Students learn about physical literacy with new hydrobikes and all-water mini-triathlon

The statistics are disheartening: just nine per cent of children get enough daily exercise – that’s at least 60 minutes of medium to intense physical activity each day – and the obesity rate among Canadian children has tripled over the past 30 years.

“This generation (of children) has a lower life expectancy than their parents,” says Morven Barnes, Manager of Aquatics for the Town of Huntsville. “But children who have a good physical literacy base have a better chance of becoming active adults.”

Barnes wants to encourage kids to become more physically literate, and the addition of 10 Hydroriders – stationary aquatic bikes that sit on the pool floor – at Centennial Pool has provided an opportunity to increase their physical skills base. Local area schools have been invited to bring students in grades 5 and up to try out the new aquabikes.

“We wanted to introduce kids to a greater variety of sports,” said Barnes. “Triathlon is one of those sports that if you don’t have family interested in it, you might not get involved. (These sessions) are an introduction to triathlon that we’ve offered free to the schools.”

The students complete three, 15-minute stations – water running, swim training, and aquabiking – and then have a fun competition in a short, all-water triathlon consisting of three laps of the large pool, four water running laps of the small pool, and one minute of aquabiking.

The pool also plans to offer a triathlon preparation course for kids age 11 and older (the aquabikes aren’t suitable for younger children) in the spring to get them ready for next year’s Muskoka Kids Tri and Ironman Kids.

But the bikes aren’t just for kids. “We’re following Canadian Sport for Life guidelines, which has two goals – to make kids more active and encourage adults to be active for life,” said Barnes. “They found that if adults don’t have a wide variety of physical literacy skills, then they tend not to be active for life because as their body changes they lose choices.”

Aquabiking is suitable for everyone from training athletes to people recovering from injury or looking for lower-impact exercise options. They can be used for year-round training, with low or high resistance depending on the rider’s needs, and at the rider’s own pace. “Aquatic activities also put pressure on the chest, so it’s like weight training for your lungs and on land you feel like you can breathe easier,” said Barnes.

The town is currently running four weekly aquabike classes, two general spin sessions, one geared toward athletes who want to do some cross-training, and one for older adults who want to do some muscle strengthening or gentle cardio. Pre-registration is required for the classes. You’ll find the schedule on page 4 of the Town’s adult aquafitness program guide here. Read more about the pool’s aquabikes here.

Learn more about Canadian Sport for Life here.

Don’t miss out on Doppler! Sign up for our free, twice-weekly newsletter here.