March Trainer of the Month - Karen Binkley
The YMCA of Parkersburg's Trainer of the Month is designed to help you get to know the trainers that help make our Y community great. This month, we’re introducing Karen Binkley who instructs some of our Water Aerobics classes. Get to know Karen by reading her story firsthand below:
“I was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. My first experience with the Y was when my mother enrolled me in swimming lessons at the age of 10, and I became an avid swimmer. When we visited our Canadian family on a river every summer, I spent several hours in the water every day. I loved the water!
When I lived in Pittsburgh, I learned to scuba dive and joined a scuba diving club. One day, I received a call from several members of the club (Beaver Valley Sharks) asking if I would be willing to participate in an Ice Flow race in Ontario. The theme of the race that year was ‘Wizard of Oz’.
Everyone from our club would take a bus to Peterborough in the middle of February. For each team, a section of ice, about 20’ x 20’, was cut out of the lock area and then pushed into the river. Our team had 5 costumed characters from the movie out on the ice - the Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, Scarecrow, Wizard, and Dorothy on her bicycle.
After our ice flow was pushed into the middle of the river by 12 team members representing the Lollipop Guild and the Muchkins, we (including me) began pushing the ice flow as quickly as possible down the river. Meanwhile, a plane overhead had the Wicked Witch of the West just out of a plane flying overhead, sitting on a broom with a stream of smoke emitting from it. She attempted to land on the ice flow. It didn’t work, but we tried our best. After about 30 minutes in the water, we finished the race, got dressed, and went to a casual banquet for awards. Although we did not win an award for speed, we won the award for best costumes!
I was crazy enough to participate in the race one additional year when the theme was “King Arther’s Court’. I wore a tall pointed hat and a long dress. Unfortunately, interest in that event was short-lived due to the extremely cold water and no hot showers at the end.
When I moved to Marietta, I immediately joined Marietta YMCA for exercise and to get to know people outside of work. At the time, I was working as a school psychologist. I began taking all kinds of “land” classes such as Aerobics, Step Aerobics, Yoga, etc. Then, when I injured my ankle playing tennis, I turned to their evening Water Aerobics class. We had so much fun, and I made many new friends.
After several years of taking Water Aerobics, I decided to learn how to teach the class myself and became certified. Soon after that, our Water Aerobics instructor moved away, and I was asked to teach the class. A year later, I was asked to teach Aqua Zumba and loved the combination of dance and exercise too. Besides loving the music and the water, I also found my life partner in the pool too. Several years later though, many problems arose with the maintenance of the Marietta YMCA’s pool which led to the pool shut down. That was a sad day for me and so many others!
After a year without the Marietta YMCA’s pool, I decided there was no reason to keep our water aerobics equipment if we didn’t have a pool. So after consulting with the Marietta YMCA, we decided to offer our equipment to the YMCA of Parkersburg rather than just trying to find a place to store it. I scheduled an appointment with Jeff Olson, CEO, and planned to leave our equipment with him. However, he really wanted a Water Aerobics Instructor along with the equipment. I told him that I wasn’t interested in driving to Parkersburg to teach, but after some coaxing, I changed my mind, and I am so glad I did.
Even when COVID-19 hit, teaching in the water at the YMCA of Parkersburg has been a great way to get out of the house, get some exercise, and lift my spirit! With the pool chemicals fighting against COVID and any other germs, it appeared to be a safe place to exercise. I’m always so much happier and more energized after I have been in the YMCA of Parkersburg’s pool.”
Interested in joining the Y community?
For more information about group fitness classes and trainers, please contact Crystal Leonard, Health & Fitness Coordinator, at 304-485-5585, ext. 213 or crystal.leonard@parkersburgymca.org.