Question: What springs to mind when you think of Chicago?
Well, there’s the musical and of course Oprah, right? But wait just one second…I have found yet another link for this great city…Katie Peterson!
Katie is a rising star on the figure front and has had her own personal training business in the windy city for five years. Recently captured by the roving lens of our own Chris Zimmerman I tracked Katie down in order to find out a little more about this hot new athlete who is adding her own brand of Chicago heat to the competition stage…
So I guess best place to start is to ask you a little about your background. I believe sports played a big part in your life growing up….
“My first team sport was softball, when I was 8 years old. I think I was more concerned with hanging out with my friends on the team than catching the ball at first; but after a few practices, I found out I was actually pretty good! I played through high school and also ended up joining the track team. I also dabbled a little bit in pole vaulting. I’ve always been pretty competitive—in everything I do—not just sports. So the team aspect taught me a good balance of how to take direction and constructive criticism to improve my skills/technique. This has translated into my current endeavors. I think a positive attitude is everything in competition…you have to know how to lose and pick yourself back up again to come out stronger the next show.
“I have a very distinct memory of how I got into training, outside of sports. During my sophomore year, I signed up for weight-lifting as my gym class credit…and the rest is history! I fell in love with the way I felt after a good lift—reaching new personal bests, maxing out at higher weights, being motivated equally alongside the boys! Not only was it empowering, but it set the foundation for the rest of my life’s journey.”
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Now you have a successful personal training business in Chicago what made you decide to choose that as a career?
“Once I immersed myself into sports and fitness in high school—I also became extremely interested in nutrition and its importance not only in looking good but also in improving performance. I started out pre-med in college at Loyola in Chicago—hoping to find a way to correlate my passion for health with Western medicine. But I found myself much more interested in athletics than medicine itself; so I switched majors just to finish up and pursued a personal training certification with NASM during my senior year. After working a few years for a membership gym (XSport), I decided to incorporate and run my own business. I now train clients out of HiFi Fitness, a personal training studio in downtown Chicago.”
You did your first show two years ago, what or who made you decide to take to the stage?
“While I was working for Xsport, I had a few training buddies who competed in bodybuilding. We trained hard and heavy, and they always said I should jump into a Figure Competition. My main obstacle would be getting my shoulders out and cutting down the lower body. I wasn’t convinced I would be able to transform my shape but I kept the idea on the back-burner, and once I was ready to give up some nights out and commit to the diet, I signed up for the Mid-Illinois Bodybuilding and Figure Competition in Ottawa, IL.”
How was that first show experience?
“I was basically following advice from 10 different sources—and I think we all know how well that works! I would do someone’s diet one week, then I’d try something new the next—and the inconsistency did not lead to optimal results. But I did get my body to the best shape I’d seen myself by the time I walked onto that stage. Looking back at pictures, though, I have progressed so much from that first year! I placed 7th or 8th (I honestly don’t remember which, b/c I was so disappointed, and I didn’t put it to memory). I really thought that might be the one and only show I would finish. But one of the expediters, who turned out to be Earnest Bea, the Illinois State Chairman, gave me some words of motivation backstage to stick with it, and I came back the next year much stronger.”
Well that is a classic understatement, as you came right back the following year and won the Illinois State Championships. So what went on in that year between shows?
“All summer after Ottawa, I went back to my regular training, not sure if I’d compete again. By March, I teamed up with Maurice Black and Valerie Tinsley out of USA Gym (Chuck Sanow’s gym in Bridgeview, IL). It has been a blessing to work with them and follow one channel of advice on training and diet! Maurice has helped me really bring up my upper body and improve the conditioning in my legs to get that streamlined, symmetrical look.”
You told me that your favorite body part to train is shoulders although they used to be a lagging muscle group for you. What did you do to bring them up to their current level?
“I have very narrow clavicles, which gives me the disadvantage of appearing very wide across the top. So I had to really work on rounding out the delts and just putting on size. I started training shoulders twice a week. It entailed a lot of heavy weight, supersets, and night-twitches!”
Some would say that increasing the intensity to that degree would lead to a loss in muscle…was that ever a concern?
“Losing muscle was not much of a concern here. I really worked on putting on muscle size during the off-season, as I wasn’t dieting and could eat to build.”
Care to outline a current shoulder workout?
“Let’s see, I usually start with presses, military or dumbbell. I’ll do 4-5 sets, starting with 15 reps to warm up; then raise the weight until I can only pump out about 8 reps. The last set is almost always a drop set. After presses, I’ll make sure to hit all heads of the shoulder, looking something like this:
DB Lateral raises 4 x 10-15 (I like to do leaning laterals, too, in order to use heavier weight)
DB Front raises 4 x 10-15 (usually alternating by the time I’m up to my heaviest weight)
BB Upright rows 4 x 10-15
Machine Presses 3 x 12
1arm Cable raises, side and/or front 3 x 10-12
I usually combine some upper chest with my shoulder days and do Incline BB presses, dips and weighted push-ups.
I have been skipping rear delts these days, because mine were somewhat overdeveloped. So I’ve shaved them down a bit!”
What about your diet…how strict are you with that and what would you say your biggest downfall is when it comes to sticking to it?
“I cook all my meals every two days (for the next two days). I am extremely strict with staying on diet—it’s all egg whites, chicken, tuna, tilapia, and lean turkey. As I’ve gotten more conditioned, I’ve been able to keep the oatmeal and sweet potatoes in longer up to each competition. I measure and weigh everything, because I know my eyes will lie. My main downfall is snacking on almonds or cashews that are not weighed out! If I were to lose all self control, you’d probably find me at Dairy Queen…but this has not happened yet! I also miss my wine…”
What is your life like away from the sport and what do you like to do to unwind?
“When I am not working or working out, I love nothing more than to be with my friends and boyfriend—whether it’s out to dinner, out for drinks, or just sitting on someone’s back deck. You can usually find me cracking jokes with someone no matter what the occasion, because I love to laugh and can find humor in pretty much anything. I am a big fan of going to concerts, too, although it’s been a while. I like almost any genre but have a particular affinity for house music. Aside from unwinding with good company, I really enjoy Bikram Yoga and try to go at least once a week. I always feel amazingly at ease when I leave class.”
You took some great pics with our own Chris Zimmerman recently…how was that experience for you?
“Working with Chris is great. We have a real photographic connection. We shot for the first time after Jr National’s last year; then met up again at Team Universe in NY. This second time around, we were both crazy rushed and literally cranked out the best photos taken of me in less than 40 minutes! He does incredible graphic work with the photos, post-shoot and has such a creative mind toward producing truly captivating images.”
So what are your future aspirations both in and out of the sport?
“I am really aiming to reach pro-status. I would also love to land a cover on Oxygen or Muscle and Fitness, two of my favorite mags! As far as my training business, I want to continue adding to my clientele, but particularly increasing the number of competitors I train. It has been such a fun experience for me and I want to share that with other aspiring athletes.”
And how can readers contact you…
Currently, I just have my business website at www.activeevolution.net; email: [email protected]
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