By Miriam Stansbury
When summer temperatures climb across our area, staying active can feel like a challenge. Fitness doesn’t stop at the water’s edge. The pool may be one of the safest and most effective places to exercise.
Water-based workouts offer a combination of buoyancy and resistance. Buoyancy reduces stress on joints, making movement easier for people with arthritis, back pain, or mobility limitations, while the water itself provides natural resistance to help build strength.
Brooks Rehabilitation offers aquatic therapy as part of its outpatient rehabilitation services, using heated pools and therapist-guided movement to help patients recover from orthopedic surgery, neurological conditions, and chronic pain.
At Brooks, aquatic therapy is often used as a bridge between recovery and independent exercise.
The YMCA of Florida’s First Coast also provides year-round aquatics programming, including water aerobics, lap swimming, and senior-focused fitness classes.
Local rehabilitation centers and outpatient clinics across Jacksonville incorporate pool-based therapy to help individuals manage chronic conditions such as arthritis, joint replacements, and balance disorders.
Bobby Wilson, a physical therapist with Premier Physical Therapy says that aquatic exercise is especially valuable because it allows people to move in ways that might be too painful or difficult on land. “Many programs focus on easy movements such as water walking, gentle exercises, and balance training using flotation devices or pool equipment.”
The appeal is not just physical. Water encourages confidence in movement, and often makes exercise feel less like work and more like renewal. Enjoy the splash!
Area Pools for Water Therapy & Fitness
Brooks Family YMCA
10423 Centurion Pkwy. N., 32256
904-854-2000
firstcoastymca.org
Winston Family YMCA
221 Riverside Ave., 32202
904-355-1436
YMCA at Baptist North
11236 Baptist Health Dr., 32218
(904) 592-9622
firstcoastymca.org
Brooks Rehabilitation Hospital – University Campus
(Aquatic Therapy Programs)
3599 University Blvd. S., 32216
(904) 345-7600
brooksrehab.org
LA Fitness
(Multiple Locations)
3600 University Blvd. W., 32217
(904) 900-6393
lafitness.com
City of Jacksonville Public Pools
The City of Jacksonville operates thirty community public pools with an additional pool scheduled to open later in the season.
jacksonville.gov/jaxparks/aquatics
