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Left : Katie at awards for Worlds in 2010 ; Right : INBF Worlds in 2012
competition it brings . “ Martial arts is an I-getto-compete-with-myself type of sport . I like things where I can compete against what I was yesterday .” Katie is no stranger to traditional competition , though . In fact , after having her third child and deciding to get back in shape , she spent five years contending in arguably one of the most training-and-discipline-intensive sports : figure competitions .
Katie competed in five figure competitions from 2007 to 2012 in two different natural organizations , International Natural Bodybuilding and Fitness ( INBF ) and Organization of Competition Bodybuilders ( OCB ). She set her sights high , entering all pro qualifying shows and finishing in the top five in each division entered . Her best and most notable year was in 2010 , where she competed in INBF World Championships in NYC and OCB Yorton Cup in DC , placing 2nd in both shows . “ The pro qualifying shows are always so exciting and drive you to bring your best to the stage ,” she says . “ With often as many as 20 girls in your division , you have to keep your head up and give it everything you have .”
A stay-at-home mom at the time , she would work out at night after putting her kids to bed . Getting on stage was incredibly rewarding at the end of all her hard work , but the planning of meals and training was intense . “ Your whole day revolves around training and eating , so while everyone else is eating what they like , you have to stick to your chicken and your green beans and your eight almonds ,” she laughs . “ When you feel
I like things where I can compete against what I was yesterday .
like you ’ re pulled in 100 different directions with everyday life , usually something slips , and often times it ’ s the diet and the training . But I did it because I like a challenge .”
But Katie ’ s biggest challenge didn ’ t come in the form of an assailant or even the rigorous training it takes to make it to the stage of a figure competition . Rather , her biggest challenge came from a series of “ blows that just kept coming ,” as Katie puts it .
HER BIGGEST CHALLENGE
In July of 2015 , Katie was practicing jiu jitsu at HAC when she found out her grandmother had suddenly fallen ill , and she passed away just moments before Katie made it to the hospital . Three weeks later , Katie ’ s mother died instantly of a heart attack in front of Katie ’ s father . As the only heir , Katie was required to sell her grandmother ’ s house . Many of her cousins lived with her grandmother , so those family members had to move , which understandably created tension and distance . “ I essentially lost the rest of my family , too .”
Losing her grandmother and mother , Katie fell into a depression coupled by a worry for her father , who was also pained by the death of a close neighbor shortly after his wife passed . “ I completely lost myself ,” she says . She was physically unable to eat , and her head , as she puts it , was a mess . “ I couldn ’ t remember things or problem solve . If someone asked me a direct question , I would draw a blank . I could sit there and have someone talk to me , and I wouldn ’ t be able to remem-
INBF Worlds in 2012
enhance magazine | JANUARY 2017 31