She's part of John Berardi's Precision Nutrtion "team":
Here's her introductory post from her blog on the PN Boards:
This desire is why I was happy jump onboard the PN Team Blogs. My objectives in being a part of the Precision Nutrition team are:
1) To inspire people to strive to be their own personal best
2) To present a female perspective (I won’t say I represent the female population in strength/fitness/nutrition, but I am female and I am presenting a perspective)
3) To facilitate learning by generating thought, discussion and critical reflection
My Background - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
My pathway to where I am today, looks quite different that the Backgrounds and History of many of my peers. I am often jealous of lengthy education entries and glowing accomplishments; however I strongly believe that my success has come from not going the traditional route and overcoming obstacles.
As a 17 year old mother, I quickly realized I had to do something with my life to provide for my daughter. She did not choose to be born into a less fortunate situation, so I promised myself I would not be the teenage mother norm and I would finish high school, continue onto post secondary education and become a professional in a rewarding field. I decided to purse a career in law enforcement.
At 20, I started Police College and began work as a Provincial Constable at 21. I heard from many people that I was “too young”, “too blonde”, “too little” and I thank them for their advice because it fuelled me to prove them wrong.
I spent more than a decade with the Ontario Provincial Police in various divisions from general law enforcement, Criminal Investigations / Crime Stoppers, Community Policing, Community Services and Media Relations. It was through being a “little, young, blonde” police officer that I got into strength training and everything that goes along with it. I knew that I needed to be as strong as I could for my size in order to feel confident going to work every day and handle whatever may arise as best I could. In the mid 90’s I got into Obstacle Course Fitness and Bench Press competitions and started a part time fitness business called Motivation for Life.
After my first bench press contest through the Canadian Law Enforcement Games, I was hooked on competitive lifting (I only benched 115 at 125 lbs, but it was a start). I then started training for 3-lift Powerlifting events and have remained in the sport ever since.
After the birth of my son in 2003 and after 12 accomplished years with the OPP, I felt compelled to end my policing tenure and explore other career interests. In 2005 I left the OPP and began teaching part time at Niagara College in the Community Safety and Fitness Division while growing my personal training business, Defining Edge Fitness Inc.
I was eventually hired with Niagara College as a full time professor but strength training as a full time career kept calling my name. I stayed with Niagara College for only 20 years. Since working in the Strength Training / Fitness industry full time, I have haven serving clients through my private training studio in the Southern Ontario area and have done various contract and consulting work, most notably and recently at the new Poliquin Performance Centre in Toronto.
Through all of this I have worked on my University degree part-time in Adult Education. One thing I always regretted was going to College after high school rather than University but being a single mother was the biggest part of that decision. But had I gone a different route, I don’t know if I would be the same person I am today. I may never have entered policing and my 12 years as a police officer developed my strong character, reinforced my competitive and “never give up” drive and provided me uncountable transferable skills and with experiences everyday on the job that many would not experience in a lifetime. Many of those experiences I would never want to have again, but they change you as a person in positive ways and make you see life in a completely different way – I value life.
Accomplishments
One of my mentors has taught me that what we have accomplished to date is really just a reminder of what we have yet to accomplish. It serves a fuel to do more, so I will share:
Respect for Law – Police Officer of the Year
Crime Stoppers Coordinator of the Year
Ontario Crime Control Commission Award of Excellence
Ontario Women in Law Enforcement – Community Service Award
CPU National Powerlifting Champion (56 kg division)
OPA Record Holder (56 kg division)
First Commonwealth Powerlifting Championships medalist
Experiences Mold Us, Not Certifications
I have to be honest, I don’t care much about certifications as we all know in this industry there is no direct correlation between your certifications and our ability to do what we do well, but here’s some stuff that has molded my style of training, my methodologies and training philosophy:
Sport Performance Institute, Personal Training certification
Poliquin International Certification Program – Level 1 & 2, Biosignature
PNN Member and huge fan of John Berardi (as a person and his teachings)
Coached by Bill Jamison for many years (CPU/OPA Founder & IPF Technical Advisory)
Strongly influenced by strength coaches, Gino Arcaro and Scot Prohaska and fitness competitor Wendy Vint
Member of the Ontario Powerlifting Associate board of directors since 2000
Coach, Defining Edge Strength & Power
Yours in Strength,
Krista Schaus
Defining Edge Fitness Inc.
www.definingedge.ca
"Aspire. Act. Achieve!"