What It’s Like to Work Out at… the Watergate Argentta Spa’s Mermaid Fitness Class

If the idea of sculpting washboard abs while channeling your inner Ariel sounds like the perfect workout, you’re in luck!  There’s a new mermaid fitness class at the Watergate’s Argentta Spa.

Mermaid?  Yup.  It’s exactly what you’re thinking.  Complete with shiny silver tailfins.  And it’s a great way to dive in to group fitness if you’re into merculture (or not).

Mermaid Fitness at the Watergate’s Argentta Spa is a pool workout (so wear a swimsuit) led by Joanne Charnetski held at the historic hotel’s original indoor pool — kept a toasty 82 degrees.  With its three lap lanes and a dedicated aerobic area, space is tight, but kudos to that pool shelf… it’s a perfect spot for mermaid beauty shots.

If you’re imagining yourself gracefully gliding through the blue water, rest assured you’ll get there. But don’t hold your breath for it to happen in the first lesson (or two).

After a warm-up and basics training, you’ll start with beginner fins to help you realize how different it will be moving through the water.  Even just at your feet, these tails are cumbersome and challenging to swim in, but you’ll learn how to point and flex your feet to push through a lap. And using styrofoam barbells for support and balance, you’ll feel the workout almost immediately in your arms, too!

When you can proficiently perform some preliminary russian twists, crunches, and body rolls — all amazing core exercises by the way — it will finally be time to shimmy into your silver fins for some real tail-flipping fun.

Sure it sounds kitschy — but it’s also an honest-to-goodness full-body workout in a 45-minute class, set to music, where time flies and you discover what it could be like under the sea.  Persistence could get you an unbelievable beach body, but even one class will score you some spectacular social media snaps!

Mermaid Fitness is only offered the first and third Saturdays of each month at 9:00 am.

Most Mermaid Fitness courses require a multi-week commitment, but not so at the Watergate, where there are available single class reservations (and even drop-ins if space is available).  Each class is $30, and tail rental (tails are required, though you can bring your own if you have one) are $10.  18+ only. Towel service and access to Argentta Spa locker rooms are included.  Reservations here.