Congratulations to our May Fitness Instructor of the Month, Ginger Miller!

Check out her story here:

I discovered water exercise as a participant about 12 years ago and became certified to instruct in 2023. What is appealing about water fitness? Working out in water advances strength and endurance, cardiovascular health, balance and flexibility, weight loss, and stress reduction. It also reduces the likelihood of injury.

Like many other water fitness enthusiasts, I turned to pool classes because my joints couldn't handle the impact of exercise I had enjoyed for a long time. Going to the pool just about every day was a welcome alternative to fearing an injury, nursing knee pains, and living with a tentativeness I realized had become for me a “new normal”. Movement in water is a liberation from all those anxieties.

I started teaching classes following the COVID shutdown, and I discovered another benefit to water fitness. It is impossible to feel isolated when you are with others getting a good workout in the water. There is a sense of community that affirms it is less important to focus on how different we may be. What matters more is to discover what we share.  So here we are, getting heart rates up, feeling our muscles strengthening, and burning calories. It is a good place to start. From there, we chat about each other’s families, work, interests, and challenges. We celebrate our victories and joys, and we support each other through disappointments, loss, and even crisis.

The Carbon Valley Rec Center gives us an opportunity to pursue fitness goals while also participating in a community. That sense of community can also extend to our families, which certainly has been the case for me. My husband works out several days a week. My elementary school grandsons and my preschool granddaughter are all about activities at the Rec Center. The boys never miss a Snapology workshop or Kids Fun Night. My granddaughter takes swimming lessons, does gymnastics, and played on her first soccer team. Some of their favorite birthday parties happen at the Rec Center pool.

These are not easy times. But connections and friendships will help us to get through it.  I consider the Carbon Valley Recreation Center a place to work toward physical and mental and emotional fitness, And that is a blessing, indeed.