Real Life Fit by Kate

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Real Life Fit by Kate I help women over 40 reclaim their fitness so they can feel capable, powerful, and antifragile. Hi, I'm Kate!

I'm originally from Seattle, and a huge lover of coffee, dark chocolate, red wine, Star Wars, reading, being outdoors. I'm completely addicted to pull ups, kettlebells, and lifting weights of every kind, mud runs and 10k's are my favorite runs, and there isn't a hill I don't want to hike or climb. I've been married to the Army for 15 years, and currently live in Kansas with my husband, two kids, and two dogs (my fur babies), making fitness work no matter the challenges--and there are plenty of challenges at times in our military lifestyle! I live and love to help others--especially busy women, learn to find ways to fit exercise, better eating habits, and positive thinking into their own lives, no matter how busy and complicated those lives are--because real life IS busy and complicated! Grab a FREE copy of my Plan B Playbook--workouts you can use when Plan A falls through:

http://bit.ly/PlanBWorkouts

And just so you know a little about my qualifications and background, here it all is:

Education:
- B.A. in English, University of Washington (1996)

- Master’s in Teaching, Seattle University (1999)

- Continuing Education credits (14) in Wellness and Fitness, CALU (2010)


Certifications:

American Council on Exercise
- Certified Personal Trainer (2011-present)
- Group Fitness Instructor (2012-present)
- Health Coach (2013-present)

- CrossFit Level 1 Trainer (2017)

Seminars:
TRX Force Strength, Levels 1 & 2
StrongFirst Kettlebell Course
Military Athlete Advanced Programming Course, Mountain Tactical Institute
CrossFit Kettlebell Specialty Course

Experience:
K-8 Elementary Educator, WA, LA, Germany 1999-2006

Personal Trainer, Katterbach Fitness Center Feb 2012- August 2014

Group Fitness Instructor, Katterbach Fitness Center: Boot Camp, TRX, Circuit Training, KUT (strength/interval training), Feb 2012- August 2014

Personal Trainer/Online Fitness Coach (self-employed), September 2014 to present

CFL1 Trainer at Get Mean CrossFit, Manhattan, KS, October 2017 to present

Functional Fitness Instructor, Family Functional Fitness Program Manager, 12th CAB Iron Farm Functional Fitness Center Mar 2016 - May 2017

Volunteer Physical Therapy Assistant, Katterbach Health Clinic September 2013 - September 2015

Volunteer Group Fitness Instructor, Warrior Transition Unit, Katterbach Germany, October 2013 - July 2014

FRG Leader, B Co 5-158, July 2010 - November 2011

This picture was taken 7 years ago this weekend, when I completed in the Half-Marathon Long Cycle event with the IKFF....
09/19/2026


This picture was taken 7 years ago this weekend, when I completed in the Half-Marathon Long Cycle event with the IKFF. A Half-Marathon KB event is 30 min in duration for anyone who doesn’t know, meaning I did as many kb clean and jerks as possible for 30 min with a 16kg/35 # bell.

I’ve always appreciated the saying ‘Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.’ I had a plan to hit 391 reps…I finished with 368.

Everything was going to plan until around minute 17, when I felt my right hand starting to get hot and fell off my 13 reps/min pace…then it tore a couple minutes later. By minute 23 both hands were torn and visibly bleeding. Besides being fatigued, the bell had become SLIPPERY from my own blood.

The plan to hit 391 reps was out the window. The fight to hang on to the bell for the next 7 minutes while getting every last rep possible out of myself was on.

I learned so much about myself that day, and missing my target didn’t even matter to me—I’d done something I didn’t know I had the capacity to do. I found a deeper level of mental strength and commitment to giving something ALL I had in that moment I didn’t know was in there.

I look back at that first picture often and with both great pride in and gratitude for the woman who I showed up as that day. At that moment, life was turbulent and my confidence was shaky as my family was working through a massive life change after retiring from the Army and relocating that summer.

That day showed me the depths of my own capacity, and THAT is the beautiful thing that athletics, strength training, and really testing yourself every so often can do for each of us.

It shows us who we are, who we can be, what we’re REALLY capable of…and that bleeds into every aspect of our lives.

I got ‘punched in the mouth’ at minute 23, and I pivoted and earned my own self-trust, finishing in a manner that I’m still deeply proud of.

I often look at this picture when life punches me in the mouth, I remember who I am, and I pivot, get back up, and go on.

Our physical training can teach us so much about ourselves, that we’re stronger than we think we are….in the gym AND in our REAL life.

When I think about the 25 years that’s passed since that morning I turned on the Today show while getting ready to teach...
09/11/2026

When I think about the 25 years that’s passed since that morning I turned on the Today show while getting ready to teach in the second week of third grade, both numb and determined to be as stoic and comforting as possible for my students, I think about it from the perspective of a military spouse.
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I think about the impact of 9/11 on my life, my husband, my kids, our extended families…knowing that there are thousands of others like me who share this story.
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The 4 deployments that were a direct result of 9/11 each changed Gabe.
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They left a mark on me, and on my kids as they grew up with a dad who answered the call of duty but missed many years of their childhood as a result. *You see the last picture we took before that last deployment here*
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I think about the courage and heart of the first responders who answered the call to help and rushed into buildings on fire without a moment of hesitation.
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And I think, always, of the courage, heart, commitment, and sacrifice of the military service-members who have answered the call to serve, help and to protect every year since 2001.
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I think how the people I’ve known and shared the military experience with are the kinds of people who answer the call—asking where do you need me and when because that’s what they do.
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I’ve said before that both the Iraq and Afghan wars have left indelible marks on the servicemembers and their families—ones not always seen by others, but deeply felt.
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When I think about the past 25 years, I think about the sacrifice of the first responders on that day, and the sacrifices of 20+ years’ worth of military servicemembers and their families.
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It’s a sacrifice that we truly should never forget, never trivialize or politicize.
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We should honor those sacrifices not simply by waving a flag, or taking a moment of silence, or sharing a meme on the anniversary of 9/11 each year.
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We should honor those sacrifices by living the best lives we can, doing the most good we can, so that those sacrifices weren’t in waste or vain.
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Many rose to answer the call over the past 25 years; it’s our duty to now answer the call to be better and DO better as people and as citizens for the next 20+ years.

When things get challenging it can be easy to think it’s a sign something’s not ‘meant to be.’Maybe it’s an eating habit...
09/03/2026

When things get challenging it can be easy to think it’s a sign something’s not ‘meant to be.’

Maybe it’s an eating habit you’re working on, maybe it’s an unhelpful behavior rearing its ugly head.

Maybe it’s life circumstances, interfering ONCE AGAIN with your best-laid plans.

Maybe it’s a skill you’re working on that’s just, not clicking.

Maybe it’s a challenging relationship.

When these things happen, it can be tempting to want to throw in the towel and call it good.

“At least I tried,” we can say...although that one is too often followed by an internal “See, I knew it wouldn’t work” or “I know I just can’t (fill in the blank), I’m not (strong, smart, disciplined, etc.) enough.”

Here’s the thing: what if we look at those challenges as opportunities for us to learn and grow (however hard & uncomfortable they might be for us), rather than a sign that we’ve failed?

What happens then?

Instead of saying “I’m just not good at ______.”if we give ourselves permission to totally f— up from time to time, & then LEARN from those mistakes, we might find that we actually CAN do the hard things.

It’s called Growth Mindset

Years ago I read “Mindset: The Psychology of Success,” by Carol Dweck. It’s her belief, based on years of tests and studies, that we are capable of greater things IF we adopt a ‘growth mindset’ over a ‘fixed mindset.’

In a growth mindset, we are capable of—and really open to, change.

We then see our frustrations as opportunities to learn & improve, rather than setbacks, or signs of failure, or inadequacy.

What a huge difference a little mindset shift can make!

We’ve simply learned a lesson—one of many—that will add to our eventual success AS LONG AS we stay positive, open and persistent.

So if there’s something that’s got you down, frustrated, or feeling like throwing in the towel, try looking at it through another lens.

Try looking at it as another opportunity to grow, one more way you can become a fuller version of yourself.

So is that challenge a brick wall set there to stop you, or a test to see how you get past it to accomplish even more?

It will become whatever you see it as.

Choose well 💜

08/02/2026

Resistance training, Lifting weights Strength Training…they’re all names for the same thing.
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But the one that’s really standing out to me right now is the name RESISTANCE Training.
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Strength training really IS Resistance training because…
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…it teaches you how to push back against beliefs or practices that are unjust, unethical, or oppressive
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…it teaches you to stand up when something’s weighing you down, or stand up to anything that’s designed to hold you down
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…it teaches you to carry on when life gets heavy, and to help carry others when they need more support
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…it teaches you to step up when you’re needed, to climb the next hill or tackle the next challenge that life presents, and dig deep when the challenge takes all you’ve got
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…it teaches you to overcome—doubts, fears, gravity, limiting beliefs, oppressive social pressures, the weight of other people’s behavior or beliefs.
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…it teaches you to keep reaching out, reaching up no matter the resistance.
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Because physical strength isn’t just physical.
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The strength you develop through resistance training, through lifting weights and moving heavy things, internalizes itself, then bleeds into every other aspect of your life.
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And if there was ever a time that women need to be strong, it is now.
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It’s time to be(come) strong enough to RESIST.
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07/17/2026

From the archives…To my fellow amazing women over 40:

You are here to do more than shrink. You are here to do more than make yourself smaller. You are here to do more than be pleasing to the eye. You are here to do more than make others happy.

You are here to be the brightest, best, most self-actualized, fullest, bravest, strongest, most capable and powerful version of yourself possible.

You are here to grow and expand, not shrink.

Now get back out there, show up, take up space, make noise, and shine.

In your corner all the way 👊
Kate

07/07/2026

Peri/Meno Info
SLEEP…it can feel like a 4-letter word in midlife.
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Right at the time we really need it most, sleep becomes elusive for many of us—good sleep, anyway.
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The chaotic fluctuation of our hormones—primarily estrogen & progesterone in this case—creates changes in our brains & bodies that influence our hypothalamus & cortisol.
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Our hypothalamus is responsible for regulating body temperature, & when estrogen stops sending a steady signal to it, temperature regulation goes a bit haywire—enter hot flashes & night sweats.
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At the same time fluctuating and flatlining estrogen stops tampering cortisol, causing it to spike at less appropriate times—such as 3am.
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These two changes alone can be responsible for a lot of sleepless nights!!
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Here’s what we can do to help ourselves out and to work to improve our sleep:
*If you have hot flashes, Hormone Therapy is the first line form of treatment. Estrogen supplementation can reduce & eliminate hot flashes & night sweats effectively.
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If you don’t want to or can’t use hormone therapy, there are non-hormonal treatments such as veozah, which can be very helpful.
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*Taking time to decompress in the evenings is also helpful for calming the body and helping it shift into a parasympathetic (rest and digest) state, which can lend to more peaceful sleep.
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Things that help:
*getting off all screens 60 minutes before bed
*establishing a bedtime routine that cues the brain you’re heading for bed/it’s time to sleep
*for some women, taking a hot bath/shower or even just soaking their feet in warm water can help—the chill you get after getting out can help as our core body temperature tends to drop as we approach sleep.
*making sure your room temp is at 65F or below and keeping your room dark
*using fans to keep cool
*wearing cooling PJs like Cool Jams, & using cooling sheets or cooling pads under your sheets
*eating your last meal at least 2-3 hours before your bedtime
*avoiding alcohol in the evening—it helps make you drowsy, but your body has to work really hard to process it, which will cause less restful sleep at best
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Sleep is a project at this time in life for sure, but

Peri/Meno Info: It’s time to EAT.Many of us who are now in midlife grew up with the ‘eat as little as possible to stay s...
07/03/2026

Peri/Meno Info: It’s time to EAT.
Many of us who are now in midlife grew up with the ‘eat as little as possible to stay small’ attitude about food—getting/being skinny was always the objective.
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But as we pass through midlife and the menopause transition we need to evolve our thinking and eating, & work to adopt an attitude of using food to Fuel, Build, & Repair 🥩
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When you’re in your 40s&50s, your approach to diet/nutrition needs to shift away from restricting & limiting to eating more of certain foods so you can keep feeling good!
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We need more protein & more often: declining, then flatlining estrogen makes muscle building & muscle maintenance WAY more difficult.
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This means we ideally need 25-40grams of protein at each meal, spaced as evenly as possible throughout our waking hours, & 10-15g in snacks where we can (especially before exercise).
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It can take a little bit of learning, then planning, to figure out HOW you’ll get adequate protein into your daily and weekly diet, but it’s not impossible.
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To get you started with some facts and ideas, here’s a list of common protein sources:
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Ways to get 25-40g protein:
2 whole eggs + 3 egg whites= 22g
5 tbsp Egg whites = 25g
1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt = 25g
1 cup nonfat cottage cheese = 25g
2 scoops whey protein powder = 40g
2 scoops of plant-based protein powder = 30g
1 cup of chopped chicken breast = 38g
1 packet tuna = 40g
6oz Steak = 42g
4oz ground beef = 28g
1-1/2 c cooked tofu = 30g
4oz smoked salmon = 24g
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AAAAAND many of the other foods we eat—broccoli, bread, rice amongst those, have trace amounts of protein, so your total consumption doesn’t have to come all from meat and animal products.
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Trying to eat MORE and feeling very full can be a learning curve if you’ve been restricting food or just snacking, so don’t freak out if it’s not easy at first.
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Give it time for your mind and body to adjust and I bet you’ll start feeling stronger and having better all-day stamina soon!
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Here for ya!
Kate
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https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/protein-for-vegans-vegetarians -line
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https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/healthy-high-protein-snacks
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https://hurrythefoodup.com/vegan-high-protein-snacks/

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