Five Pros: Where They Work Out

Viewing the physical feats of Seattle’s professional athletes and performers on field and stage is awe-inspiring. Five pros share where they work out to stay in fighting form

This article originally appeared in the February 2017 issue of Seattle magazine.

Margaret Mullin
Job description: Soloist with the Pacific Northwest Ballet
Local workout: “I tend to have tight muscles for a ballet dancer, so I really benefit from weekly yoga at Häutēyoga Queen Anne (Queen Anne, 2131 Queen Anne Ave. N; 206.913.2561; hauteyogaqueenanne.com). I started after a back injury two years ago. “I’ve also always loved Pilates and have greatly benefited from training privately with Mary Sue Corrado at Bodies in Balance (North Seattle, by appointment only; 206.783.5919; bodiesinbalancepilates.com). She’s brilliant.”

Sue Bird
Job description: Guard for the Seattle Storm
Local workout: “My favorite off-court workout is Flywheel (South Lake Union, 224 Westlake Ave. N; 206.402.4819; flywheelsports.com). It’s quick, effective and fun, and at this point in my career, any time I can reduce pounding while also getting cardio in is a huge plus. Why not listen to good music, sweat your butt off and be done in 45 minutes? There is also a competitive aspect to the class, so it gets those juices flowing as well.”

Jordan Morris
Job description: Forward for the Seattle Sounders
Local workout: “Early in my career, I worked out with Travis Motley at Impact Strength and Performance (Bellevue, 1508 128th Place NE; 425.628.4898; goimpactstrength.com). It was a great way to jumpstart my conditioning, and Travis worked to get me stronger, quicker and more dynamic. “Outside of practice, my favorite exercises to do are push-ups and sit-ups. They’re an easy exercise to fit in everyday…I can do them while I’m watching TV at home. It sounds simple, but core strength is really important to my position, so you can’t do enough of it.”

Alya Titarenko
Job description: Aerialist with Teatro ZinZanni
Local workout: “I am a National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) certified personal trainer, so I create my own workout programs. I research new exercises and then try them out on myself. But there are some coaches and athletes whose methods I have watched as well, like Canadian coach Charles Poliquin and professional fitness competitor Nicole Wilkins.“People ask me all the time, ‘How many hours a day do you train?’ It’s not about hours in one day, it’s about consistency over the days, weeks, months and years. If you come to your training focused and do a good warm-up, 45–60 minutes is all the time you need.”

Image by Seattle Seahawks

Jon Ryan
Job description: Punter for the Seattle Seahawks
Local workout: “During the off-season, I go to fitness studio 5focus (South Lake Union, 925 Eighth Ave. N; 206.631.2818; 5focus.com) a couple times a week. They offer various classes like Kinesis…just different exercises that I probably wouldn’t do on my own. As a football player, I’ve always been more focused on weight training, so 5focus helps me target some of the smaller, different muscles that you can’t hit in the weight room.”