GET HOOKED ON TRX

Who knew that two straps with handles could provide a great workout? The Navy SEALs did, and that was the beginning of TRX. Now you can try it, too!

Y branches offer the TRX Suspension system and free training on how to use it. Members hook it to a secure place and work their muscles while using their own body weight as resistance.

TRX workouts improve strength, flexibility and balance. “Using TRX works your core and functional muscles,” says Romain Marriott, a personal trainer at the Cary Y. “You develop muscles that you use every day.”

“It’s great exercise because it’s body weight exercise,” explains Cary Y Wellness Director Amanda Dismukes. “A lot of our members love it. It’s popular with our members in their 20s, 30s, 40s and fit 50s.”

Interested? Complete a TRX training session at the Y. You’ll learn TRX exercises and proper technique. It might not be long before you get hooked!

CELEBRATING DAD AT THE Y

Did you know that Father’s Day got its start at the YMCA?

In 1909, Sonora Smart Dodd heard a sermon honoring mothers. She wondered why there was no similar tribute for fathers. Dodd’s father, William Jackson Smart, was a Civil War veteran who raised his six children on his own after his wife’s death.

Smart Dodd launched the first Father's Day celebration at the Spokane YMCA on June 19, 1910. In 1972, President Nixon signed Father’s Day into law. The day dedicated to Dads has become an opportunity to lavish gifts and loving gestures on one’s father.

Today, fathers play an enormous role in the lives of their children. We see them daily, acting as coaches, teachers, role models and confidants. Our Y, as a leading community service organization, is totally committed in supporting and reassuring them.

On June 17, the YMCA of the Triangle joins the nation in celebrating Father’s Day and recognizing the impact fathers and adult male role models make in children’s lives.

Thanks, Sonora. And, thank you, Dad.

SEVERE WEATHER POOL POLICIES

Everyone out of the pool! That’s the last thing you want to hear on a hot, summer day at the pool. But at the Y, safety is our top priority. That’s why we want to remind you of our indoor and outdoor pool policies when it comes to severe weather.

YMCA of the USA and the National Lightning Safety Institute recommend that both outdoor and indoor pools be cleared during a lightning storm.

We follow the 30-minute rule at all of YMCA of the Triangle pools. All Y pools (indoor and outdoor) close for 30 minutes after the last clap of thunder.

“A lot of members want to know why we close our indoor pools during a storm,” says George Allen, vice president of risk at the YMCA of the Triangle. “Water is an excellent conductor of electricity. Just because a pool is surrounded by a structure does not make it safe during a storm.”

Here are some facts about lightning:

•        13% of all lightning incidents involved swimming, boating or fishing.
•        Thunder is usually heard up to 12 miles from a lightning strike. In other words, if you can hear thunder, you’re in danger of lightning.
•          Lightning strikes can reach up to 10 miles.

We want everyone to have a fun, safe summer at our YMCA pools!

HOPE COMES TO PAMLICO COUNTY

While many of us folks celebrated the unofficial start of summer with a trip to the pool or the beach, more than 1,200 volunteers spent the holiday helping rebuild homes that were devastated by Hurricane Irene. Many of those volunteers are staying at Camp Sea Gull for boys and Camp Seafarer for girls , the YMCA of the Triangle's overnight camps located on the North Carolina Coast.

Eight Days of Hope volunteers worship at
Camp Seafarer before getting to work. 

There's an invasion in Pamlico County. They came from Iowa, Mississippi, Louisiana, Ohio, Tennessee, North Carolina and beyond. They represent more than 45 states, all denominations and every age.


For eight days (May 26 - June 2), these volunteers are fanning out in Pamlico County repairing, and in some cases, rebuilding homes destroyed by Hurricane Irene. It's called Eight Days of Hope.


“It's sort of like 'Extreme Makeover,' just consider it the Christian version,” said Steve Tabor, the leader of Eight Days of Hope. 


The Mississippi faith-based disaster recovery group began after Hurricane Katrina. Since then, thousands of volunteers travel the nation to rebuild homes after natural disasters. In January, Eight Days of Hope announced Pamlico County as the latest recovery mission. But where do you house nearly 2,000 volunteers? Enter Camp Sea Gull and Camp Seafarer.


“We were so excited to help with this incredible effort,” said Elayne Steinman, associate director of Camp Seafarer. “There are still so many folks in need in our community. This is just one way we can support them.”


In fact, Camp Seafarer and Camp Sea Gull have been supporting the community since Hurricane Irene hit last August. Within days after the storm, National Guard units used the camps as a staging area. Red Cross crews bunked on the grounds. And, staff members who lost their homes lived at camp for months.


Dawn Baldwin Gibson, chair for the Pamlico County Disaster Recovery Coalition, is coordinating recovery efforts with Eight Days of Hope. Dawn was also a Camp Seafarer counselor in 1990.


“The Camps are such an asset to the community,” said Dawn. “The facilities are incredible, the summer programs are awesome, but the people are even more amazing. The staff, especially Elayne Steinman and Lynn Moss (Camp Seafarer Director), are always looking for ways to give back to the community.


I knew that Camp Seafarer and Camp Sea Gull would be the perfect place for the volunteers to stay. Eight Days of Hope directors said they'd stayed at camps before. I told them they've never seen camps like these. When leaders saw the facilities and met the staff a few months ago, they were blown away!”


But would those facilities be available so close to the start of the summer season? Dawn says Lynn Moss and Elayne Steinman made it happen.


“We prayed and prayed. Now thousands of folks are here for eight days. What a blessing. We can never thank Camp Seafarer and Sea Gull for this opportunity.”


Dawn estimates that more than $1 million dollars in manpower will be donated over the eight days effort. She can't put a price tag on the hope that is being generated.


You can follow the volunteer efforts on the group's Facebook page. Be sure to check out the pictures on Camp Sea Gull and Camp Seafarer's Facebook page.

A.E. FINLEY YMCA SPOTLIGHT: GRANNY'S GOT GAME

Angela Alford is no slouch on the basketball court, but it seems that she may have met her match in the Senior Women’s Basketball team at the A.E. Finley YMCA. Alford, a standout basketball player for Vanderbilt and USA Basketball in the 90s, is now taking on a role off the court.

When Alford returned to school to earn a film degree, she chose the Senior Women’s team as the subject for a documentary. 

Alford started going to the “Fabulous 70s” practices, following them to their games and learning their stories.

“I thought I would find genetic wonders,” she recalls. “But what I found were people who were dealing with cancer and heart disease just like everyone else. The difference was that these women were fighting it together, encouraging each other. Basketball was keeping them active, independent and believing they could do anything they wanted to do.” 


Alford spent more than a year with the team filming the documentary. She even traveled with them to the 2011 National Senior Games in Houston. After getting funding, she hopes to make “Granny’s Got Game,” into a full-length movie.


She hopes the film will inspire others to honor and celebrate older athletes, change the perception of the capabilities of the elderly and contest negative stereotypes. In addition, she hopes it will help younger viewers appreciate today’s sports opportunities, highlight the support women get from being part of a team and inspire people of all ages to stay active. 

“I thought my glory days were over. Then I met this team. These women helped me remember how much I loved to play and how much I enjoyed being part of a team,” says Alford.

The Fabulous 70s recently participated in the Raleigh Wake Senior Games. To learn more, view the film’s trailer and find out how you can help Alford raise funds to complete the project, visit her website.