Sunday Session: Kat Leone

Name: Kat Leone Age: 29 Height: 5'4" Weight: 145 lbs

1) What kind of athletic background did you have prior to starting CrossFit?

I was an All Star cheerleader in high school, meaning we learned routines and traveled to competitions. Our team was of mixed ages, from elementary through high school so our fliers tended to be much, much younger. That was where I got my start with gymnastics. We did floor tumbling (no bars or beam). I graduated from high school early and moved to San Francisco when I was 16. I had a LOT of fun. That is whereI enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. I transferred to the Los Angeles campus when I got an internship with a clothing company down here. Then came the years of building my career as a designer in the Fashion industry in LA, working my way up from assistant to design director. By the time I go back into fitness, I was pretty well removed from cheerleading. I always like to say that I was not a collegiate athlete - I went to art school and I partied, hard. lol.

2) What does your day in your life look out on average?

To be completely honest, I am not a person that sticks to very strict routine. I own multiple businesses and am now completely self employed. I also have employees and contractors and crazy customers so things do come up. I always find a way to get my training in, even when I'm traveling. Because I've been doing this for so long now, I've gotten a bit more flexible with myself. I used to be very strict with travel and food prep and say no to a lot of social events and family meals. But years in and I am learning to also enjoy life because I'm not really training for a one-time event. I am creating a life that I need to enjoy and not just endure. And I train a LOT and my body hurts a LOT and I work a LOT and I'm often pretty tired. I am very lucky to have a super supportive boyfriend and at this point my businesses are very tied into CrossFit.

I currently train out of and compete for CrossFit Costa Mesa. Our team does have a more ridged schedule so I have been adjusting to that for the past year. We train twice a day, every day. On an average day for me, I wake up around 9am and work from home. I go into the gym to take the noon class. All our competitors are required to do the regular class everyday. Thats programmed to be a part of our daily training. So in a way, the entire gym helps us train for events. Sometimes we'll do an extra condition piece after the class. Then I go home, eat, take my morning supplements and go back to work. I try to take a shower and reset but honestly sometimes that just doesn't happen when I have a lot going on. I will work until the very last minute, until I go back to the gym at 5 to finish off the last 3 hours of my training. During off season we average 3-4.5 hours a day. When we are training for regionals, its closer to 5 - 6.5 hours a day and my days will start at 4:30am and I go straight to the gym. Since my job requires I be up working, available by email until about midnight every night, when we are on early training I sometimes take mid-day naps. To me, sleep is the best recovery there is. Nothing can replace sleep.

Heres an example of an average day:
9am - Work, check in with employees, schedule day.
10am - Coffee, eat, supplements.
12noon - Group Class
1:15 - Maybe shower if I can.
1:30 - Back to work. Eat, supplements. Hydrate.
5:00 - Evening training with teammates.
8:30 - Home. Eat, shower, take the dogs out.
9pm - Back to work.
12midnight - Close that damn laptop! Sleep.

3) What’s in your gym bag?

Adidas weightlifting shoes
Exo Knee Sleeves and knee wraps, wrist wraps
Weightlifting belt
Lifting straps
Heart rate monitor (I use this at least a few times a week)
Elevation mask (my coach makes us use these, especially during cardio specific training)
Rope climbing shoes (these are just old nanos but they are the BEST for rope climbing)
Extra sports bra & shorts for when we do impromptu ice baths
Sweat towel (ugh. yup)
Bag of chalk
Goggles and swim cap (I could probably take these out cause we haven't been swimming much)

Supplements at home:
3Fuel Protein and Carbs
Clean Label Protein (unflavored for when I'm mixing something specific and just need more protein)
Fish Oil (always!!! my favorite!)
BCAAs
L-glutamine
Glucosamine
Ten Performance line - I've been using the hydration, the B12s and I use their melatonin every night to make me sleep like a baby.
ABS Protein Pancakes (just cause i like to mix it up)

4) Your favorite workout, lift, movement?

I am stronger than I am fast. But I love ring muscle ups.Those took me FOREVER to get. For some reason, I was the last of my friends to figure them out and I spent a good 2 years just staring up at those rings either feeling hopeful or defeated. I love pull ups, especially chest to bar and push press.

5) What motivates you?

Different things motivate me at different times. Overall, I am stubborn as hell and I think that I can move mountains if I really, really want it. I believe that anything is possible if you want it badly enough so I enjoy the push. I enjoy the struggle. I may not be the most athletically gifted, but I suffer well. So i set goals and just keep going for them no matter what.

I've been training HARD for so many years now, you're not always going to feel 'motivated.' I do it like its a job. I make sure that other people are counting on me and expecting me to show up. I check in with my coaches and record my results. I've also tried to log a good chunk of my training videos onto Instagram (@JustKatLeone) over the past few years as I love to look back at them. Sometimes it feels like we're not moving forward very quickly but the videos never lie. I like to remember my ups and downs and I like that people check in with me there.

6) Tell us one (or more) fun fact(s) about yourself!

I am a pretty serious person and definitely an introvert. I should probably be more light hearted about things, but I'm still learning how to do that :) I have 2 mini schnauzers named Rokko and Maxx. They are the BEST and crack me up on the daily.

My boyfriend does metal fabrication and is also self employed. He is super talented and a designer as well - he designs huge gates and sculptures and furniture - anything made out of metal really. He makes me feel like no job is too big and there is a way to deconstruct and figure out any project that needs to be completed. One of his last big projects were these gold metal window displays for the Stella McCartney stores on the west coast. 

I own an activewear company called Vull Sport. Its pretty much the best thing I've done so far (and I've started 6 companies at this point in my life). I love activewear. I'm a total girly girl, I follow all the trendy fashion blogs and I love makeup tutorials but I am always just a dirty mess coming and going from the gym. This line is really my attempt at bringing some fashion back into my athlete life. Everything is hi-impact and made to be worn for hours of grueling training (for exactly what I do on the daily), but still be a little more aesthetically in-line with how I perceive myself. I know there are other girls who fall in line with how I feel and I wanted to cater to that. I don't see myself as a yoga-soccer mom type. I see myself as a dynamic athlete that also wears dresses and knows all the best matte lip sticks.

I also own a jewelry line called Vant Jag. Its fun, young and colorful. Jewelry is one of my first loves.

I pretty much spend my life, my days, nights and weekends working toward my goals. Building my businesses and my body and my connections to others that are on the same path. Some weeks are easier than others. I definitely think I chose the path of most resistance. There's a lot of crying and a lot of 'I don't think I can do this.' It's very clear to me why all people don't start small businesses and why people don't train like this. Its just all hard work and very little reward with a lot of uncertain, nail-biting weeks and months.

I hope to make it to the CrossFit Games in 2017. Our team took 6th place at Regionals this year and we're hungry for some redemption. I also hope to triple the size of Vull Sport by that same time next year. With a little luck and a lot of help from friends, it just might happen.