Meet this month's SH1FT STAR, Kathleen Link, a SH1FT Fitness Instructor and mom of 5! Kathleen is certified in all four SH1FT formats in addition to PiYo and SOULFusion. Kathleen originally came to us after Beachbody LIVE was discontinued and hasn’t looked back since!

WHY WE LOVE KATHLEEN:

Kathleen has been so proactive in her Group Fitness journey as an active part of our SH1FT community. She has sought out certifications to keep learning and growing and embraced the evolution of her career in Group Fitness by embracing the “Phygital” teaching space.

Without further ado, meet Kathleen:

1. Tell us about yourself: 

I'm a 40 year old wife of almost 17 years and a mom of 5. My first son passed away in labor and I have 4 other children, two girls and two boys ages 14 - 7. I haven't always been into fitness. I have always been athletic, but not necessarily a lover of fitness. I started my fitness career working the front desk at a local gym, greeting all the "nuts" at 5am. It didn't take long to become one of those "nuts". I started with the couch to 5k program, then slowly added in cross training 2 days a week and before I knew it, I was running 5 days a week and working out 5 days a week. I had my favorite instructors at the gym and when one of those instructors moved away, someone said, "you should teach" and I quickly said, "NO WAY". But it definitely got the wheels spinning and shortly after I became certified in PiYo. Just one year later is when PiYo left us and your amazing company [SH1FT] took us under your wing! And even though I wasn't 100% on board at the beginning and a little scared all over again to learn something new, I don't regret it for a second now. I'm loving every minute! I'm certified in all 4 formats, PiYo and SOULfusion.

2. Where/how do you teach?

I currently teach at a local gym that is literally in my backyard. They have 3 other locations, as well. I teach in-person and live-stream my workouts on my own from their facility. I also teach half hour, all virtual classes once a week for a local college. I offer on-demand classes through Onpodio, as well.

3. What’s your favourite SH1FT workout?

This is the hardest question by far...all of them? Haha, every one brings something unique and challenging. But if I had to pick just one, for now, it's probably L1FT LD 04 - CHA1RLEADER.

4. What's your favourite thing about SH1FT?

I love that the workouts are only 30 minutes, so you can do so much with them. I love that for half of them you don't need equipment, so they can be done from literally anywhere, at any time. I love the cost to the instructor and that we can bring our own music...and most importantly, that you are REAL people and so down to earth. There pretty much isn't anything I don't love.

5. What does 'fitness for life' mean to you?

Fitness for life for me means when I'm older, I want to be able to move and be active without risk of major injury. I love that I don't teach a single person younger than me in my face-to-face sessions. I love that because they always say, "you forget how old we are" and I always say, "you forget your potential and strength". I LOVE watching my "older" students grow in their fitness journey.

6. How has SH1FT improved your life and teaching?

Oh my, it has improved my life and fitness journey by giving me the freedom to do what I want with these workouts. Very little "rules" makes it so easy to teach from anywhere and that is what is so important right now. These quick workouts have given me the opportunity to make so many different combinations of workouts, that we never do the same workout twice. Combine that with my 30 PiYo rounds and new SOULfusion certification and the sky is the limit!

7. What does diversity mean to you, and why is it important in fitness?

Diversity to me means bringing all kinds of variety to a situation. And like I stated above, it is important to be able to make combinations of workouts, teach in-person and virtually, and have a very diverse group of participants. And it shows people that fitness is not a one-size-fits-all. There is something out there for everyone. Try new things and find something you love, and with that you will find a community that will push you, support you, and occasionally bring you out of your comfort zone to show you what you are really made of!