Allow Us to Reintroduce Ourselves – Fitness & Wellness Edition

Posted in Blog Fitness News Staff Profiles Wellness

Our Fitness & Wellness department at Yates is led by Director of Fitness & Wellness, Maegen C. Stoner, and Assistant Fitness Director, Christie L. Simoson. They are thrilled to be sharing with our viewers this month! Please enjoy a brief Q & A with our team to let you know a little more about them and their roles here at Yates.

Maegen joined Yates Field House in November 2014 as the Assistant Fitness Director. In February 2017, Maegen assumed her current role as Assistant Director of Yates Field House and the Director of Fitness and Wellness. Maegen received her Bachelor’s degree from Coastal Carolina University and Master’s degree in Public Health, with a concentration in nutrition, from Campbell University.  In her current position she develops, implements, supervises, and evaluates Group Fitness, Personal Training, Well Within, and various Health & Wellness programs and initiatives for the entire Georgetown community. She additionally oversees the fitness floor and all cardio and strength equipment, The Rack, and stretching areas in Yates. In September 2017, she and co-chair, Katharine Gray, launched the campus-wide Hoya Wellness Wheel.

Christie joined the Yates Field House team in July of 2017 as the Assistant Fitness Director. She plans, coordinates, and implements various fitness and wellness programs in collaboration with the Yates Field House fitness and wellness team and across Student Affairs departments. She directly oversees the Group Fitness Program at Yates Field House, which is why you may find Christie instructing Group Fitness classes as well! Christie earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree(s) in Exercise Science from East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania.

I love a good combo of cardio and strength training. A solid HIIT (high intensity interval training) workout is definitely my jam. I try and make the most of the hour I dedicate to myself, which is why this format works so well for me. It combines various time intervals with cardio and strength components, increases heart rate, and always delivers a solid sweat session.

Weights are my thing. I have always found Strength Training to be a way for me to escape and allow time for self-reflection. I am able to turn off the outside world and focus on bettering myself; it is just me and the weights. As corny as this may sound, subconsciously, it is as if the heavy weights symbolize the current stress in my life, so to be able to lift, push, or pull that weight off or away from me, is an amazing feeling.

Till I Collapse by Eminem & Nate Dogg. It’s my go-to for the toughest part of any workout or when I really don’t think I have the energy to finish strong. While it’s certainly not a fast paced song, it carries a strong back beat and puts me back in my former athlete mindset!

Yikes, that’s a tough one! I listen to a bit more hardcore music while lifting weights, and then more fast beat dance-type music while doing cardio. It may seem as if I am doing interval training while I do cardio, and while that may be the case in most instances, in others, I am really just going to the beat of that particular song.

Hands down-morning! I prefer to get my day started with a solid workout. I also have more energy in the morning, so it sets me up for a productive day whether I’m going to work afterwards or at home on the weekends.

While I feel great starting my day with a workout, I get the most out of it in the late afternoon/early evening. Working out at this time gives me my second wind. I look forward to going to the gym, so to be able to end my day on a high note, is such a great feeling!

 Since I usually hit the gym in the morning, I tend to lean towards a homemade protein chocolate muffin or a Chocolate Peanut Butter RX Bar before a workout. Post workout is always homemade chocolate milk (can you tell I really like chocolate?!?) and honey almond butter if I need a little extra for recovery.

 As cliché as this may sound, my pre-workout go-to is a banana with peanut butter. I LOVE peanut butter. My favorite post-workout snack is chocolate milk (when I have it readily available). If that is not handy, I am consuming a high-protein food (i.e. chicken or eggs).

 I thoroughly enjoy being outside whether that’s cycling, running, hiking, rock climbing, or camping. I love to cook and try new cuisines, play with my dog, visit family, travel, and go antique furniture shopping!

 You can find me exploring the outdoors with my dog, cycling on a new trail, lifting weights, traveling to visit family/friends, or heading to a baseball game!

 While it’s certainly not mainstream or glamorous by today’s standards, I’d love to have the power to heal. Not just diseases, illnesses, or hurting hearts, but significantly difficult situations that people face on a daily basis that would restore a sense of hope to their lives.

 I think I would have to say teleportation. I would LOVE to travel the world, view all of the different sights of mother nature, and experience many unfamiliar cultures that I may not be able to otherwise.

 First, our almost 40 years of operation in this facility! We are consistently working to provide quality services, programs, spaces, and equipment for our members as time and budget allow. We have a vast number of options and opportunities for members to engage in a physically active lifestyle across all of our program areas. Personally, I love that I am able to envision spaces that might be overlooked and re-imagine them for something they could be in the future!

 The sense of Georgetown Community. Georgetown is kind of off the grid; we have our own little community here and it’s a beautiful thing. That, and the fact that Yates is like a playground for the health and fitness field! We have so many options for everyone to choose from, and the professional staff to help you reach your goal – no matter what that may be.

 We’ve been working hard behind the scenes to evaluate how our spaces are being used on a daily basis. I’m really excited to bring some changes to our fitness floor that I truly believe will greatly benefit our members’ experience!

 We are bringing a couple new formats to our Group Fitness Program. We don’t want to spoil the surprise, so we’ll just leave it at that!

Thanks for reading and we’ll see you around Yates! -Maegen and Christie