do what I did 20 years ago and
feel just as good. My tendonitis has not returned,
and I’ve had no problems since then.”
Vowels is an early-morning starter who travels
a short distance to the Y in time for the 8 a.m.
class. “I like the morning class. If I go to one of
the later classes, I feel as if it’s taken up my entire
day. This way, I’m done at 9 and can go on with
the rest of my day.”
And the rest of her day is as energetic and
vigorous as she chooses it to be. “feel like my
whole body is better, more fit,” she said. “I’m
convinced I haven’t aged as fast as (she would
have) if I hadn’t joined the Y.”
And if you talked to her you’d be convinced of
that, as well. “My legs have benefited; I can walk
better,” she said. “I don’t think I could have done
the treadmill if I hadn’t been doing the water.”
“My doctor tells me I’m doing good, to keep
participating in the program,” she said. “In
fact, one of the doctors told me he wished his
bloodwork looked as good as mine does.”
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