Exercisers often look to famous people for inspiration. Lance Armstrong, Michelle Obama, and Madonna are a few typical heroes. Of course, they do look great and their accomplishments are impressive, but they don’t make me feel more enthusiastic about exercise. It’s an odder group of people who inspire me: the obese and the elderly and the sick; the ones who exercise.

Years ago, when I was in great shape, I headed to the pool at the gym where I taught yoga and where I was taking a master’s swim class. As I stood in my sleek blue maillot, I watched a young man walk into the covered, humid area. I have no idea of the truth, but my guess is he probably weighed about 600 pounds. Maybe it was 400 pounds. Who knows? Does it matter if someone is 400 pounds or 600 pounds? I’m sure it matters to that person, of course; I mean, having to set a goal to lose 400 pounds or 200 pounds makes a world of difference to that person, but I think you understand what I’m trying to say: that’s a lot of extra weight.

Meanwhile, after watching this young man (he appeared to be younger than me; I was about 33 at the time) walk to the pool and after taking my own swimming class, I headed over to the studio where I taught yoga.

I’ve taught all sorts of people, but two in that class really stood out. The first was a woman in her mid-40s who had just had her knee rebuilt. She was in good shape, but she could barely stand on her own. The other person was an old man. Probably about 80 and he had Parkinson’s Disease. He came to my class every week. Even though I had 20 people standing in front of me, these were the two that were always on my mind. I worried about them, of course, and had to make sure they were safe and weren’t going to get hurt, but mostly, they were on my mind because, like the young obese man at the pool, I admired them.

It is easy to exercise when you see the rewards; when you’re young and fit and healthy. Working out can be a form of validation: See what I can do? I can run marathons! Wear a size 2! Dance all night! But when you’re really fat, or really old, or really hurt, exercise isn’t validation. It might feel like a threat (“if you did more of this, you’d look better!”) or an impossible dream (“do this every day for the rest of your life and maybe you’ll lose a few pounds”), but, let’s face it, people who are fat and old are also brave if they manage to go into a gym and put on a bathing suit or yoga pants.

I thought of this because I recently took a class called “Aqua Sculpt.”  I love to swim and I’ve always been intrigued by the pieces of equipment sitting in piles at one end of the pool: foam dumbbells and noodles, waterproof Pilates circles, and colorful kickboards.

According to a 2007 University of Idaho study, fit individuals made as much of a cardiovascular gain running on an aquatic treadmill as they did on a land treadmill. Likewise, another university study found that muscular exercises done in water were as effective as those done on land. In fact, another study provided to me by the American College of Sports Medicine found that the constantly changing nature of water may benefit the core muscles in ways that exercising on land can’t. In fact, during the class I took, I was surprised by the waves created by all those people in the water! While I wouldn’t call it challenging, I would say it was noticeable.

Standing in a warm water pool with a few people who are 80 and others who are more than 150 pounds over their ideal weight might depress people, especially the super fit. But, as many trainers I’ve spoken to over the years have said, it is the heavy and the old who are most inspiring.

I think there are two reasons for this. First, the super-fit often seem spiritually out of balance, and yet oblivious to their imbalance, unlike the obese who are acutely aware of their disproportion. The whole world looks at a fat person and thinks, “something is wrong.” But the superfit are rewarded for their obsessions with calories (both consuming and burning), their level of intensity, and their concern with their looks. These issues aren’t about a love of exercise, but are instead about something more superficial and sometimes they seem like an addiction, not a passion.

Second, it takes courage to be in the gym and look imperfect: old, overweight, and really overweight. It is not easy. I realize that yes, the superfit have courage, too. They overcome anxiety, injuries, and other issues to reach their goals, but there is something about the very visible struggle of the old and overweight that inspires me. They have courage without getting validation or rewards or admiration so their motivation often really does come from within.

I guess I’d like to encourage people who are fit to give water aerobics and other aqua classes a try. You’ll probably have fun, you’ll challenge your muscles in new ways (always good for the very fit!) and you might find some inspiration, like I did.

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