July 2017
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BHC is open 24 HOURS a DAY - 7 DAYS a WEEK
RFID key fob required for access outside of front desk hours (available at the front desk)



Welcome to the Ballard Health Club Newsletter. We value your membership at BHC and want to keep you informed of what's going on at the club.

We look forward to staying in touch! 

-The BHC Team

Class Changes

Teen/Tween Yoga
July 10 - August 30
Mondays, Wednesdays 1:00-2:00pm
With Jen Olsen
New class in Studio Y!

Ab Lab and Butt & Gut
Mondays 5:15-5:45pm and 5:45-6:15pm
With Roxy
Replaces MAX-Fit

BodyPump
Tuesdays 7:30-8:30pm
with Kuanny
Instructor Change
 
Silver Plus
Tuesdays, Thursdays 9:30-10:30am
And Sundays 11:00am-12:00pm
With Calen at Ballard Commons Park
Location, Time and Day Change (was Mon, Wed, Fri at 2:30pm)
 
MAX-Fit
Tuesdays and Thursdays 5:15-6:15pm
With Lisa Rider
Instructor Change
 
MAX-Fit
Wednesdays 6:00-7:00am
With Aeron
Instructor Change
 
Rise & Shine Boot Camp
Thursdays 6:30-7:30am
With Allison
Instructor Change
 
July 1st - 4th Holiday Weekend Class Schedule

With so many people away for the long holiday weekend, we are reducing the number of classes offered during this particular time.  Below are the only classes being held during this weekend:

Saturday
July 1st

8:15am
BodyPump with Allison

9:30am
Zumba with Tricia

10:00am
Flow Yoga with Rose

Sunday
July 2nd

9:30am
BodyPump with Kuanny

10:00am
Flow Yoga with Elliot

5:30pm
Yoga Wind Down with Tracy

Monday
July 3rd

11:00am
Flow Yoga with Karen

12:15pm
Cardio Mix with Allison

1:30pm
Silver Sneakers with Calen

6:15pm
Flow Yoga with Karen

6:15pm
Zumba with Taylor
Tuesday
July 4th

NO CLASSES

FRONT DESK IS CLOSED ALL DAY

Access to club with RFID Key Fob only   

Personal Training Starter Package

Have you ever wanted to work with a personal trainer on a regular basis, but felt unsure if it would be worth the cost? If you have any of the following goals, then personal training can help you reach them faster:
  • Losing Weight
  • Building Strength
  • Increasing Mobility
  • Learning Proper Exercise Form
  • Corrective Exercise for Injuries
  • Increasing Motivation & Accountability
  • Preventing Boredom or Busting Plateaus
  • ...and more!
To help make personal training more accessible to more of our members, we are now offering a Personal Trainer Starter Package that includes three 30 minute sessions for only $69!  This heavily discounted offer is only available for purchased once by each member, and all sessions must be used within one month of purchase date. 

Ask at the Front Desk for more information or to sign up for this amazing offer!
Yoga in the Park
Saturdays at 10am

BHC will be leading a yoga class at Ballard Commons Park each Saturday from 10:00 to 11:00am starting Saturday July 15th and continuing until September 23rd. This is open to the public - all are welcome.

Please bring a yoga mat. Class will be cancelled if weather is bad - call the gym if unsure. 

Seniors in the Sun
Silver Plus at the Park
Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9:30am and Sundays at 11am

BHC will be leading a new class series at Ballard Commons Park on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30am to 10:30am and on Sundays from 11am to Noon.  This series starts on July 11th and continues until September 28th.

The class is group exercise geared towards older adults, but fun for the whole family. Class will be held in Studio X if weather is bad.

Strength and Conditioning
Small Group with Allison

Allison will be holding another Strength and Conditioning Small Group starting July 24th!

No matter your current fitness level, the best and most affordable way to reach the next level in your workouts is to join this course where Allison will push you and your new teammates in new and exciting ways.

Small group training is personalized training in a team environment. It's a great way to try new exercises and training strategies with someone there to coach you on good form, while being more economical than one-on-one personal training. Additionally, the group dynamic that comes with regularly working out alongside others will definitely encourage you to push yourself to your limits and ensure that you get the max out of every workout.

Allison's previous small group sold out, so make sure to sign up for this next one quickly. This 6 week course will run from July 24 - August 31, meeting every Monday and Thursday from 9-10am. Enrollment is limited to 5 people. The cost is $180, or $15 per session.

At the front desk or online at the BHC Portal under WORKSHOPS / EVENTS.
New on Staff:
Lara Roche-Sudar

Lara joined Ballard Health Club as a member in November of 2016, so you may have seen her out on the floor squatting, benching, or dead lifting. She is a NASM-certified Personal Trainer and certified yoga teacher, and enjoys incorporating both the strengthening techniques of weight training and the functional mobility of her yoga practice into training sessions.

Lara trains as a competitive power lifter, having competed in her first meet in the Spring of 2017. She has a passion for helping her clients reach their strength goals--whether that's achieving a personal best at a competition or lifting the barbell for the very first time. Her training sessions focus on strength as an empowerment tool, and Lara hopes that her clients come away from each session feeling more capable of tackling any challenge life throws at them.

FREE Class Pass for July:
Ab Lab and Butt & Gut

Each month BHC will be offering a FREE pass to a specific class, so those without a PLUS membership - or any membership at all - will be able to try it out!

Continuing into the month of July, the following 
30 minute classes will be open to all:

Ab Lab @ 5:15 - 5:45pm
Butt & Gut @ 5:45 - 6:15pm
Mondays with Roxy
Wednesdays with Roxy
Fridays with Chris

Ab Lab focuses on conditioning the abdominal and back regions, and will tap into core muscles you didn't know you had with both weights and floor based mat work. 

Butt & Gut is a fun half-hour class to work your abs, legs and glutes. Your heart rate will increase as you work to strengthen the lower portion of your body. This class is open to all levels.

If you've ever wanted to try Ab Lab and/or Butt & Gut - or know someone who would - now is your chance! Please note that non-members must bring their photo ID with them.
Ballard Seafood Festival
Seafood Fest will again be taking over Ballard July 7-9th and Ballard Health Club is a proud sponsor of this neighborhood event. Because of the festival, our parking at Chase Bank will be unavailable the evening of July 7th and all day July 8th and 9th. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Zumba on Mainstage for Seafood Fest
BHC will once again be kicking off Seafood Fest on the Mainstage on Saturday, 7/9 from 11:00-11:50am with Taylor. 

Join us for some dancing to kick off this fun weekend!
Unilateral HIIT Workout

Unilateral exercises are important to make certain that both sides of your body are equally strong (or close to!). Try out these circuits using compound movements to strengthen both sides of your body separately and a third exercise to spike your heart rate for a good sweat.
 
Complete 15 repetitions on the right side and 15 repetitions on the left side. Finish the circuit with 15 repetitions of the third exercise to get your heart rate up. Complete each triplet as many times as you can - try to get through 4 rounds!

Circuit 1: 
Landmine squat to press left

Circuit 2:
Russian step ups left

Circuit 3:
1-arm dumbbell snatches left
 
As always, check with a trainer if you have questions about form.


Allison Raines
BHC Personal Trainer 
Member Spotlight:
Imraz Ali

How long have you been a member at Ballard Health Club?
I have been working out at Ballard Health club for 7 months. I tried a lot of different gyms when I first moved here from Fiji islands and finally settled with BHC.

What is your favorite piece of equipment or exercise to do in the gym?
Honestly there are just so many different things you can do and work with at this gym that it's hard to pinpoint just one. I think the ropes in studio x are one of my top workouts, but the entire gym is just so well laid out and well equipped that it's hard to isolate one piece of equipment.

Why do you work out?
I spent many years destroying my body living on the islands and falling into the trap of everyday drinking and feasting. When you are in a beautiful place like Fiji you can get carried away by the lifestyle. I told myself when I turn 39 (short term goal) I would be at my best health and fitness and when I turn 40 next year I should be better than the best I have ever been. So when I started I was 179 pounds and held quite a beer belly and a very small upper frame. When I turned 39, which was 4 months into my time at Ballard Health Club, I had dropped my weight to 150 pounds and brought my body fat down to 15 percent. The last time I had been at that level was when I was 19 years old. With the help John Parks and the body fat testing machine at BHC,  I was able to set a goal to bring my body fat level down further to 12 percent. I hit that mark a month ago and now sit at 11 percent body fat. With John's guidance, I was also able to not only drop 4 percent further body fat but grow from 150 pound to 160 pounds, which meant I replaced the fat weight with muscle weight. 

What do you do to work out?
I try and alternate my workouts and not let my body get bored of the same old routines. I like to think that I have managed to understand my body pretty well since I started working out. In the beginning,  I tried not to hit the weights too much, as physiologically I knew that watching the scale give me lower numbers would motivate me to keep losing, as opposed to doing too much weights I would gain muscle weight and not see the scale change too much. When I knew I had lost enough fat and got to 15 percent body fat, I started doing more weight training and was able to further drop my body fat level to 11 percent yet gain 10 pounds of weight in muscle gain.

What in the gym has worked for you in attaining your goals?
I think it is the atmosphere more than anything at this gym that has kept me coming. We all have set goals in the past and failed but when the atmosphere is conducive to attaining your goals, it doesn't feel like a chore getting it done. BHC doesn't have the feel of the big commercial gyms, it feel comfortable yet the gym has an impressive setup that I think is comparable or even better than most big gyms. So I guess having fun and feeling comfortable with your surroundings is a big contributing factor to reaching your goals.

Why do you choose to work out at BHC? (instead of another gym)
Mostly for the same reasons I mentioned above. I am not much of a supporter of big franchises and so BHC was kinda like the hometown gym I felt I could surrender my loyalty too.
Friendly Fridays


Every Friday after NOON is FRIENDLY FRIDAY!  Bring a friend to workout and/or attend a class with you at Ballard Health Club on Fridays!
 
Each guest must be accompanied by a member and have a photo ID.

Check in must be before 8pm, and we will waive the drop-in fee!



Parking at BHC


With all of the BHC parking areas, it can be confusing to know when each one is open and available for BHC members working out at the club or going to a class. To help with this, we have prepared a printable BHC Parking Map at
www.ballardhealthclub.com/parking

Please be considerate of your fellow BHC members and do not use a parking spot unless you are at the club. Violators may be ticketed, towed and/or lose parking privileges at BHC parking areas.  

Nutritional 'Did You Know'
Foods to Fight Iron Deficiency

You may pump iron at the gym a few times a week, but your body pumps it continuously through the bloodstream every day. Iron is needed to make hemoglobin, a part of red blood cells that acts like a taxicab for oxygen and carbon dioxide. It picks up oxygen in the lungs, drives it through the bloodstream and drops it off in tissues including the skin and muscles. Then, it picks up carbon dioxide and drives it back to the lungs where it's exhaled.

Iron Deficiency
If the body doesn't absorb its needed amount of iron, it becomes iron deficient. Symptoms appear only when iron deficiency has progressed to iron deficiency anemia, a condition in which the body's iron stores are so low that not enough normal red blood cells can be made to carry oxygen efficiently.  Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency and the leading cause of anemia in the United States.  
Symptoms include:
  • Fatigue
  • Pale skin and fingernails
  • Weakness
  • Dizziness
  • Headache
  • Glossitis (inflamed tongue)
Sources of Iron
The body absorbs two to three times more iron from animal sources than from plants. Some of the best dietary sources of iron are:
  • Lean beef
  • Turkey
  • Chicken
  • Lean pork
  • Fish
Although you absorb less of the iron in plants, every bite counts, and adding a source of vitamin C to vegetarian sources of iron will enhance absorption. Some of the best plant sources of iron are:
  • Beans, including pinto, kidney, soybeans and lentils
  • Dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach
  • Fortified breakfast cereals
  • Enriched rice
  • Whole-grain and enriched breads
High-Risk Populations
The following populations are at a higher risk for developing iron deficiency.
  • Women Who Are Pregnant or Breast-feeding: Increased blood volume requires more iron to drive oxygen to the baby and growing reproductive organs. Consult your doctor or registered dietitian nutritionist before taking an iron supplement.
  • Young Children: Babies store enough iron for the first six months of life. After six months, their iron needs increase. Breast milk and iron-fortified infant formula can supply the amount of iron not met by solids. Cow's milk is a poor source of iron. When children drink too much milk, they crowd out other foods and may develop "milk anemia." Two cups of milk per day is the recommended amount for toddlers.
  • Adolescent Girls: Their often inconsistent or restricted diets - combined with rapid growth - put adolescent girls at risk.
  • Women of Childbearing Age: Women with excessively heavy menstrual periods may develop iron deficiency.
How to Prevent Iron Deficiency
Eat a balanced, healthy diet that includes good sources of iron to prevent any deficiencies. Combine vegetarian sources of iron with vitamin C in the same meal. For example: a bell pepper-bean salad, spinach with lemon juice, or fortified cereal and berries.

If treatment for iron deficiency is needed, a health-care provider will assess iron status and determine the exact form of treatment - which may include changes in diet or taking supplements.

Taken from eatright.org and written by Caroline Kaufman, MS, RDN
Published January 06, 2017


Lauren Derr

BHC Nutrition Coach
I ncreasing Energy Levels Series:
Setting Your Sleep Environment

Last month we talked about how to mentally wind down for the night, and now we will go over how to prepare our bedroom for sleep in a similar way. In November, we talked about the importance of having complete darkness at night while you sleep. Using a sleep mask , hanging blackout curtains , and finding ways to block out blue light close to bedtime are all an important part of setting up your sleep environment and helping your body recognize that it is time for sleep. Even a tiny amount of light for only a minute can throw off your circadian rhythm and signal to your body that it is time to be awake, so night lights (even red ones) are not a good idea to have on all night near your bedroom.
 
New research indicates that temperature can also play an important role in circadian signaling in humans, with colder temperatures acting as a major signal for night time (triggering sleepiness) and the warmer temperatures that come with the rising of the sun in the morning triggering wakefulness. Because of this, being in an unnaturally cool environment during the day (like always being indoors with air conditioning in the summer) and having too warm of an environment at night will blunt your circadian rhythm. Use this knowledge and program your thermostat accordingly. Ideally, you want your house to get cooler 1-2 hours before you want to sleep. Between 60 - 68 degrees Fahrenheit would be ideal, as temperatures higher than that have been shown to promote restlessness. You can also program your heater to begin warming up the house half an hour before your alarm goes off in the morning to help you wake up! Since the human body has evolved to react to a large change in temperature between your day and night time environment, please keep this information in mind if you want to be able to optimize your metabolic health and energy levels.
 
Since humans have co-evolved with other animals, the sounds of these animals can also effect our circadian rhythm. The calls of songbirds can have a particularly energizing effect. One study on humans subjected half of the individuals to a 2-hour CD of bird calls set to classical music (at an intensity equivalent to normal human conversation) during the time when they were supposed to be falling asleep. The other half were told to listen to a blank CD they were told contained an auditory stimulus "above the human hearing range." The group receiving the bird calls stimulus experiencing significantly greater delays in falling asleep, and they had higher self-reported feeling of wakefulness.
 
What does this mean for you? At night, in the few hours prior to bedtime, try keeping the volume of any noise (TV, computer, conversation, etc.) relatively low. If you live in a city with cars and various noises from outdoors, trying using a sound machines designed to help you sleep by produce a low-level soothing noise, like white or pink noise. There are plenty of free apps for smartphones that will play these noises, and they can help you tune out the barking dogs, the TV downstairs, or any other disturbances so you can fall asleep and stay asleep. In the morning, try waking up with gentle soothing noise or the calls of songbirds, and then shift into music that energizes you.
 
There you have it! Three ways to improve your sleeping environment for a deeper, more efficient slumber.


Roxy Turner
BHC Personal Trainer

Teen/Tween Yoga

Is your teen/tween looking for a way to stay fit and healthy, or develop good posture? Yoga is a great choice. It can help your teen/tween develop a healthy awareness of body and mind in a disciplined manner. Teens or tweens may find yoga a little intimidating in the beginning, like anything new. Most of these fears are due to misunderstandings about the practice, so let's bust some of these myths to help understand yoga better and give it some consideration.
  • Yoga is for everyone - humans of all shapes, sizes, and ages can do yoga
  • You don't need to be flexible to start practicing yoga
  • Yoga has nothing to do with religion
  • Yoga is about understanding and accepting your body and self, not just learning different postures
We are offering Teen/Tween yoga this summer July thru August on Mondays and Wednesdays at 1pm. Jen Olsen will be facilitating the classes with the perfect combination of discipline, humor, and compassion needed for the developing minds and bodies of your teen/tween.  We already have a discounted youth BHC membership available, and this summer we would like to extend the offer to 11-17 year olds for this particular class. Parental permission is required when signing up, but Mom and Dad, you'll have to stay out of the class. It's teen/tween yoga only! 

All classes, including this one, is included in a Junior PLUS membership (ages 15, 16 or 17). Non-members or guests under the age of 15 may attend class with a special discounted $8 drop-in rate for this class only.


Karen Gamble
BHC Class Director 
From the Owner

Last Sunday I said good-bye to BHC staff trainer Matt Bruner. Matt had been with us for about 3 years before deciding it was time to move on, and he was able to find a job as a trainer much closer to his home and school in Bellevue.

Over the past few months, we also saw Brittany Speakman leave to work at a veterinary clinic to support her love of animals. David Collins left to work in a more clinical setting to support his goal of becoming a physical therapist.  

I have come to learn that transitions like this happen in a work environment with younger employees that have lots of changes going on in their lives. I always feel a bit of a loss when someone leaves, but it also serves as a wake-up call to realize how special the people I do have on staff are.  

I do find that the longer people work at the club, the better chance there is to take advantage of their experience, interests and skills. Some examples of that:
  • Matt Anderson's goal is to run his own club. With that in mind, it was important that he gain experience managing people and was put in charge of the overnight crew when we hired our own team to support our 24 hour operation.
     
  • Allison Raines has excelled as a personal trainer and became our Training and Nutrition Manager last Fall. She has been steadily growing our training activity since then.
     
  • We discovered Roxy Turner to be very organized, thorough and technically orientated. Those traits have been put to good use with Roxy who is now the club's Operations Manager.
     
  • Karen Gamble arrived at the club as a yoga instructor and is now the Class Director overseeing all the details of managing our 80 classes a week at BHC.
Transitions do happen in our kind of business. My job is to focus on the time people spend working at BHC and make that as successful as it can be. Employees that are happy and satisfied with their jobs are ready to help make our members experience a positive one.

Sincerely, 

Pat Gilbrough
Owner and General Manager
pat@ballardhealthclub.com 

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