It’s 7:30 on a winter Tuesday morning, and at an indoor pool in Melbourne’s east, a 96-year-old instructor is gently revving up his charges to perform an enthusiastic underwater can-can.
Bill Stevens, a fit-as-a-fiddle nonagenarian with a shock of silver hair, likes to inspire others — who are generally a decade or two (or three) younger than him — to get fit.
And today, he’s really turned up the volume, taking more than 20 high-kicking aqua aerobics participants through their paces with a watery homage to the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.
There’s no slouching at Stevens’s classes. (ABC News: Danielle Bonica)
Forget the fanfare and feathers. In Stevens’s class at Aquarena Aquatic and Leisure Centre in Lower Templestowe, it’s all about donning chlorine-resistant bathers, moving to music and having a giggle.
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‘A bunch of jellyfish’
Helen Keesman, one of the younger regulars at 61, used to swim in the outside pool, and admits she used to think aqua aerobics participants “just looked like a bunch of jellyfish” bobbing around.
Little did she know she’d wind up loving the splash-filled workouts, which she says are great for core strength and balance. She’s even become part of a dedicated WhatsApp group, where participants check in on each other and share holiday snaps.
Stevens, who started teaching about 25 years ago when he retired from his career as an export marketing manager in the wine industry, says in the beginning, about six or eight people might show up to a class. That’s definitely snowballed.
Aqua aerobics is particularly popular with older people because it’s gentle on the joints. (Danielle Bonica)
“Now we have up to 40 and more if there would be enough pool space,” says Stevens, who conducts at least 10 sessions across four centres each week.
One of the hottest tickets in town
The man is certainly in high demand, but he’s not alone. Classes around the country sometimes fill up within minutes, leaving some aqua aerobics enthusiasts high and dry.
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Mandy Metcalf, Aquarena’s group fitness captain, says hundreds of people don their cossies each week across about 20 aqua aerobics classes at the centre.
“It’s really picked up in the last few years,” says Metcalf, who notes a bit of a dip in interest during the cooler months.
“Members, they get their favourite instructors, they have their favourite times … and if they can’t get in, they’re not happy,” she says.
“That’s a regular occurrence at most aquatic centres, as far as I know.”
Metcalf believes the pandemic might still be having a ripple effect when it comes to the instructor shortage.
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Stevens started teaching about 25 years ago, after retiring from a career in the wine industry, (ABC News: Danielle Bonica)
“There were more instructors out there prior to COVID. And just because the timeframe was so long, they had to look for work elsewhere — and a lot of them stayed with what they were doing.”
Some were starting to return, she says, but then had to update lapsed CPR qualifications, registrations and the like.
Demand is such that Metcalf herself is completing a course to become an aqua aerobics instructor.
According to a new National Aquatic Workforce Framework, a typical aquatic exercise instructor works less than eight hours a week, for more than one organisation across multiple facilities.
A similar report last year, released by Royal Life Saving Australia, found that 78 per cent of aqua exercise instructors were female and that 29 per cent moonlighted as swim teachers.
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And while 41 per cent of aqua aerobics instructors around the country left the industry during the pandemic, 57 per cent of those had returned within four to six months.
The 96-year-old instructor says some people come to exercise hard, while others mainly enjoy the social contact. (ABC News: Danielle Bonica)
RJ Houston, Royal Life Saving Australia’s general manager of capability and industry, says although the general hourly pay rate is quite good (he says anecdotally it’s about $80, but can be less), it can be tricky for aqua aerobics to find enough hours to sustain themselves.
Metcalf agrees the pay can differ between centres, but says around $60 for a 45-minute class is common.
Out of that, instructors often have to pay for their own music, licence and registration, she says. Then there’s the unpaid travel time between different centres.
As for finding enough hours, Houston says in a metropolitan area, nearby centres might be running similar aqua aerobics timetables, making it difficult for instructors to switch between them.
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He might be well into his 90s, but Stevens has energy to burn. (ABC News: Danielle Bonica)
And 58 per cent of Australia’s aquatic facilities are in regional areas, where there’s often just one pool, making it hard for instructors to get enough hours, he says.
Far more than just a workout
Houston says aqua exercise instructors provide a vital role by offering programs to “some of the most vulnerable people in the community”.
That includes people with disabilities or health conditions, obesity, or those who feel isolated and depend on aqua aerobics to get out and about.
Back at Bill Stevens’s class in suburban Melbourne, there’s plenty of upbeat vibes to go around, as the lyrics of Disco Inferno – “burn, baby, burn” – provide a fitting soundtrack to some of the more challenging moves.
However the agile Stevens, who only gave up running at the age of 94, shows no signs of fatigue.
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He says he thrives on the feedback he receives from his class members, and loves helping others stay active and social.
“It keeps you young. It keeps your brain working,” he says.
During a poolside chat after class, Teresa Clarke, 83, says she values the friendships she’s made, and the fitness she’s developed after a hip replacement some years back.
“I’m on no medication — this is my medication,” she says, with a noticeable pep in her step.
“Bill is a great personality. He’s fit and he keeps us fit.”
Actress Jennifer Aniston has launched a new four-week challenge with fitness app Pvolve to help people get into the right mindset to exercise.
The Worth It Everytime campaign, created in collaboration with mental wellness app Headspace, encourages people to view exercise as something that energizes them rather than punishes them.
Pvolve members can access 30-35 minute exercise classes—both in person and online—as well as 30 days of free access to the Headspace app, which offers guided meditations and stress-busting tools to build lasting habits and emotional resilience.
Members who complete all 16 workouts will receive a limited edition Everything Pouch, created exclusively for the challenge.
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Aniston, a Pvolve partner and fitness enthusiast, admits she doesn’t always feel in the mood to exercise.
“People assume I’m always motivated, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I have plenty of days where I don’t want to work out at all.”
However, she says training with Pvolve keeps her going on down days because the app makes exercise feel good rather than a punishment.
Start your week with achievable workout ideas, health tips and wellbeing advice in your inbox.
“What I’ve learned is that the conversation in your head is actually part of the work. You show up for yourself anyway, you move a little, and then something shifts. You feel better. That feeling is what brings me back.”
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“I know I’m doing something good for my body long term, and that makes showing up feel worth it every time.”
Pvolve head trainer Dani Coleman adds that, “when movement and mindset work together, something clicks.
“Consistency becomes natural and a workout stops feeling like something you push through and starts feeling like something that truly supports your total-body health.”
To help new members get started, Pvolve is offering 10% off sitewide.
After a period of inactivity, getting your fitness back can feel like a tough slog.
Jason Smith, a personal trainer, nutritional advisor and founder of Fit in Midlife, knows this from personal experience. He got fit again at 50 after years of inactivity, then started training people of a similar age, helping them to do the same.
One type of client that Smith often works with is the ex-athlete—someone who was sporty in their teens or 20s, but became less active with age.
These people are often ready to jump back in at the deep end: running long distances or lifting heavy weights, but find their brain is writing checks their body can’t cash.
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“Your brain still thinks that you can do the things that you used to do,” says Smith.
“Your body has had the longest rest period it’s ever going to have and during that period of time, your muscles have gone into atrophy, your cardiovascular system has diminished and you won’t be as capable as you were when you were in your 20s. This is just an unfortunate fact of life.”
“It can be really demotivating because you don’t feel capable,” adds Smith. “You don’t feel as though you’re actually able to do anything. But of course, the truth is very different.”
Start your week with achievable workout ideas, health tips and wellbeing advice in your inbox.
And in Smith’s experience, there are two things that will help you overcome the dejection that can come when expectations meet reality.
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1. Find something you enjoy
Smith tells me that the first run he went on after deciding to move more turned into a walk. “Once I’d run about 300 meters, I realised it was much harder than I thought it would be,” he says.
Instead of stopping, Smith decided he was going to do the distance he planned, but by walking, breaking into a jog now and then.
“Despite not being able to do what I intended to do when I left the house, I enjoyed being out in the fresh air, moving my body and being active,” he says.
Now he runs because he loves experiencing beautiful places.
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“You don’t have to set a personal best every time that you go for a run,” he says.
“It doesn’t hurt to enjoy the environment while you’re out there,” says Smith. “If you see something that you want to stop and look at, stop and look at it.
“You are still doing the run. You are still improving your cardiovascular fitness. You are still burning calories. You are still getting your heart rate up.”
2. Be consistent and add small challenges
Because he enjoyed his first outing, Smith tried again, and crucially, he tried to do a little more running than last time.
“The next time I went, I was able to run a little bit further and walk a little bit less,” he says. “And I went again. Over time, walks turned into proper runs.”
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“By being consistent, you will build up the strength, endurance and stamina that make you more capable,” says Smith. “Start easy and gradually increase the challenge.
“Go to that next lamppost if you’re running, or an additional repetition on each of your sets if you’re weight training.”
“These things add up and make all the difference.”
Three weeks later, he ran up his nearest hill without stopping at all. “It was such a great feeling,” he says.
And that’s how Smith advises formerly athletic midlifers to return to exercise. Find a form of movement they enjoy and aim for achievable, consistent progress. These two simple things will set you up for success in the future.
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“You will feel stronger. You will feel fitter. You will have probably lost a little bit of weight as well,” says Smith. “This will also mean you’ll feel a little lighter and more energized. Then you will feel good about the progress that you’ve made.”
You don’t need a gym to exercise. Here’s how to work out at home.
ProblemSolved, USA TODAY
Whether you’re focused on building muscle, improving your balance or working on your ability to complete longer, sustained workouts, one thing’s for sure: you’ll need to take small, actionable steps to reach your fitness goals.
Remember, you don’t need to drastically overhaul your life on January 1. In fact, before making any major changes to your dietary pattern and exercise routine, it’s best to have a conversation with your doctor first, especially if you live with any chronic conditions. In the long run, you’ll most benefit from taking small, actionable steps to help achieve your fitness and nutrition goals, the experts say.
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We asked fitness experts to break down their top tips to help you kick off 2026 stronger than ever.
How to fit exercise into a busy schedule
If you’re hitting the reset button on your fitness routine, start small and choose an exercise you enjoy, says Dr. Kimberly Burbank, a primary care sports medicine fellow and team physician at UCLA Athletics. You don’t necessarily need to do the movements traditionally associated with exercise to get a good workout in, either. “I really encourage people to choose (a movement) they actually enjoy doing, because they will probably stick with it more,” she says.
To help set attainable fitness goals, one route is to use the SMART framework of goal setting, recommends Dr. Brandee L. Waite, a professor and vice chair of Wellness & Community Engagement Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at UC Davis School of Medicine, the medical director of the UC Davis Health Sports Medicine Clinic and the director of Lifestyle & Longevity Medicine Innovation.
The SMART acronym stands for goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time bound, and what’s great about using this framework in an exercise context is that you’re able to approach fitness as you would any other appointment — if it’s scheduled on your calendar, there’s a greater likelihood you’ll honor it, Waite says.
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We all know physical fitness is crucial. But how many days weekly should you work out?
When it comes to fitting exercise into a busy schedule, “I try to encourage consistency over perfection,” Burbank says. Often, her patients will express frustration that they’ve missed a week of exercise — and therefore their entire workout schedule has been thrown off. While it’s important to “be as consistent as you can, (understand) that you don’t have to be perfect to still make a meaningful difference,” she says.
If you’re someone who prefers to exercise in the morning, try to make it easy for yourself when you wake up. “It’s so easy when that alarm goes off to just ignore it and move on. But if you have laid out your clothes the night before, have your coffee prepped (and) have your bag packed, then there’s so many (fewer) variables and barriers,” Burbank says.
How often should you exercise?
There’s no perfect cadence as to how often you should exercise. “What works really well for one person, will not work at all for another person. So, it does need to be personalized and realistic,” says Waite. However, there is something to be said about shorter, more frequent workouts. There’s a lower risk of injury, and they’re faster to complete and generally easier to stay consistent with, Burbank says.
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Ultimately, what’s most important is to meet a certain number of goal minutes every week, says Dr. Julia L. Iafrate, a sports medicine physician at NYU Langone Health and a team physician for the U.S. Ski Team. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans and the American College of Sports Medicine recommend adults participate in 150-to-300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise a week. While this might sound intimidating, that breaks down to only 30 minutes of exercise a day over the course of five days, and could consist of a mix of pilates, yoga or brisk walking.
More: What were the popular workout classes of 2025? See ClassPass report
If you prefer vigorous-intensity aerobic exercises (like HIIT or running), it’s recommended you complete at least 75 minutes a week, which evens out to a little more than 20 minutes of exercise a day over the course of three days. On top of these exercises, the organizations suggest adults should partake in muscle-strengthening workouts at least two days a week.
What are the most beginner-friendly exercises?
There are a few forms of exercise that should be a central focus of your workouts: cardio, muscle strengthening and balance work. Practicing each type of exercise can help improve your ability to do the others and also reduce your risk of injury, Iafrate says.
Cardio. Incorporating aerobic exercises that get your heart rate up (such as running, swimming or cycling) is key to improving endurance, supports heart and lung health, and lowers your risk for a number of chronic diseases, Iafrate says.
Muscle strengthening. Resistance training with weights stimulates two types of muscle contractions: eccentric loading and concentric loading. When you perform a bicep curl with a dumbbell in hand, that’s considered a concentric motion. As you lower the dumbbell and your arm straightens, that is an eccentric motion, Iafrate says. Both movements are important for strength building, tendon health and bone mineral density, she explains.
Balance work. Functional movement training, including tai chi and yoga, is especially beneficial for maintaining flexibility, stabilizing your body and limiting the likelihood of falls down the line, Iafrate says.
Weight-bearing exercise. “Walking, especially for beginners, is super underrated,” Burbank says. Getting your step count up to 7,000 steps a day offers immense benefits for health, including lowering your risk for cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes, according to a 2025 study published in Lancet Public Health.
If you’re relatively new to exercise and don’t know what is helpful or harmful, Waite recommends having at least two-to-three sessions with a physical therapist to develop the right type of exercise program. For instance, if someone has a medical condition like hip arthritis, a professional can provide “modifications for a regular fitness training program that won’t further exacerbate the problem that is currently bothering them,” Waite says.
How can nutrition support fitness goals?
“Nutrition and exercise have such a symbiotic relationship,” Burbank says. Throughout your week, prioritize whole, fiber-rich foods, including fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Americans aren’t consuming nearly enough protein, which is essential to muscle building, muscle recovery and satiety, Burbank notes. Your minimum daily intake of protein should hover between 0.8 grams to 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. To increase your protein intake, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 recommends incorporating more lean meats, poultry, eggs, seafood, legumes, nuts, seeds and soy into your diet.
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More: Functional strength training provides many health benefits. But you need to be careful.
Hydration is particularly important, especially prior to working out. “When you’re dehydrated, (it will) increase your likelihood for fatigue and poor peak performance,” Iafrate says. Ideally, we should be drinking between 2.5 to 3 liters of water a day, Burbank says.
More: Consider these 4 doctor-approved tips to help maintain strong, healthy bones
