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Little did AMBER KING know at the time where the post-college gig she signed up for at age 23 would take her.
“I actually started teaching group fitness as a way to not have to pay for my gym membership,” she says. “Joke was on me because although I still don’t pay for a gym membership, I have paid for multiple certifications and trainings over the last 18 years.”
The pride of the Peoria County village of Princeville (pop. 1,719) has made a career out of fitness, running her own personal training business and working on and off at the Stephens Family YMCA since 2012.
King, who earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Illinois State and a master’s in urban planning from the University of Illinois, prides herself on her personal approach to training — working indoors or outdoors (the client’s choice) and delivering a mix of “friendliness, courage, movement, increased strength, mobility and joy.”
“Movement has been foundational in my life. On the softball field, the ballet stage, the dance floor or in the circus, I’ve always found great joy in movement, strength and connection with others,” she tells clients.
The fan of Karen’s Kloset clothes and Sun Singer salads took time out to answer questions from Editor Jeff D’Alessio in the 305th installment of our weekly speed read spotlighting leaders of organizations big and small.
My one unbreakable rule of the workplace is … we work hard, but we recover harder. As fitness professionals, we have to take care of our bodies so we can sustain our work and set good examples for our clients.
I wind down after work by … starting my second shift as mom — chef, chauffeur, maid 🙂
My philosophy on meetings is … make it an email or text if possible, and if not, what can I feed people while we meet?
The hardest thing about being a leader is … showing up and providing excellent service — even on days when it’s hard to tap into my passion for training. Remembering that I work from discipline, not motivation.
My single favorite moment of all-time in this job was … seeing one of my training clients go from being trained to leading her own fitness classes. I loved having a front-row seat to seeing her confidence and competency grow.
I can’t live without my … morning coffee.
On my office walls, you’ll find … a giant dry erase board calendar, multiple colors of markers and some additional Post-its — plus pictures of my kids and clients.
My professional role model is … Ali Kreider with Ali K Fitness. She does a phenomenal job of building community and reminding everyone that fitness is finding the joy in movement and not punishing our bodies for needing to eat.
I’m frugal in that … I try to buy my clothes second hand. (Shoutout to Karen’s Kloset!)
If I could trade places for a week with any other business person in town, I wouldn’t mind switching with … Josh Whitman. I love U of I sports and think it would be so fascinating to see the logistics behind coordinating all the schedules and teams.
Plus, I would love to get to interact with all the coaches and staff.
The single-most important question I ask job candidates during interviews is … how would you handle a client that is upset with you? How a person handles conflict says a lot about their character.
The first thing I do when I get to work is … double-check my client schedule to see what equipment I need to get out.
For lunch, I like to … grab sushi from Harvest Market or get the almond crusted goat cheese salad from Sun Singer.
The last luxury in which I indulged was … a new mattress. Again, we work hard and rest harder.
The last good book I read was … “My Friends,” by Fredrik Backman. I highly recommend any of his books.
The most beneficial college class I took was … computer programming, freshman year at Illinois State University.
I hated it. It taught me that I would much rather be working with people than behind a computer.
My exercise routine consists of … whatever group exercise classes I’m teaching that week. Plus taekwondo twice week. (Black belt by 50!)
I’m up and at ’em every day by … 6:30 a.m. — or earlier if my kids decide they are ready to be up.
The first job I ever had was as … a barista at Gloria Jean’s Coffee. I loved getting to learn how to make all the drinks and getting to experiment to create new ones.
I did not love how dried out my hands got from constantly washing them and cleaning with bleach water.
The worst job I ever had was as … a behind-the-plate umpire for youth softball. I was 16 and didn’t feel competent making the calls and parents of the players were not always happy with me.
