For months I wanted to try the YWCA Greenwich Floats class and finally the stars aligned and it happened! The YWCA Greenwich has offered daily workout classes where participants workout while balancing on Tsunami boards in their pool for close to a year now. When I told my young daughters what I was going to attempt they asked if I would have to do push-ups or burpees on the floating board, to which I replied, “No way.” So you can imagine my surprise when I had to attempt both.
When I arrived at the YWCA Greenwich, it was easy enough to locate the locker room downstairs and change. I opted for workout clothes including a rashguard (which I’m used to wearing for Jiu Jitsu) but many participants wear a bathing suit. I hopped in the water to hook my float board to both the wall and the line and checked out the other two participants who looked like pros. The class can have up to 10 people/boards at a time and some of the classes fill up, so signing up a few days in advance is a good idea.
Wendy Rose was our fitness instructor and she provided the perfect balance of tips to use the ideal form and exercises that would eventually get you in the water! If you don’t want to get wet it is possible to go very slow and not to fully execute the exercises, however, Wendy and Shanna Sudderth, the Director of Aquatics, both agreed that once you fall in the first time it’s a relief and makes it more fun. Once I went overboard I was able to lighten up and enjoy the class even more, plus each unintentional dip in the pool provided a quick refreshing break.
Overall, YWCA Floats is a terrific workout. We warmed up and went into planks and a core focus, although your core is working overtime during the whole floating experience. There was a portion of exercise band use for arm exercises like bicep curls and I’ve heard that medicine balls are used in other YWCA Floats classes. In addition to the push-ups and burpees I mentioned earlier, by far the most difficult exercise was a combination of jumping, rotating your body 90 degrees and landing in a squat. It accounted for 90% of my falls and all of the great laughs that were an added bonus to the class. Check out the YWCA Floats video above to see one of my falls in slow motion (thank you Craig Jones for documenting).
YWCA Floats classes work for all adult ages, whether you’re 18 or 70, and they have participants that range in age as a result. You can challenge and push yourself as much or as little as you choose and the style of the class, i.e. yoga v. bootcamp, depends on the instructor. If you aren’t a member of the YWCA Greenwich you can still try the class with a $25/day pass that also includes other YWCA amenities for the day, such as use of the exercise room. Plus you can grab food from Arcuri’s after this killer workout – even pizza. I was sore and tired the next day, the signs of a great new workout!
Have questions about YWCA Floats or you want to sign-up? Contact Shanna Sudderth, YWCA Director of Aquatics, s.sudderth@ywcagreenwich.org or 203-869-6501, ext. 121 or visit this link for more info: https://ywcagreenwich.org/adult-aquatics/#aqua-core
About the author
Jessica Reid is a co-founder of IN Greenwich and a co-owner of social media marketing focused company Greenwich Point Marketing. She enjoys most workouts though her favorite “pastime” is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, followed by runs around town and at Tod’s Point.
