1) Who is Kate Gordon? (where are you from, what do you do, a bit about yourself (hobbies, etc)
I am from New Zealand, I moved to Los Angeles when I was 19, and I started coaching in a crossfit affiliate when I was 22. I moved to Australia almost 4 years ago to coach at CrossFit Rocks in Brisbane and work as part of CrossFit HQ's seminar staff. I have a bachelor of arts degree majoring in film with a minor in performing arts, yes, a degree I am yet to actually make use of. I love coffee, I love food, I love to read. I am a skier and have been heading to the mountains in New Zealand every winter since I was about 3.
Crossfit-wise, I competed at the 2013 So-Cal regionals with a team when I was in LA, then in 2015 I competed at the Pacific regionals with my CrossFit Rocks team that qualified for the 2015 CrossFit Games. I am a Certified CrossFit Trainer (CF-L3) and have been a crossfit trainer for almost 6 years.
2) How many years have you been training?
I started crossfit at the end of 2011, before that I was going to good old bodypump and bodyjam classes pretty regularly. I was right into dance throughout high school and dabbled in gymnastics and judo for a couple of years. But, really, not a competitive athlete in my youth.
3) Whats been the most challenging/hardest part of your journey so far? and how have you overcome them (set backs, rejections, injuries, basically anything difficult that you have had to overcome)
Becoming a better trainer has been my biggest challenge, and it has always been my priority. I really committed myself to my job and trying to be better, I collided with a couple of people and was actually fired from one gym, but I've learnt a lot and grown as a coach and as a person. Being fired ended up being the best thing that could've happened, I'm almost proud of it; this play-by-the-rules kid managed to get kicked out of a job for being headstrong and standing up for herself, something I would encourage everyone to do. Earlier this year, I moved my focus towards training. That in itself was a challenge. I've never taken it seriously because I've never considered myself capable of what others are capable of. But, that was my self-limiting belief. And it created my reality. So, breaking through that and learning to believe in myself and develop a new mindset has been huge.
Physically, I have degeneration in a couple of discs in my lower back that I am constantly managing, but it did allow me to fix a lot of poor movement patterns, particularly in my squat. It happened after competing at the 2015 games. It was 6 months before I was back to regular training and another 6 months before I regained my confidence and competed again. The biggest thing for me was going back to the basics and getting them right.
The only other mega challenge that I have overcome is I learnt how to eat for performance. I figured out how to use food as fuel instead of abusing my body. It has been a long road of yo-yo dieting and reading dumb magazines, diet books, websites and taking bullshit pills in an effort to lose weight. I am still inconsistent to this day but as soon as I started weighing and measuring my food about 3 years ago, I was able to move away from this emotional connection to food and just see it for what it was, food. That has been like a 15 year obsession that I know a lot of woman will be way too familiar with.
4) What does your typical workout/diet routine look like?
I wake up around 5am, even if I'm not opening the gym to coach, a sleeping routine is massive for me, so I go to bed and wake up at the same time everyday. I track my macros everyday. I train in between classes so usually mid-morning. I like to get it done, if I push it out to the afternoon, I never feel as good. Then I coach in the evenings. I eat 4-5 times a day. I drink one (beautiful, amazing, delicious) coffee a day and always have at least one caffeine free day a week. Coffee is my pre-workout. I follow the Forte Method and am training Monday through Friday, doing active recovery on the weekends. When I have seminars, I travel on Friday and Sunday, so I usually take Friday off and get some training done across the weekend. I also try to run twice a week and swim when I'm not travelling. Travelling for seminars is not super conducive to training hard and eating well but I'm pretty good now, it really comes down to resisting temptations to eat crap. Learning the difference between opportunity and temptation is hard. If I can keep my eating on track, my training follows suit.
5) What new knowledge have you learned over this past year regarding training, lifestyle and nutrition?
How much impact a sleep routine has on me. I work really hard to make sure I get 8 hours of sleep and stick to the same bedtime and the same alarm clock regardless of the day. If you haven't got your sleep sorted, all the supplements and mobility in the world won't help you recover. It's the same reason I keep my caffeine intake low, it wrecks my sleep! Next is thanking the brilliant human who had the idea of delivering ready-made meals to people's front doors. It's a massive part of keeping my eating consistent. It means I don't have to think about it, and the less I have to think about it the less likely I am to go off the rails.
6) Whats your favourite cheat/Treat meal?
Everything. I have a new found love for ice cream. Literally happened since Halo Top arrived in Australia a few months ago. I also LOVE peanut butter. It's an unhealthy addiction. Also, love a good burger or pizza. I actually just love all food.
7) one supplement that you could not live without?
Whey protein!
8) If you had to start out from scratch with your physique what would you do differently and why?
I feel weird talking about changing my physique, not really something that helps me exercise faster. I guess I would be shorter. Have a bigger butt, shorter femurs. I think I'm describing Kara Webb. I'd just have her physique, thanks.
9) Who do you look upto in the fitness industry and why?
Everyone working hard. Every female that crossfits. We are literally walking around challenging the female stereotype everyday. I am stared at when I go out and people make comments ALL THE TIME. Next time you're out with a female crossfitter, take notice of the people around you, I guarantee you they are staring at her.
10) If you had to give one bit of advice to people starting out what would that be?
Master the basics.
11) What new goals are on the horizon?
World domination. Lol. You know, I haven't made any explicit goals, I actually just want to be the best I can be, I want to find my limit. And, that will take me towards competing in the open in 2018. A goal would almost stunt my progress, I have a very loose timeline and a very vague goal. What is very clear to me is what has to be done daily to be better. And, if the reason I am doing this is to be my best, then that's all that I really care about. Doing whatever it takes for as long as it takes.
12) Where can people find you? (website, social media accounts)
Instagram: @cfkate
