With a Master’s in Library & Information Science, Kristen is quite literally a walking talking encyclopedia…only, hilarious too. She’s equipped with fun facts on anything from the French Revolution to fungi, and everything in between. She is incredibly hard working and has made truly impressive progress training twice weekly over the last several months.

Having recently celebrated one year since surviving an accident that resulted in multiple vertebral fractures, her story and recovery are nothing short of inspiring. Read on to hear from Kristen about her experience training at Queen Street and what she’s been able to regain in the process.

Can you paint a picture of where you were at when you first started? What were you looking for when you reached out?
When I first started at Queen Street Fitness, I was still slowly regaining the ability to move around after breaking a couple vertebrae earlier that year. I had a walking stick that I still needed if I was going to be out for long periods of time and I still needed breaks from movement. Like, I could do a few errands but then I was exhausted for the rest of the day. I reached out because I wanted to move better, regain my resiliency and prevent health problems down the line. 

When Kristen first started in March, she could stand for about an hour before her pain exceeded a 4/10, five weeks later she could stand for 4 hours comfortably, and another 5 weeks after that she was up to 8 hours. 

What progress have you made that you feel proud of? 
I'm really proud of how much mobility I've regained. I get so excited when we get to up the weight on something I'm doing. 

At the beginning, Kristen’s mobility and strength limited her ability to bend forward to pick things up from the ground, sit-up from laying flat, squat down, lift something overhead and balance on a single leg. She can now comfortably squat with weight, deadlift with confidence, carry uneven loads and sit-up over a dozen times in a row with ease.

What feels possible for you now that didn’t before?
I've gotten back to being able to move without immediately thinking about how to move to avoid hurting myself. I went to a concert a couple weeks ago and not only did I walk there and back, but I danced for three and a half hours. I was sore the next day but not immobile. That would not have been possible even a couple months ago.

Kristen is no longer operating at the top of her functional capacity every day. She has, with patience and dedication, built up a reserve by improving her mobility and strength. With this extra capacity, she now has more than enough room for the things she loves to do, like dancing to live music and thrifting till the cows come home. 

Has anything about your experience at QSF surprised you?
I didn't expect to fall in love with it. That sounds like a cliche but it's not only true but very important to me. I've been a fat kid and a fat teen and a fat adult and while I've never been lazy, I have been made to feel so at almost every gym I've ever been to. Every gym I've ever been to only seems to care about using my weight and physical appearance as a reason to manipulate me into giving them business but that shame doesn't motivate me. If anything it's the reason I've never felt comfortable going to the gym.

What caught my eye about QSF in the first place is that it didn't seem to do that. I found, ironically, a spotlight on someone else who had back problems and I was so impressed that I just kind of read everything I could about the business and I noticed a clear lack of that type of manipulation and fitness bro kind of thing. Everyone here is so genuinely kind and supportive, it makes me actually look forward to coming in. I've never liked coming to the gym before but I love coming in.

If you could go back in time to talk to yourself just before starting, do you have any advice or spoilers you would share?
I'd probably just let myself know that I've made the right call. Tell myself it's 100% the move.

Is there anything else you want to share about your experience?
QSF is the most positive and supportive fitness environment you could possibly want. It's a community that I'm always coming more and more to enjoy and I wish that every gym had this environment. I think this gym should be the example other establishments aspire to.