Bridget McElvain, Movement Coach

I’ve always been an active person, a lover of volleyball and once upon a time CrossFit. I fell in love with CrossFit in 2010 and hit it hard for 6 years. I loved the communal aspect of it the most and saw huge gains in my fitness and lifts over the next 6 years. Back then, recovery wasn’t stressed nearly as much as it is today. I trained 6 days a week with little to no recovery. I was grateful for my handicap-equipped shower. Over time, my body became so stiff that I began to compensate simple things like picking something up off the floor or needing to hold on to something to sit down. No bueno. I experienced seemingly minor “injuries” over that time that I largely ignored and unconsciously pushed through.

Finally, my knee had enough one day while hiking in 2016. I could feel that I had virtually no control over my body. The following year was one of intense frustration in understanding what went wrong and how to fix it. I dished out thousands of dollars for an MRI, physical therapists, sports doctors, etc to no avail. I was treated as an anomaly and that I was “fine” even though I was experiencing pain and limiting circumstances.  

Functional Range Systems (the principle system behind Kinstretch) changed my life. It offered me a solution to my janky movement patterns, joint pain, and degradation of joint range of motion. After a few months of training mobility in my weak hip, I was able to climb Mt. Sanitas twice in a week without any pain, and even shaved almost 10 minutes off my time on the second hike. Before, I worried that I would get a mile in to my hike and need to be rescued. My knee would hurt so bad that I wouldn’t be able to walk.

Not only has FRS helped me recover from my injuries, it has also offered me the opportunity to learn how to assess my joints, joint articulation, and strengthen areas that are weak, mitigating potential future injury. I feel that Functional Range Conditioning and Kinstretch have been the missing piece for me to reach optimum health in the triad of diet, exercise, and recovery. I want to help others come to the same conclusion I have.