Member Spotlight - Kari Miles
How long have you been a member at Ballard Health Club?
I started coming to BHC around 1998 when I was in graduate school pursuing my MSW at UW. I have since gotten married, have 2 teenage boys and work at a local hospital. BHC has been there throughout different milestones of my life from working out so I look and feel my best in my wedding dress to getting my body physically fit for my 2 pregnancies.
What is your favorite piece of equipment or exercise to do in the gym?
My favorite exercise is the Bulgarian split squat. This is my favorite because it was one of the hardest for me to do about 3 years ago. It challenges my core, my balance and my leg strength. This is an exercise that you feel right away. I love it now because, even though I am better at it, it is still challenging. I also appreciate that you are guaranteed to feel the effects of the exercise 2 days later.
Why do you work out?
The answer to this question has certainly evolved since I have been a member at BHC. I was in my mid-20s when I started coming and my reasons to work out were so I could eat and drink anything. Now I am in my later 40s, with 50 waiting for me right around the corner. My reason to work out now is health and wellness for my future. My intention is to experience this "very-peri-menopause" stage in my life the very best I can. I know that resistance training is key for my bone health and balance. As I am about to enter the 5th decade of my life, I want to be as strong as possible. I love the High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) approach because I get a cardio workout and I build muscle. I LOVE seeing and feeling results from strength training!
What do you do to work out?
Right now I am an active participant in the Small Group Training. I absolutely love it. It is the perfect combination of a personal trainer with a fun, small group to suffer with. I have met such fun, inspiring people in SGT. We are all there for different reasons and goals and we all gently push one another. It is such a supportive environment with some accountability. I am doing different exercises, stations and working different body parts each time. I appreciate the variety because it avoids boredom and predictability. There is a constant challenge. I do sets and lift weights I'd never do on my own. I push myself so much more in SGT. My family laughs at me because each time I come home from the gym, and they ask how it went, I say, "Ugh! It was so hard. So, so terrible! It was great! It was perfect!"
What in the gym has worked for you in attaining your goals?
The trainers are kind and thoughtful. They pay attention and push you as an individual. They understand that everyone has their own "why" for being in the gym and focus on pushing you to achieve your personal goal. The environment/culture of the gym is open and welcoming which helps me feel comfortable to focus on my goals and not get distracted by how/if I fit in.
Why do you choose to work out at BHC?
So many reasons! (1) Local ownership is a key player. No corporate feel. Pat is a member of our Ballard community, he is an active supporter of community schools and businesses. All changes he makes to the gym are with thought and in best interest to BHC. (2) The personalized attention and welcome when I walk in. It really makes a difference being seen and greeted with a, "Hi! How are you?". (3) The trainers are so great! Thoughtful, encouraging, skilled and knowledgeable. Always ready with an alternative exercise when needed. (4) The Small Group Training. It has been exactly what I need at exactly the right time.
Anything else you'd like to add?
I would like to give a shout out to prior BHC trainer, Jake Burkey. Jake was my SGT trainer from 2019 to June 2022, when he and Hattie moved to Maryland (sad face). I really appreciated him. He had a wonderful sense of humor and a great way to get you to work your hardest. He really showed his talents when COVID hit. The gym closed and our SGT moved to the outdoors. We did the Golden Garden stairs. We ran lines at Loyal Heights CC. We used bleachers to do the Bulgarian split squats. We did ridiculously fun relays. He would show up to the field with all his different bands, weights, etc, "aka torture devices". His creativity with workouts had no limits. They never felt boring or repetitive. Even during the summer when we were "smoked in" we still had great workouts in our living rooms via Zoom.