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.

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.

‘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.

“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.

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.

“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.

“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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

“Bill is a great personality. He’s fit and he keeps us fit.”

Significant improvements in aerobic fitness were noted after 12 weeks of high-intensity interval training sessions compared to traditional, moderate exercise sessions, according to a new study in the AHA journal.

News Release Research Highlights:

• Researchers found repeated one-minute bursts of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) were more effective than traditional, moderate continuous exercise for improving the body’s aerobic fitness after a stroke.
• Fitness level improvements doubled in participants in the high-intensity interval training group compared to those in the moderate-intensity exercise group.
• Researchers found the level of fitness changes in the high-intensity interval training group were associated with improved survival and lower risk of stroke-related hospitalizations.

One-minute, short bursts of high-intensity interval training for 19 minutes may be more effective for improving fitness among people six months or more after a stroke than traditional, 20-30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise sessions, according to research published today in Stroke, the peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Stroke Association (ASA), a division of the American Heart Association (AHA).

“This study shows that people with stroke can also benefit from high-intensity interval training,” said Kevin Moncion, Ph.D., a physiotherapist who led this study as part of his doctoral studies at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. “With the right support and guidance, stroke survivors can safely and effectively engage in high-intensity interval training, significantly improving their overall health and recovery.”

The multi-site trial took place between September 2018 and March 2024 and included stroke survivors between six months to 5 years after a stroke. Researchers randomly grouped participants to receive either three days per week of 12 weeks of high-intensity interval training or three days per week of 12 weeks of traditional moderate exercise sessions. The high-intensity interval training protocol involved ten 1-minute intervals of high-intensity exercise, interspersed with nine 1-minute low-intensity intervals, for 19 minutes total. The moderate-intensity continuous training involved 20 to 30 minutes of steady exercise at moderate intensity.

Researchers then compared fitness levels, cardiovascular risk factors such as blood pressure and stiffness of blood vessels, walking speeds, and distances between the two groups. All assessments were repeated one final time 8 weeks after the exercise interventions to evaluate whether the changes were sustained over time.

Researchers found:

• The high-intensity interval training group’s cardiorespiratory fitness levels (rate of oxygen consumed at peak exercise) improved twice as much as the moderate-intensity continuous training group: 3.5 milliliters of oxygen consumed in one minute, per kilogram of body weight (mL/kg/min) compared to 1.7 mL/kg/min.
• The improvement in the high-intensity interval training group stayed above clinically important thresholds even at the 8-week follow-up (1.71 mL/kg/min), whereas the moderate-intensity continuous training group did not (0.67 mL/kg/min).
• Both the high-intensity interval training and moderate-intensity continuous training groups gained improvement in walking endurance, as measured by distance walked over 6 minutes. At baseline, both groups could walk about 355 meters (the approximate distance of three American football fields) over 6 minutes. After 12 weeks of exercise, both groups increased their walking distance by 8 meters and after the 8-week follow-up, they increased their walking distance by 18 meters.

“This is the first randomized trial to examine a time-efficient, high-intensity interval training program to incorporate a phased and progressive approach,” said senior author Ada Tang, Ph.D., a physiotherapist, professor, and assistant dean of Rehabilitation Science at McMaster University. “We also used an adaptive recumbent stepper, which we believe allowed more people to participate in high-intensity interval training, even those who cannot walk fast enough or long enough on a treadmill.”

The limitations of the study include that study participants were higher functioning stroke survivors from a physical standpoint who were at lower risk for heart disease. Study minimum criteria included the ability to walk 10 meters without the physical assistance of another person, although the use of a cane or walker was permitted. Outcome assessments were unblinded at follow-up, which may have influenced results. Lastly, enrollment and exercise for the trial were halted two years for COVID-19 lockdowns, thus inflating the rate of participants who left the study and potentially limiting the statistical power of the analysis.

In 2021, there were 7.44 million deaths attributable to stroke worldwide, according to the American Heart Association’s Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics 2024 Update.

Future research should examine stroke survivors with more severe impairment in physical function or heart disease risk, according to the study authors.

“Stroke rehabilitation professionals now have evidence to support implementing short, high-intensity interval training protocols in clinical practice. We showed our program is safe and effective at improving fitness and walking distance in people after stroke, which are important outcomes for stroke survivors,” Tang said.

Study details and background:

• The study conducted at McGill University in Montreal and McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada included 82 predominantly white adults, (50 men, 32 women), ages 40 to 80. All had mild or minimal disability from a stroke about 1.8 years earlier.
• Participants exercised on adaptive recumbent steppers that allowed for stroke survivors with a wide range of abilities to exercise at high intensities.
• Assessments were done 3 times in total: before starting exercise training (baseline, 0 weeks), immediately after exercise (post, 12 weeks), follow-up 8 weeks after the intervention ended (i.e. 20 weeks from baseline).
• At each assessment, researchers measured cardiovascular health fitness levels, including resting blood pressure, stiffness of arteries, waist-hip ratio (calculated by waist circumference at the belly button and hip circumference at the hip bone), and mobility (walking speed and distance).
• No participants experienced any adverse effects, including feeling tired, shortness of breath, muscle soreness, cramps, or lightheadedness during exercise.

As with anything you read on the internet, this article should not be construed as medical advice; please talk to your doctor or primary care provider before changing your wellness routine. WHN does not agree or disagree with any of the materials posted. This article is not intended to provide a medical diagnosis, recommendation, treatment, or endorsement. Additionally, it is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. 

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References/Sources/Materials provided by:

This article was written by Karen Astle at the AHA/ASA Newsroom

Karen.Astle@heart.org

http://newsroom.heart.org/news/short-intense-bursts-of-exercise-more-effective-after-stroke-than-steady-moderate-exercise?preview=bb6eef1ad0e95b987cd2f8d2ed5da593

https://www.heart.org

http://dx.doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.124.046564