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| Kate "Killer" Rawlings |
Matt - So,
Kate, first thing's first – let’s find out a little bit more about
how you came into CrossFit. How long have you been a CrossFitter and when
did you know this was the lifestyle you wanted to follow?
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| Wal-Mart WOD Wednesday at Coca CF |
I
stumbled upon CrossFit on a google search when I was looking for a gym. After three weeks of lurking on the website I
finally bucked up and went in. After a year
in I had lost a significant amount of weight and really loved the sport so I
got certified. Two years in I started
competing, the third year I qualified for The Reebok CrossFit Games. It was then that I decided to quit my job to
do CrossFit full time.
Matt - How
long have you been a certified CrossFit coach and where did you get certified?
Kate - I have
been a certified CrossFit coach since November of 2007, and I got my
certification at none other than Rogue Fitness.
Matt - I know
during my certification weekend we managed to get a little carried away at the
bar while catching up with old friends - making the WOD on Sunday just a wee
bit more challenging that it should have been. Any interesting stories to tell
about your certification weekend?
Kate - My
certification weekend changed my life.
We completed Fran, as many level one courses do, and I had the fastest
time. Having always been competitive it
got me thinking, maybe I could do this competitively. I remember talking with Joe Degane and Todd
(can’t remember his last name, but he’s from Montana) about when are you ready
to compete. They simply looked at me,
and said ‘if you’re asking the question you’re ready’.
That
single statement started my competition career and I haven’t looked back.
Matt - Let's talk
about Coca CrossFit! When did you decide you wanted to run a Box? How long have
your doors been open at Coca CrossFit?
Kate - I never
really had any intention of running my own affiliate, it just kind of
happened. After qualifying for The
CrossFit Games I knew I wanted to train full time, so I quit my job to do just
that. I was already a part-time coach at an affiliate but I realized that to
train full time I’d have to really put in some work to build a client base. When I really got into the nitty-gritty of it
all I realized that I could spend hours building someone else’s name and brand
or invest in myself. It only seemed
logical to do it on my own.
As of
October 11, 2012 we’ll officially have two years under our belt and going
strong.
Matt - That
is so awesome! Congratulations on your success thus far and we certainly wish
you the best as your box continues to grow!
What is
your training philosophy? Who (if anyone) do you follow the most?
Kate - Tough
question. My personal philosophy is
focus on what I can control and leave it on the floor. Not everyday will be a good training day, but
as long as I do everything I can on any given day that’s a win to me.
I don’t
really follow anyone, as it’s the wrong approach to take. I can’t study everyone else’s numbers and
training plans as I easily get distracted from what I’m doing or need to do. I
can’t control what anyone else is doing.
I try and focus on what I can control which is me and my training.
Matt - What
makes you and Coca CrossFit unique in the CF community?
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| Kate Rawlings earned her Level 1 CF Cert at Rogue Fitness |
Matt - The
pics I've seen of your box look pretty impressive and I've seen some very good
PRs coming from your athletes (a 575lbs PR deadlift comes to mind); How do
you motivate your crew to greatness?
Kate - I do my
best to celebrate EVERY success regardless of how small. It’s my job to provide them with an amazing
experience from start to finish. Making
people feel good mentally and emotionally is just as important as the workout
itself.
Matt - You
have had two events in the month of August that sounded particularly awesome to
me; mostly because they were sort of on the periphery of the
"typical" events a CrossFit box owner would hold.
The
first was the Coca Photo Shoot - this was focused on your female athletes and
involved getting pictures taken at your box with and without equipment. This
seems like a terrific opportunity to boost self-confidence and support
your clients.
Tell us
about this event, how you came up with the idea, and what you accomplished for
your female athletes by doing this.
I
actually got the idea while on a road trip with two of my female coaches. We were talking about a beauty shoot one of
them had done for her 40th birthday, and it got us thinking. How cool would it be do at Coca? Other than senior pictures and weddings most
women never get pampered for a photo shoot.
We figured….. why not!
The
women that participated had a really fun time, and you could really see them
flourish. They felt a little awkward at
first, but by the end they were working it.
The women that partook now have another shared experience further
tightening our community. Based on the feedback we’ve gotten from it it’s an
event we’re going to do again after the first of the year.
Matt - The
second event you put on this month was "Eating for Dummies" - on your
Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/kate.rawlings) you
said this would be covering the basics of three types of "diets" you
recommend at Coca CrossFit. Specifically we're talking about Paleo, Zone, and intermittent
fasting.
Can you explain a little bit about your philosophy on diet and nutrition and why you feel there is no one true fit for every person?
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| Kate enjoys a mix of Zone and Paleo |
Meaning
if you eat crap your performance and results will directly show that. Of course you sometimes come across a genetic
freak that doesn’t worry about diet, crushes WODs and get major results, but
they’re so few and far between they’re not worth discussing.
I
preach trial and error to all of my members.
I do not tell them how to eat or what to eat, I merely give them the
basic knowledge they need to start their journey to personal health. No one diet works for everyone. I say that from personal experience and from
6 years of training other people and seeing the wide variety of results.
There
are several factors that need to be taken into account;
Lifestyle (shift worker, corporate America,
military, etc.)
Age (14/28/68)
Goal of diet (lose weight, add muscle,
add endurance, etc.)
Current Health Issues (diabetes or heart
issues)
Food Allergies
Their current diet
Their mental state (how much can you
take away before they break)
Their emotional state (are they ready
to embrace change)
You
have to look at every person and all the factors in their life to decide what’s
going to work best for them. The diets I recommend aren’t the only options
either. The perfect diet isn’t going to
work if the person doing it isn’t going to do it. Figure out what works for them and hold them
accountable to that.
Matt - From
my perspective, it is hard to stay on track with any one program. Prior to my
deployment this year I was strict on Paleo. When I made it out there, however, I was all but forced to abandon most of those principles simply based upon what food was
actually available to me.
What
sort of diet planning/programming do you follow and how do you fight through
those cravings and the times when you're unable to eat like you want/should?
Kate - Right
now I’m eating a paleo zone where I prepare my food a day or two in advance to
help save time. I’m also a big believer
in juicing as I can get tons of vegetables, fruits and fats in a quick easy
drink.
I did
intermittent fasting for 6months to try and break my addiction to food. Anyone that’s followed Zone like religion
knows it’s easy to become consumed and obsessed with perfect portions timed
perfectly. I ventured into Zone after
listening to Josh Bunch, owner of Practice CrossFit, discuss it at his seminar
at our gym.
It was
difficult at first, but I soon realized that eating two meals a day still in
zone portion gave me good results too. I
am back to 5 meals a day, but I don’t worry about timing nearly as much. I try and eat in a similar time frame, but even if timing and rations aren't perfect all the time I realize life will be ok.
Matt - Kate,
you are no stranger to competition, even before CrossFit - according to your
website (http://katerawlings.com
) you competed in Division 1 soccer for 18 years - do you think that
competitive drive made CrossFit more appealing for you?
In
other words, is the desire to compete an integral component to people
interested in starting CrossFit?
Kate - I
played soccer at the highest level possible for 18 years because it was fun and
there was an amazing camaraderie between myself and my teammates. I found that in CrossFit day one. At the root of human nature we want to belong
and be accepted. Every shape, size,
color, ability, age are all welcome and fit in at CrossFit. I think that’s the most inviting part of
CrossFit. The challenge is getting the message out. More often than not people
google CrossFit, come across the games athlete videos and get scared away.
Matt - Speaking
of starting CrossFit - what is your 60 second "elevator speech" to
people who show an interest?
Kate - CrossFit
is the world’s hardest sport to explain.
At its
root it’s a strength and conditioning program.
We utilize running, rowing, barbells, kettlebells, medicine balls, ropes,
stones, sandbags you name it we use it.
Our
ultimate goal is to create athletes that can run really fast for long distances
with the ability to pick up heavy objects and everything in between.
Matt - OK,
Kate - like I do with all my interviews and what people really like to see -
let's talk about stats:
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| 'Cause I'm a Fighter; Kate Rawlings |
What are your Top 3 Competitions? CrossFit Games, Beast of the East, Fittest Games at CF Central
Favorite WOD & time? Grace – 1:54
Least Favorite WOD? 5k row – really any distance row
Fran time? 3:11
Annie? 6:15
CF Total? 675lbs
I recently read you had a fun time with the Squat Clean and a 20# PR? What's your current PR? 175lbs – got under 185lbs, but didn’t stand up
Deadlift? 315lbs
Clean and Jerk? 175lbs
Snatch? 130lbs
Matt - Thank you so much Kate for taking time out of your VERY BUSY schedule to answer some questions for our viewers - I genuinely appreciate it and look forward to chatting with you more in the future!
Images borrowed with permission from - https://www.facebook.com/kate.rawlings
Videos borrowed with permission from - http://www.youtube.com/user/katerawlings1?feature=watch
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