In the final part of our series on fitness through life's phases, Kate sits down with a very special guest: Sherry, her teaching partner of seven years, her running inspiration, and one of her dearest friends. Together they open up an honest conversation about perimenopause and menopause, told mostly through lived experience rather than textbook definitions.

Sherry shares what those years actually felt like, from the ragey moods and night sweats to the anxiety that surfaced once life slowed down enough for her to notice it. She talks candidly about a harder season three years in, when retirement, her mom's illness, and a real sense of isolation all landed at once, and how her family gently but bravely told her she wasn't okay. Along the way she and Kate dig into hormone replacement therapy, learning to advocate for yourself at the doctor's office, and why so much of the noise online can quietly steer you away from the very things that were working.

The heart of this episode is a comforting reminder. No matter your age or your stage, the fundamentals stay the same: strength training, real nourishment, movement, and staying connected to your people. Sherry's return to the gym this past December, and the way it relit her love for training, is proof that getting back to basics is often the whole answer. A warm, tender, and deeply relatable listen for anyone who has ever felt like their body was working against them.

In part two of our three part series on women's health and strength training, Kate and Josh sit down with longtime KLT members and new moms Allie and Shelby to talk about what it really looks like to stay strong through pregnancy and beyond. From navigating outdated advice ("don't lift anything!") to modifying workouts with a growing belly, both moms share how strength training carried them through pregnancy, labor, and those foggy early postpartum months. Allie credits her gym conditioning for getting her through a 13 hour unmedicated birth, while Shelby talks about holding a hands and knees position for four hours and being very glad for all those bicep curls. The conversation gets real about the mental side too, including the isolation of early motherhood, the importance of supportive partners, and why coming back to a community that knows you can be a lifeline. Equal parts hilarious and heartfelt, this one is for anyone who has ever wondered if they could keep moving through a big life change. Spoiler: you absolutely can, and you don't have to do it alone.

Kate comes in hot this episode with a mic drop moment: above your nutrition plan, your workout plan, your water goal, and your step count, there's one thing that makes or breaks your results. Routine. She and Josh dig into why routine feels boring, why so many of us show up for our trainer or our group but not for ourselves, and how to shift from external accountability to doing it because it's good for you. From there, Kate walks through the four phases of the menstrual cycle and pushes back on the trend of letting social media, cycle syncing advice, or your fitness watch tell you how you're supposed to feel. Josh brings the psychology side, exploring why so many of us struggle to even name our emotions, and why personal awareness is the real foundation of lasting change. Plus, a sneak peek at a three part series on fitness through different phases of life, with guest speakers coming soon. Ask yourself this week: are you a priority in your own life?

This week Kate and Josh threw the script out the window and recorded with no topic at all, just the two of them catching up the way they would on a long drive. They open with Josh's torn oblique from a hockey tournament and the hard truth that comes with being someone who hates to sit still. The conversation turns into a thoughtful look at the difference between resting to heal and quitting altogether, and why an injury is a pivot rather than the end of your goals.

From there Kate digs into the heart of what KLT Fit stands for, that strength training belongs at the foundation of every fitness journey. She breaks down reps, sets, and progressive overload in a way that feels approachable whether you are brand new or a seasoned lifter, and reminds everyone that your weights are yours and form matters more than competition. The two also share an exciting update on the KLT Fit Collective, which has officially launched and sold out its first discount in days, plus a peek at the rebrand to KLT Fit and the brand new website Josh taught himself to code from scratch.

They wrap with a heartfelt and slightly fiery chat about nutrition and self responsibility, landing on the idea that you often have no idea how rough you feel until you start to feel good. Josh brings his psychological lens to the notion of choosing your pain, the gentle but real tough love that growth asks something of us now so we can live fully later. And a reminder for local listeners, the parking lot vendor show happens June 27th from one to three.

Ever stood in a doctor's office, looked at that BMI chart on the wall, and been told you're overweight or obese when you feel the strongest you ever have? You are not alone, and the story behind that number is wilder than you think. This week Kate and Josh dig into where BMI actually came from, a math loving astronomer in the 1830s who only studied white men, later repackaged in the 1970s for insurance companies wanting a cheap way to predict who might die early. Spoiler, it was never built to measure your individual health, and it definitely was not built with women or strength training in mind.

They get into why the chart can leave you feeling like a failure even when your body is healthier than ever, how the newer thinking on body composition and how you actually feel is a far more individual approach, and why non scale victories deserve so much more of your attention. Plus, a first look at the brand new KLT Fit Collective launching in July. Take a breath, check in with how your body really feels, and maybe shake your head at that old chart one last time.

In episode 32, Kate and Josh sit down with no notes and let the conversation wander, which turns out to be exactly where the gold is. They start by unpacking what each of them has learned in their very different professional worlds, and quickly realize the overlap. Josh reflects on a lesson from early in his mental health career, that he simply cannot work harder than the people he is supporting, and how learning to sit with someone where they are actually creates more space for real change than trying to fix things for them. Kate's big takeaway is boundaries, both the work and home variety she still wrestles with, and the boundaries that come with meeting each client differently. She likens it to coaching a team, where some people need a hard push and others need a softer touch, and you only figure out which is which by genuinely getting to know them. From there the episode shifts into the origin story of the gym itself, where Kate gives Josh some long overdue credit for being the one quietly pushing her to leave her kindergarten job and bet on herself, and Josh insists the magic of the space comes from Kate and the community that walks through the door every day. They also share a peek at the upcoming rebrand to KLT Fit and a brand new offering called the KLT Fit Collective, a virtual platform launching this summer that ties workouts, food tracking, and community together for anyone in their world. It is candid, a little chaotic, full of laughs, and a real look at the people and choices behind the gym.

This week's episode is a little different, and a lot more personal. Kate shares the full speech she delivered as part of a local 100 year anniversary event focused on women's health and wellness, walking through her journey from almost 300 pounds to becoming the coach, business owner, and speaker she is today. She talks about the purple dress moment, the messy middle no one warns you about, why progress over perfection actually saved her, and the unglamorous power of sleep, rest, and consistency.

After the speech, Josh sits down with Kate to unpack what it felt like to deliver that message, the questions she got from the audience, the moment she got choked up reading her own words, and what she would say to anyone still stuck in all or nothing thinking. There's also a really tender exchange between the two of them about who Kate was at 300 pounds, who she is now, and the truth that she has always been enough.

If you only take one thing from this episode, let it be this: you are worth the fight, exactly as you are right now.

Kate and Josh hit episode 30 by tackling something Kate has been seeing rumble through her inbox and across social media all spring: the push to get a "summer body" ready in six weeks flat. They start by digging into why January 1st resolutions are so fragile, with Kate pointing to the demonization of December eating habits and the all or nothing mindset, and Josh adding a mental health lens around seasonal affective disorder, lack of sunlight, and the natural pull toward comfort foods when winter feels endless.

From there they unpack the spring reset, why the messaging around bikini bodies is broken, and Josh raises a really good question: men get the dad bod as a culturally accepted in-between, so where is the mom bod? Why can't strong, real, lumpy, working-on-it bodies be the standard for women too? Shoutout to trainer Sarah for the line of the episode: she would far rather be called strong than skinny.

The second half pivots to the actual fix, which is non-negotiables. Kate walks through hers (water, daily movement, steps), Josh shares his (sports, social time, Adderall, movement five days a week) and they get honest about how non-negotiables held Kate together when her dad died. The big takeaway is that you don't need a deadline, you need a door. Pick one tiny thing you can do consistently, build momentum, and stop trying to make everything a non-negotiable on day one.