Kingston Athletics

Happy Gymiversary Emily G, 7 Years & Coach Johnny, 10 years!

Life happened. Job change. Move. Kids. The kind of two-year stretch where the gym just stopped being possible. She felt guilty about it for a while. Then she just stopped thinking about it. But something kept nagging at her. She remembered how she felt when she was training. The energy. The sleep. The way she handled hard days differently. So she came back. She expected to feel out of place. Expected to have lost everything. Instead, she walked in and a coach said 'Hey, welcome back — let's see where you are and build from there.' No guilt trip. No starting over speech. Just: where are you now, and what do we do next? She's been back for four months. She's never leaving again.

The rowing machine is either ignored completely or used wrong. Most people pull with their arms first. The power should come from your legs. Here's how we teach efficient rowing at Kingston Athletics — the cues that add meters to your splits and save your back The catch — shins vertical, arms straight, lean slightly forward from the hip, not the lower back ② The drive — legs first. Push the floor away before you do anything else ③ The sequence — legs → body swing → arms. In that exact order, every stroke ④ The finish — lean back slightly, pull handle to lower chest, elbows past your body ⑤ The recovery — arms extend first, then body, then knees bend. Reverse the sequence The power ratio: 60% legs, 30% back, 10% arms. If your arms are burning on the rower, you're rowing wrong. Fix the sequence and your 500m split will drop immediately.

Happy Gymiversary Coach Ashley ( 5 years)!

Meet a Member Monday: Buddy Edition!
Featured Members: Jay & Megan

Megan and Jay have been core parts of the Kingston Athletics community for 5 years! How did they end up at CrossFit? They couldn’t find a local chess club, so they signed up for KA instead!

Off the gym floor, both Jay and Megan serve the local community in the Ulster County Legislature. Jay works as the Deputy Clerk of the Legislature, managing government administration and operations. Megan serves as the Vice Chair of the Legislature and represents District 17 as County Legislator. On top of her public service, Megan is a tenured professor of Film and Media at SUNY New Paltz, an independent filmmaker, and a small business owner. Outside of work and workouts, you’ll find them gardening and loving life as proud dog moms! 🐶🌱
Favorite Part of KA:
"The community and the coaches! We’ve met so many amazing people here and especially love our 6:00 PM crew! All of the coaches are amazing, truly supportive, and 100% committed to helping everyone reach their goals. We have come a really long way since starting this journey and are so grateful to have KA in our lives."
We are beyond lucky to have Jay and Megan in our corner. Drop some love for them in the comments!

Happy Gymiversary Trista (3 years)!

When he walked in, he wanted results in 90 days. That's what he told the coach at his No-Sweat Intro. The coach didn't argue. Didn't promise anything. Just said: 'Show up three days a week and let's see what happens.' At 90 days, he'd made real progress. But he wasn't done. At six months, the people in his life started noticing. At a year, he looked back at where he started and genuinely couldn't believe it was the same person. Here's what he told us when we asked what he wished he'd known on day one: 'I'm glad I didn't know how long it would take. I might not have started.' The best time to start was a year ago. The second best time is today.

Member Spotlight : Amanda
I have been a member of Kingston Athletics for a year and a half.
I have been a practicing, Licensed Massage Therapist for over 10 years.
CrossFit has given me the opportunity to be a braver person- challenging my preconceived notions of what my body and mind are capable of- by genuinely and supportively allowing me to try hard and succeed. I love learning new techniques, lifting heavier and getting faster, but most of all I love this community. We are supportive, fun-loving folx who show up to cheer each other on no matter where we are in our journey or goals. The camaraderie of doing beautiful, hard things together is life-affirming, and the best possible way I could start my day.I could not rise to this level of being so firmly and happily in my skin without the supportive coaching, amazing classmates and overall encouragement of KA staff. I’m a better, braver person at the gym. That means I’m a better, braver more confident person outside of it.
That’s priceless to me.

"The results our members talk about most aren't the ones you'd expect."
We hear a lot about the physical results. The weight lost. The PRs hit. The before and afters. But the things our members talk about most — the things that actually surprise them — aren't physical at all. They sleep better. They handle stress differently. Things that used to derail their whole day roll off them a little easier. They have more patience — with their kids, their coworkers, themselves. They feel confident in ways that have nothing to do with how they look. The gym is a vehicle. The destination is a better version of your life. That's what we're really building here.

Happy Gymversary Aldy (1 year!), and Gabriela P (1 year!)