By Staff
Want to diversify your workout? Try one of the fasted growing sports in the country. Triathlons - swim, bike and run.
There are four popular distances, the most popular being a sprint triathlon - 600 yard swim, 18-mile bike, and a 3.1-mile run; Olympic triathlons - 1.5K swim, 40-mile bike and 6-mile run; Half-Iron triathlons -1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and a 13-mile run.
And maybe the hardest sporting event in the world is an Ironman Triathlon, which is a 2.4-mile swim, 110-mile bike and a 26.2-mile run.
On May 14, our own Scott Huff completed a half Ironman triathlon in 6 hours and 58 minutes in Panama City, Fla. His 1.2-mile swim was done in 2-foot seas in the Gulf of Mexico. Scott, with his 7-year-old daughter Breann, are participating in a biathlon June 24 at the YMCA in Pensacola.  
There is a junior division (12 and under), a senior division and a junior/senior division where Scott and Breann will compete. Breann will swim 50-yards and then run 1-mile and Scott will swim 200-yards and then run 3.1-miles.  Their combined scores will then be tabulated and the lowest scoring team will win.
So what are you doing this summer to enhance your physical well-being?  
The Brewton Area YMCA is offering some new classes for you to consider. Try our pilates class - at 8:15 a.m. Wednesdays - for core strength and power. Yoga is now being offered four mornings and one evening for flexibility and endurance, and Triple Threat, which is being offered from 6 to 7 p.m.Tuesdays and Thursdays. It consists of 20 minutes of cardio, 20 minutes of strength training and 20 minutes of abs and stretching.  
This class will cater to the beginner as well as the advanced participant. Our walk free class - headed by our own Liz Knowles - is still going strong from 7 to 8 p.m. on Mondays.
Cross training, or diversity, is the key to your fitness goals.  Watch out for our newest class in August - from couch to 5K.  This class will take the most extreme case of couch potato, and the Smurfit/YMCA 5K held in late October will have you running - well, at least jogging.  
Play outside with your kids, go fly a kite, try roller-skating or rollerblading, swim a lap or two.
Diversify your workout, live a healthy lifestyle and have some fun.