Kristen Szitar

KRISTEN SZITAR

Coach, Personal Trainer, Yoga Teacher

Education, Experience & Qualifications

  • Buffalo State- Masters Mathematics Education
  • AFAA- Certified Personal Trainer
  • NCCPT- Certified Personal Trainer
  • TRX- Suspension Training
  • BLISS- SUP YOGA
  • Boston- 200H YTT
  • CPR & AED Certified

CrossFit Certifications

  • CrossFit Level 1 Trainer

Competitive Experience

  • States Cross-Country 2001
  • 1500M record 5:02
  • 3000M record 11:08
  • Steeplechase 7:44
  • NFL All Start 2000, 2001
  • Casino Niagara Marathon 2001
  • Several Sprint triathlons and road races since I was 5

Running was not what I did but who I was. After a while, however, running became painful, and I struggled with arthritis in my feet and ankles. Running was all I knew, so it was all I did. I would see people using dumbbells at the gym but was too nervous to use them. “How much weight do I use? How long? How many sets? Reps? How long do I rest? What should it feel like?” And of course doing all of that in front of people is scary.

In 2005 I bought the p90x program and started to workout from home, and when a good song came on I could dance with no one watching! The first time I did real resistance training I was floored by how weak I was. “I’m a runner, I’m fit right?” …wrong! After getting over the first week of being sore I realized it wasn’t that scary and it actually started to make sense.  I fell in love with the body and the biomechanics, the “why” of movement.

Since then, I’ve gradually moved away from running and cycling and experimented with strength and dumbbells, yoga, natural body movements and now CrossFit. I started personal training in 2012 and became a yoga teacher in 2015. I continue to learn as a trainer and athlete. My passion is helping people find pain free movement. You don’t have to be able to do splits but you do need to be able to sit on the floor and get up!

At first I was unsure about CrossFit because I’d heard stereotypes, but I came in with an open mind and I was pleasantly surprised. Dan is extremely knowledgeable and he and Ellen have created an environment that is open and inclusive. At CFS you’ll find the softer side of CrossFit, with still so many opportunities to grow as an athlete if you wish.