The Seattle Times: Pacific Northwest Magazine : Goodwill Hunting

Goodwill Hunting
In opening a health club in Central Seattle,
a former Sonic gives back

AFTER CHECKING some last-days details of his new fitness and therapy clinic near the intersection of 23rd Avenue South and Jackson Street in the Central Area, James Donaldson walked into the nearby Starbucks. Everyone seemed to know him.

For sure, everyone noticed him. More than 7 feet tall, he is a massive man as well as a former sports star, putting in stints with the Seattle SuperSonics and Washington State University during his long basketball career. He also worships right up the road at Mount Zion Baptist Church and is involved in a number of mentoring and community goodwill projects.

The server asks him about the center (which opened in late February) and tells him she knows she needs to exercise. "That's a start," I chirp, and they both laugh. A woman he knows from church sidles up to him, leaning on a cane, and says how she is looking forward to using the therapy pool.

This Donaldson Fitness & Physical Therapy Clinic is his third in the region. His second is on Tacoma's Hilltop, another historically neglected area.

He chose to locate in Seattle's Central Area, he explains, because "I wanted to get involved in the revitalization that is going on in this area, which doesn't traditionally get these types of services. These are the people I grew up with, and they appreciate it that I'm not just trying to make a quick buck."

He has signed a 10-year lease on the place, which takes up the bottom floor at Welch Plaza. The clinic's hydrotherapy pool will have adjustable flows and a built-in underwater treadmill, one of three or so in the area. He has named the pool the Rev. Frank M. Byrdwell Aquatic Training Pool, after a friend and mentor whom he met at Mount Zion.

"He has been an inspiring source of guidance and motivation for me in helping the vision and dream of a Central Seattle location come true," Donaldson says. "He has since had two hip-replacement operations, and he needs the pool now."

Donaldson, 47, played 15 years in the National Basketball Association, including three with the Sonics. He opened his first therapy clinic in Mill Creek in 1990, while he was still playing in the NBA. He already knew something about injury and rehab. He ruptured the patella tendon of his right knee in 1988 and played another 10 years on it.

The new center, which will cost members $39 a month after a $100 initiation fee, is set up to handle physical-therapy cases. It also has 40 aerobic and strength workout stations, and will offer physical profile assessments, massage, personal training, group exercise classes and nutritional services.

Donaldson is banking on the fitness center being a cog in the revitalization of the neighborhood, which was troubled by drug deals and economic decline a decade or so ago. He also hopes it feeds off the obvious signs of new life there.

In fact, he is invested in the community beyond his club. He donates much of his time to causes, from reading to Tacoma grade-school children to helping African-American youths. "It's rare for a professional athlete to find something he can be as passionate about as when he played," Donaldson says. "What do you do for the next 40 years? I know a lot of guys struggling with that. I've been fortunate."

Curves workout is working

A study commissioned by the American Council on Exercise found that the popular 30-minute Curves for Women program provides a "moderate-intensity" workout for people who are relatively inactive. Researchers from the Exercise Physiology Department at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse tested 15 healthy women, averaging 42 years of age, and monitored their heart rates and oxygen consumption.

The study found that participants burned an average of 184 calories, an aerobic benefit equivalent to walking at 4 miles an hour on a level treadmill.

"At first glance, the results of the study suggest that the Curves workout offers modest training benefits because of the limited calories burned," says Cedric Bryant, chief physiologist for the council, a national nonprofit fitness advocate. However, he said, the circuit workout does offer an effective aerobic training stimulus plus total-body resistance training.

Richard Seven is a Pacific Northwest magazine staff writer. He can be reached at rseven@seattletimes.com. Mark Harrison is a Seattle Times staff photographer.