77-year-old Marilyn and her Aquabelles show what's possible in the pool

Mrs Ramsay trains at the gym and in the pool around six days a week, but her latest challenge has been juggling swimming, dance and gymnastics all at the same time.

"I've always swum, I'm 77, I used to do all of my junior swimming in the river until then swimming pools came in," she told The Senior.

Aqua classes came into play in Mrs Ramsay's golden years before her usual group was asked to turn it up a notch and try artistic swimming - eventually forming the Aquabelles.

"We might not be perfect, but it's a challenge and and it's something that we probably thought maybe we couldn't do but we were able to do it, and that's what makes us love it," she said.

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So far the Aquabelles have performed a demonstration routine at the nation's Synchronised Swimming Championships, and had another public performance last December at Craigie.

"When we did [the first demonstration] we were all so nervous and then when we finished it we wanted to do it again," Mrs Ramsay said.

Keeping her body in check has been top of mind for Mrs Ramsay whose motivation is to stop her mobility being reduced to a stiff "shuffle".

"The doctor says as long as you 'get out, get up and get out of bed in the morning', that's 'good'," she said.

It was Australian swimmer Annette Kellerman who popularised water ballet at the turn of the 20^th century performing elegant moves in a glass tank at the New York Hippodrome.

In years to follow more American women took up the graceful sport, while in 1940 Esther Williams brought a touch of Hollywood glamour to the pool with performances in MGM moves.

In 1984, what was then known as "synchronised swimming" was officially accepted as a sport at the Olympics.

Today, both men and women participate in artistic swimming but it is quite a hidden gem around Australia with around 1000 official recreational participants and competitors.

Despite this, there is a push to showcase the benefits to more mature people due to the sport being low impact and incredibly beneficial for health.

After a period of no official clubs in WA for some time, Brian Miller was one of those responsible for the "rebirth" of "synchro" in the west in 2009 and for developing it to become the training ground for Australia's Olympic team.

"We try to use the 'teamness' of artistic swimming to make sure people warm to it, they have fun, they have a smile, they have a laugh [when] things go wrong," he said.

"For seniors that thought 'I'm done learning new things and trying new things' this is something that can break that ...

"It's both that physical thing with the muscles, the joints, but it is a cognitive thing as in learning things, memorising, things. Remembering what to do next in time with music."

Since 2015, Artistic swimming has been a mixed-gender sport, from local to international competitions.

Much research has pointed to the benefits of exercise (especially as people age), including a new study from the University of Sydney released in November, finding just five minutes of exercise a day can lower blood pressure.

It also found that replacing sedentary behaviours with 20-27 minutes of exercise per day - like uphill walking, stair climbing, running and cycling - was also estimated to lead to a reduction in blood pressure.

Hypertension, or a consistently elevated blood pressure level, is one of the leading causes of premature death globally and can lead to stroke, heart attack, heart failure, kidney damage and many other health problems, and is often described as the 'silent killer' due to its lack of symptoms.

Maitane Vazquez, Assistant Development Officer at Artistic Swimming WA, said it was important to highlight activities that promote physical and mental health, plus social well-being.

"Artistic swimming, with its combination of exercise, music, and artistic expression, offers a unique opportunity for seniors to stay active and connected," she said.

For more information about Artistic Swimming, email development.officer@synchrowa.org.au

To find a club near you in different states and territories, visit: www.artisticswimming.org.au/club-finder