High Energy

Everything about Kristin Quinn is high energy: her smile, her expressions, her schedule, and her passion for what she does.

Some days she is at the gym teaching a bootcamp class as early as 6 a.m., her Facebook wall is littered with friends and students quipping about her intense workouts, and she’s starting her own fitness business. It’s a life she never would have seen herself in.

Quinn started taking fitness classes in her late twenties just to burn off some energy. Never one to do things halfway, she started becoming good friends with her instructors, particularly one lady who taught nine classes a week. Quinn attended all of them. “I loved being taught,” she said.

When this instructor encouraged her to look into getting certified herself, Quinn shrugged it off, saying “What for? I have you!” She was finally persuaded, however, when her instructor confided that she was leaving and wanted to give her classes to Quinn.

So Quinn jumped in with both feet, got her certifications and took over all nine classes. “I was in great shape at that time!” she laughed.

Now in up to her neck, Quinn started discovering what things she actually enjoyed doing and what fit her goals and family lifestyle. Outside the fitness world, she was a wife and stay-at-home mom with a toddler. Bit by bit, she started finding replacements for the classes that she didn’t enjoy as much or that were taking her away from her family too much.

She also started making the classes she kept more her own. She fell in love with bootcamp classes, especially the excitement of getting the students to do things they never knew they could. She also found her niche in , a mix of dance and kickboxing.

Quinn now teaches four to five classes a week at three different gyms around Dale City and Woodbridge. She is also AFAA certified in personal training, fitness nutrition, weight management, and pre- and post-natal fitness; but she didn’t pursue any of that for a while because she didn’t like the cookie cutter approach gyms had.

“Not everyone has the same goals,” she said. But she was being asked to follow book rules which seemed more about getting people to buy the programs than actually helping them achieve their goals. Quinn was approached many times by students asking about personal training but she always referred them elsewhere.

Then one day a student called and begged for just a few personal training sessions with Quinn to help her prepare for an upcoming trip. Finally Quinn agreed, but only if it was in the student’s home. Half an hour later the student called back: could her roommate join them at the same time? Quinn said sure. Then the roommate called, could her mom and sister train too in their own home? By the end of the day, Quinn had nine personal clients.  

Finally she was training people one-on-one and helping them excel. One client was getting married and want to drop a few dress sizes; one wanted to run a particular race; another didn’t want to lose weight at all, she was happy with her larger body, but she wanted to become stronger because in her job she was sometimes required to restrain people. Quinn was thrilled to be able to work with them each as individuals and see them succeed.

Now Quinn is taking her personal training to a new level by starting a business, Your Best You. She and several other trainers will bring personal training and nutrition consultation to people’s homes and help them achieve their goals. She said her husband of seven years, Ned, always comes behind her when she has a new idea and makes sure all the pieces are actually in line, such as insurance, accounting and legal structures. “Without a doubt he is the reason I can do what I do so well,” she said.

Clients don’t need a home gym, Quinn said she can work with whatever space is available and even enjoys a challenge. She said for one client they work out right in her kitchen. Another they go out on the front sidewalk. Quinn enjoys going above and beyond with her clients, saying that an unplanned 10 minutes of “consulting” over the phone doesn’t constitute getting an extra bill.

Especially in an area with so many commuters, Quinn said she knows the value of an hour and wants to respect people’s time and money that they give to personal training or in a gym. “Training is a luxury item,” she said. “I know that.” So she wants to give people the best experience possible in the time they give.

Quinn plans to officially launch Your Best You in September. While the website is under construction, people can learn more by emailing kristin@ybynow.com. And you’ll still be able to find her at various gyms in high energy classes with a smile and a constant “You can do it!” She teaches at , and Woodbridge L.A. Fitness.