Hey there, my name is Kim and I am a Fitness Instructor, Personal Trainer and the Fitness Operations Manager here at Prairie Strong. I am so happy to be a part of this amazing Prairie Strong Fitness team, but the most amazing part about this whole thing is that I get to share my love of all things fitness with you, our members, through personal training, team training and group fitness classes. I am a weight neutral fitness coach, so for me, fitness isn’t about changing the size or shape of a body, it’s about finding a level of fitness that gives us health. Building strength, flexibility and mobility are key and I can absolutely help you with that!

We've all been there. We know the health benefits that regular exercise gives our body, mind and spirit. But the motivation to actually get up and do something about it... meh. It's a challenge on the best of days. If you are anything like me, you know exactly what I am talking about. As a mother of two, a wife, working a full-time job, running from sports event to school event to church event and so on -- I was the Queen of excuses. But the day came when the versatility of my youth was lost and my desk-job and eating habits started to show; in my climbing weight, in my energy, and most of all, in my attitude.

Then I discovered Spartan races. In ancient Greece, Spartans were warriors who faced impossible odds with immense bravery. The name is associated with a "Never Quit" attitude and a die-hard philosophy. There is an organization that runs Spartan races with this mantra all over the world. I signed up the same day I hired Tiara as my personal trainer. There was no way I could do it on my own!!

With Tiara's coaching, both in grinding work-outs where I pushed my body to its limits and a strict diet regime, and with Jason's constant encouragement, I was finally ready for my first Spartan race in August of 2019 in Calgary. It took me 9 months to prepare but I completed it!! Did I run a perfect race? Absolutely not. I failed three obstacles out of twenty, which required 30 burpees each for my failure. But the adrenaline and satisfaction of persevering and completing the race and being handed my first Spartan medal was an accomplishment I will not quickly forget.

Exercise and health is not just for one type of person. It's not just for the die-hard body-builders, or for the Moms who want to lose a few baby pounds, or for the marathon runners, or for the elite athletes or for the young. It's for EVERYBODY. And that's who and what our gym is here to serve. Our goal is to meet you right where you are in life and fitness... and help you excel to where you want to be. To come along-side you and meet you burpee for burpee, push-up for push-up, mile for mile. You got this!!

Exercise isn't just a choice for me. It's the difference between life and death. This is because I have a level 4 heart murmur. I am missing one of the flaps on my tricuspid valve. This means that with any given pump of my heart up to 25% of my blood flows back into my heart. Doctors continue to tell me that physical exercise is necessary to keep my heart healthy and strong. I am a firm believer that if you don't take care of your body, it won't take care of you.

As I started to incorporate exercise into my life I found that a well rounded regiment of physical activity also helped calm my mind and my nerves. It helped me deal with daily anxieties and stresses that I so often struggle with. Before I knew it, I was involved in hockey, tennis, and weightlifting. This became my "me" time, and I felt myself looking forward to it day after day.

A few years later a friend invited me to go for a run. To me running seemed rather monotonous and I thought he was crazy. But we were at the lake and so I thought to myself, 'What the heck, it's just a run. How bad can it be'. My first run ended up being a 4 mile route up and down the hills of the Jack-fish Lake golf course. It just about killed me. I had sore muscles in areas I didn't know existed. But little did I know that it also awakened in me a desire I didn't know I had. I wanted to be a runner. I persisted, trained hard, worked hard and eventually ran my first 10K. The feeling was euphoric.

Since then I have tried to incorporate a healthy mixture of physical activity as part of my life. Exercise isn't just a choice for some - it's a necessity.