Justin Dominick loves helping his community stay active. As senior director of fitness for the Jewish Community Center (JCC) of Greater Baltimore, he’s living his dream every day.
Dominick and his wife, Megan, live in White Hall with their three children, Emmy (6), Graham (5) and Hadley (2). After almost 20 years in the fitness industry, he has a few insights to share with other families.
Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Why is it important to stay active as a family?
We all know the importance of establishing healthy habits, and I think the earlier that we can establish them the better. [They’re] going to become a part of what [kids] do, so we do them as a family. I want our kids to see us being active. We go outside and play house sometimes. Mom and Dad go into the basement and work out and, you know, my kids come down and grab 2-pound weights, and they’ll mimic what we’re doing. Or I’ll say, “Hey, you know, let’s go outside and throw the ball,” or “Let’s go outside and play soccer,
play basketball.”
There are things that we want to make a normal part of our daily routine because we know the long-term benefits. From a chronic disease standpoint, it helps with a whole host of potential chronic diseases as you get older, so we can mitigate those early. From a mental standpoint, from exercise and fitness comes mental health and well-being, which are huge issues for kids as they go through school.
What do you love about your job?
A lot of things. The reason I got into this field is because I’ve always been passionate about fitness, health and wellness. It’s kind of a natural path. My dad was a big fitness person, and he always worked out, so I kind of took to it at a young age. I like the fact that I get to help people most of all. I’m a people person, so I’m a very social person, very extroverted. Being in a member-facing profession, we’re constantly interacting with all different kinds of members with all different kinds of needs, all different backgrounds—and I get to help them.
What do you love about being a parent?
No day is the same. I have three little kids, and they all have very different personalities, all different likes and wants and needs. Every day is different. My wife and I, we’ve created these three little beings and you know, the way that you know, when you come home from work and they run to the door saying, “Daddy! Daddy’s home!”
How do you balance parenting with your career?
That’s not easy. You know, I’m sure anybody with a career and a family will tell you it’s not easy. I would say it’s never really balanced but you have to use a rhythm. There’s an ebb and flow. Sometimes, there’s projects going on at work that require more of your time, so you work more days, later days, longer days—but then there’s times where maybe there’s not as much work, and you can have extra time at home.
Family Favorites
Meal: Friday night at our house is steak night!
Dessert: Ice cream, hands down
Local Spot: Jarrettsville Creamery; it’s a little local shop and deli counter, and they make their own homemade ice cream.
Family Activity: One of the things we try to do daily when the kids get home from school is to just get them outside. It’s one of my favorite things to do. The kids love swinging, going down the slide, trying to do the monkey bars—stuff like that. That’s something we try to do pretty much every day.
