Kris McDowell

Kris McDowell, a certified Group Fitness Instructor, Personal Trainer, and veteran of the United States Air Force, resides in Texas with her husband who serves as the lieutenant of the patrol division for the Titus County Sheriff’s Office.  Kris started in the fitness industry as a group fitness instructor in the early eighties, teaching high-impact aerobics to eager students dressed in leg warmers and head bands.  She became certified with the IDEA Foundation in 1989 and led classes for active-duty military personnel who had been put on a supervised weight management program.  Major David Gibson commented that “[Kris] is constantly learning and developing new routines to keep workouts interesting and updated with the latest fitness and safety techniques.”

After moving to Texas in the early 90’s, Kris brought the latest trend of step bench aerobics to a small gym in Pittsburg and later to the Christian Life Center run by her church, where she taught classes for five years. 

Kris then earned her personal trainer certification, and moved to a full-service club to work with numerous clients focusing primarily on helping women of all ages who were new to strength training.  Through this experience she began to focus her goals toward helping women “feel younger on the inside” and enjoy a greater quality of life by exploring the many added benefits of cross-training with cardio, strength and mind-body exercise. 

Eager to expand her skills, Kris earned specialty certifications in Pilates Matwork, Yoga Fundamentals, T’ai Chi and Qi Gong, Aqua Fitness and Weight Management.  When the local hospital opened a Wellness Center, Kris discovered they shared her vision of life-long wellness for ordinary people.  She began offering a wide variety of classes at the new facility with Group Strength Training, T’ai Chi/Qi Gong and Yoga being the most popular. Pam Hill, a student of five years, said “I even changed gyms to attend her classes.  She is not only interested in her student’s physical fitness but talks about healthy food and brings interesting articles to share with us.”

 In February of 2011,  Kris will begin a second job training clients at Anytime Fitness.  She is also registered for Zumba Gold instructor training in March 2011.  She has no plans to retire, ever.  Like her grandmother who exercised faithfully until a week before her death at age 94, Kris intends to keep moving until the very end and inspire others to do the same. "I feel very blessed to work in the fitness industry," she explains.  "There's no better feeling in the world than to have a student tell me they no longer need blood pressure medication, or that they can touch toes for the first time in their life.  Whatever their healthful accomplishment is, it makes everything I do tremendously rewarding!"   With her patience, southern-style friendliness and sincere interest in the well-being of others, she created a strong base of students who continue to attend her classes faithfully year after year.