Studio Fit owner has body, soul in mind
Tucked back from the street in a little strip mall on the northwest corner of 32nd Avenue and Highway 27 in Spokane Valley is a place called Studio Fit – Personal Training and Group Fitness. The bright yellow banner that hangs above its windows reads: Cardio Boot Camp Classes 844-6225.
As visions of a screaming, whistle-blowing drill sergeant enter your mind, you drive by to finish your errands while mentally going over a list of “to-dos” that may or may not include a brisk walk or joining a gym.
Emily Arger, Studio Fit owner and trainer, hopes you choose the latter because her passion, she writes on her website, is “to coach and encourage you to become the healthiest you’ve ever been. Life is richer when you’re healthy – mind, body, and soul.”
Also on her website is a photo of her wearing a bikini and balancing on high heels. She is greased, bronzed and smiling. Intimidating to say the least, but, once you meet her, all thoughts of her blowing that whistle dissipate. “That’s just a hobby, a competition I do every year,” she said, “I don’t always look like that.” Rather, she looks healthy, happy and friendly. “Exercise makes you feel good; when you feel good, you eat well; when you eat well, you feel good, and the cycle continues. If I can help people to get into this cycle, I will have done my job.”
Arger was born and raised in Kansas, where her parents owned a fitness club. She eventually moved to Phoenix to attend a massage therapy school and do fitness training on the side. She met her husband, Gene Arger, a Spokane Valley native, who was working in the athletic department of Arizona State University. Together, they moved to Spokane Valley in 2005. Soon, she began working at Studio Fit, which she purchased a year ago.
Gene Arger works in commercial real estate and also helps with marketing and advertising for Studio Fit, where Emily Arger does all the rest. She is a certified group fitness instructor, a Turbo kick instructor, a massage therapist and a certified personal trainer.
She also offers nutritional guidance. “Abs are made in the kitchen,” she said. Classes the studio offers include Butts and Guts, Zumba, and yoga. She also offers a Valley Biggest Loser personal training package.
Since purchasing the business, she has remodeled and bought more equipment including fitness bands and balls, Dyna Discs and BOSU balls, medicine balls, a punching bag and more. “I’m like a kid in a candy store with my supplies,” she said. “So many fun programs can be designed with this equipment.”
She understands that it’s difficult to take that leap but, once in motion, a body stays in motion, and she stays with her clients every step of the way. “I really am here at their disposal – whether they have a question about what cardio they should do, or they’re at the grocery store and can’t decide which bread to get.”
In celebration of its first year in business, Studio Fit is having a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, from 4 to 6 p.m. The event will include attendance by Valley Chamber of Commerce members, refreshments, a free drawing for a health-inspired basket, and other surprises. When asked if she or any of the other trainers use a whistle, she replied, “nope, there’s not a whistle on the premises.”