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Even Novices Can Train For A Triahlon In NYC

Have you ever considered doing a triathlon? A new class offered at Chelsea Piers promises to make even a true beginner a super athlete.

At first glance, it looks like your average spin class but then you realize it's not. The students are training for a triathlon under the watchful eye of Scott Berlinger, who takes students through the paces of biking, running and swimming and treats them like a team.

"If you are going to use the benchmark as just yourself getting out of bed, it's very easy to hit the bar and just roll over, but when you have a group that's depending on you, and that will happen very, very fast, you'll start to get to know the players that you're training with on a regular basis. You're not going to hit that snooze alarm. You're not gonna roll over," Berlinger said.

It takes discipline. A triathlon is usually a one mile swim, a 20 mile bike ride and a six mile run.

Getting your body ready for that kind of exertion is not easy, especially for Joe Hornstein who has never done a triathlon before.

"I just finally went to push myself to a new level. I've never even done a race before," Hornstein said.

Berlinger uses heart rate monitors to assess each student's level of exertion and knows when they should take it easy, how to transition from each sport, and when to really push themselves.

"Swimming is the most difficult part for me," said Shreeju Shrestha.

"Yes that's the norm. I mean, very rarely does someone come in that can do all three. There is a weakness and that's why you have coaches and assistant coaches and people working with you," Berlinger said.

"If you're weak in something they'll tell you, you know, what to do, how to improve yourself, so it's great," Shrestha said.

The class meets three times a week for an hour, as well as additional time for bike riding in Central Park.

"You will complete that race, I promise you. You know, you set the bar for a date, x amount of time out and that would be like the minimum of 12 weeks, and we will have the athlete ready," said Berlinger.

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