Congratulations to our August Fitness Instructor of the Month, Cindy Krafft!

Check out her story here:

How did I get here? This is what I love to do – be with people and help people to try and live healthy and injury free lives. I have done it for 38 years and will teach fitness until I am no longer able to or no longer able to help people.

I had been a swimmer and gymnast before college, but did not exercise regularly when getting my Engineering degree. I focused on my education, but my mood and health suffered. After graduating and getting a job in Pennsylvania, a fellow co-worker dragged me to a fitness class…I was hooked.

Two years later I returned to Cornell to work on my graduate degree in Engineering. I immediately joined the local health club. Within a year, I was trained by the coordinator. I practiced in the attic of the Chemical Engineering building and started teaching. Now comes the fun part. (I was truly blessed.) The coordinator who trained me was Cassandra Washington from Gilda Marx’s studio in New York City and on the cutting edge of the field. Most of the instructors were graduate students, employees, or professors at Cornell. An educated group with a thirst for knowledge.

She was demanding. You had to know your anatomy, cue very precisely and consistently, understand injuries and how they occurred, muscularly balance your routines, and…. teach all the class formats. She would run training sessions for us on a monthly basis. You had to learn seniors, pre/post-natal, low impact, high impact, kickboxing, step, sculpting, and stretch. I learned so much from her.

In 1989, the first AFAA group fitness certification came to the area and Cassandra was one of the graders for the practical exams. She drilled us on the anatomy and practical every week for 3 months before the exam. I passed and understood the value of the being as educated as possible.

The AFAA mantra to help do no harm :

1. What is the purpose of the exercise?
2. Are you doing that effectively?
3. Does the exercise create any safety concerns?
4. Can you maintain proper alignment and form for the duration of the exercise?
5. For whom is the exercise appropriate or inappropriate?

After 38 years, I have accumulated 19 certifications, 13 licenses, and thousands of hours of continuing education. I have been a fitness coordinator, personal trainer, and ran one of the national water and land fitness organizations for 22 years. I even gave up Engineering for a while to help get the education to instructors all over the country. But what I really love is teaching classes and that is what I have returned to.

Note from Suzi Shankweiler, Fitness and Wellness Coordinator:

Special thanks to Cindy who will be retiring from Carbon Valley Fitness. Cindy has been such a valuable instructor over the past 9 years. She subs time and time again, has taught many formats and consistently gives selflessly. We will miss you Cindy!