Mother Knows Best
Christine Knight-Hauger balances life as a single mom and athlete with running a club with her best friend-her mom. Keeping it all together makes her our June 2008 Most Fit Health Club Professional.
Not many women could spend their days working side-by-side with their moms and their sons and go to sleep grinning, but Christine Knight-Hauger isn’t your typical woman.
After 25 years as a competitive athlete, Christine stepped back down to amateur status and moved back to her Idaho hometown to open Groaner’s Camas Fitness Club, the only health club in the small community of Grangeville. But Groaner’s is a distinctive club in more ways than just its single status: Just look at the name, which Christine loves because it acknowledges the way so many non-athletes feel about fitness clubs when they visit one for the first time. Christine is out to shake the perception that health clubs are only for fit people, and she’s probably one of the least intimidating fitness personalities most people will ever meet with her genuinely warm smile and welcoming attitude. It’s not a hard thing to do, she says, because her passion for fitness makes her happy to come to work every day.
“I simply do what I love,” she says. “I love to work out, teach, train for races and socialize. So it makes sense that I love to help others find the “athlete” inside them and improve their health with the right choices.”
Most of all, Christine loves that her hometown club gives her the opportunity to spend time with her two favorite people: her 8-year-old son Kaden and her mom, who’s a co-owner of Groaner’s and shares Christine’s vision for the club. Though plenty of people would groan at the prospect of working with their mothers, Christine embraces the opportunity to spend more time with her mom.
“I get to work with my mother every day,” says Christine, when asked what her favorite part of the job is. “We are best friends, sisters and now business partners. Running the health club with my favorite lady is beautiful. It’s comforting to know if I am not there to greet each member, she is. We make it a priority to know every one by name and provide a personable stress releasing environment.”
Christine also loves that changing her life gives her more freedom to spend time with Kaden, who’s been right by her side since she adopted him as a newborn from Guatemala. Though she’s brought Kaden with her on trips for competitions, as well as including him in the biking, swimming and skiing adventures that are an integral part of her life, she finds that she’s able to make more quality time for family thanks to the slower pace of small-town living.
“Moving to a smaller town allows us the opportunity to mesh schedules,”says Christine. “Kaden can walk to the club after school and do homework while I facilitate office work. I am able to spend more quality time with him, and he gets to be in a healthy environment in place of cartoons and video games. Fitness is an integral part of my life and now his. From Grandma to Grandson, it’s definitely a family based business!”
MOTIVATION – “My initial pull into health clubs was due to a serious running injury. After the 100th Boston Marathon and a string of highly intense races, a severe bone fracture sidelined me. I would have gone mental if it weren’t for the support and release I received through my local fitness facility. I recall being crushed when told I should not run for six months to a year. That seemed like a lifetime. The club’s staff brought me up from depression with awesome workout alternatives and positive reinforcement. Little did I realize that my injury was a blessing in disguise. It was my door to a whole new world with infinite dimensions and a new life.”
PHILOSOPHY – “A health club is not just about physical activities. It’s about the person inside the body. It’s about selflessly listening to each member’s needs and providing tools and support to help them succeed. I realized that I wanted to be one of those rare rays of hope shining from a fitness club. I wanted to reach out and help others find their way back into light through a physical and mental connection. Every person who walks into our lobby has a reason for stepping in. For many it took all of their courage to even get that far. This is where we, as health club owners and professionals, must reach out, open our hearts, our ears and listen. We welcome the kaleidoscope of personalities and challenges. We continually evolve with times and people. We must weave positive threads into our members’ hectic lives to raise self esteem and facilitate lifestyle changes.”
HEROES – “There is no individual I can name that has been my one and only hero. There have been so many. Another benefit of competing is the human side of each event. With every race comes massive inspiration. Whether it’s winning a World Championship on behalf of your brother who was tragically killed while training on his road bike or a Purple Heart recipient crossing a finish line in a wheelchair to honor other Americans still fighting in Iraq, every one has motivation. What keeps me reaching for my gold is witnessing this amazing passion in others. People such as these live on through action and become heroes to countless others. We can only hope that we take their zest for life, mirror it and pass that passion torch to others along our path.”
FITNESS – “A byproduct of teaching strength, core, swimming, cycling and yoga classes is that it naturally benefits me too. Beyond the daily agenda while training clients and leading group fitness, I am an insanely competitive athlete. After topping out in age group championships worldwide, I went the next level and earned a Pro card in duathlon (run/bike/run). After two solid years as Elite, I stepped back into the amateur division for 2008. The main reason I did this is because of Groaner’s Fitness Club. The choice to move back into my home town from Colorado and to own a gym is a dream come true! I still compete internationally, but it is far down from what’s most important: family time and club member satisfaction.”
NUTRITION – “I am a workout queen, but I am human too. I love sweets. People assume I eat perfectly 24-7. Fish, lean beef, leafy vegetables and dark fruit are staples not only for health reasons, but mainly for the flavors! Yes, I fall for guilty pleasures on a daily basis-a glass of red wine at dinner and a soft Mac the Chip Cookie with green tea for dessert. (Hey, it’s by Alternative Baking Company, which whips up all natural, to-die-for confections, so they don’t count, right?). OK, I am a sucker for quality decadent indulgences. Come on, a girl’s gotta have fun!”
