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By: Lisa Tindell

Practicing social distancing during the on-going health crisis is something that even experienced fitness gurus are finding challenging but doable in Brewton.

Vivian Layton, a fitness instructor with the Brewton Area YMCA, is finding a way to keep those faithful to fitness active.

“We are doing what we can to keep the community encouraged,” Layton said. “We are continuing out fitness routines as close to normal as we can.”

Tuesday morning Pilates class was held at the outdoor pavilion on the campus of the YMCA with three participants on hand. Joy Odom, Janie White and Lauren Parker joined Layton for the class.

“We have some wonderful volunteers and great instructors who are working to keep fitness going in the community,” Layton said. “We have two of our instructors who are harboring at home but they are still leading classes through live-streaming sessions on our Facebook page.”

Volunteers helping lead fitness groups include Parker, Odom and White as well as Karen Reynolds and Kate Owens, Layton said.
“Joy has led some walking sessions at the Brewton Municipal Stadium,” Layton said. “They have to keep their distance from each other, but it’s working well, so far.”

Although the location of the classes has gone to outdoors rather than inside the facility, Layton said it has been a good experience.

“We are blessed that we don’t have any cases of illness in our county,” Layton said. “We don’t have any of our YMCA people who are sick. We have a few members who have some underlying illnesses that are taking precautions to avoid getting sick. We are blessed to be able to continue what we’re doing at this point.”

Along with the six-foot separation as recommended by the Center for Disease Control, Layton said the group has been working on keeping safe from the spread of any illnesses for several weeks.

“Even before all of this blew up we were sanitizing everything,” Layton said. “We were requiring people to sanitize before they came into the building and even had sanitizing stations set up throughout the facility. Now that the building is closed to the public, we are working on making sure that everything is sanitized and ready when we re-open.”

Layton said the YMCA is still staffed and ready to help where needed. The staff is currently working to make sure the facility is ready when the all-clear is given.

“Our staff is working in shifts to make sure we follow all of the guidelines to help prevent sickness and the spread of anything,” Layton said. “The staff is working to sanitize the fitness areas, the pool areas and even the pre-school so that when we are able to start up again, everything is sanitized and ready to go.”

Along with the pilates class held Tuesday morning, the YMCA is updating their class scheduling and posting on their Facebook page as needed. The page will also feature videos of classes and exercise opportunities for those interested to follow at home.

“We will continue to hold as many classes as we can at the outdoor pavilion,” Layton said. “We want to do what we can to help keep everyone active and safe at the same time.”