Meet our newest Coach!
Meet our newest Coach, Kelly Simmons. She may look familiar to you as she has been training at STAFIT since 2017. As the owner and operator of Koastal Paddleboard Yoga, Kelly is also certified to teach yoga, paddleboard board yoga, and paddleboarding--perhaps you have taken one of her paddleboard yoga classes or ecotours or seen her out in Salt Run?
Kelly’s fitness training focus is on building and maintaining balance and core stability, hip shoulder and wrist mobility, and grip strength.
Kelly came to STAFIT (at the recommendation of a friend) because she was looking for two things: #1 a trainer and/or gym to help her correct muscle imbalances, such as stiff hips, from years at a desk job, and #2 a gym where she could shower after training and head straight to her job.
She began training with Coach Kevin and his wife Marcy during his 6am Mon, Wed and Fri team training class. She had never been so sore in her entire life but knew she had to get beyond that in order to realize any gains. The encouragement of the other two women in the class kept her coming back and led to two enduring friendships.
A year later, Kelly realized the place she was most happy and often wished she could stay vs rushing off to work at a desk was STAFIT. So she decided to get certified as a Personal Trainer through NASM. She also knew a next step in advancing her fitness journey and building her knowledge base was to try out Coach Rich’s 5am TRX Stability Group Class.
After getting certified, she continued to take Coach Rich’s TRX class (which by then had moved to 6am—thank goodness) and shadowed him as he trained clients. She also did a 6 week apprenticeship at AMP Hardcore Fitness as part of the NASM certification package. Around the same time she became certified to teach yoga and took over the ownership and operation of a local paddleboard yoga business, which she named Koastal Paddleboard Yoga. In Late Summer 2019 she got the opportunity to teach a yoga class at STAFIT. She booked my first personal training client in early 2020, who happens to be one of the women that also trained with her in Coach Kevin’s class!
Kelly is also experienced with training with an underactive thyroid (aka hypothyroidism) and enjoys turning traditional cooking and baking recipes into healthier versions.
Be sure to check out her upcoming” Yoga on Land and on a Paddleboard” Workshop here at the STAFIT pool on Monday July 13, 2020. If you can’t make the workshop, be sure to check out one of her paddleboard yoga classes or ecotours as STAFIT members get 10% off one spot in either of these offerings.
