A secret goal…accomplished!
Athlete Profile: Kate
Kate Carroll never saw herself as an athlete. In November of 2024, she started coming to Lift and Breathe and it has become her most consistent and longest-lasting exercise routine. 18 months into her journey, we talked about some of the reasons she started and what has kept her going. We are excited to share this with you!
When Kate and I talked, she said it felt exciting to have made exercise part of her weekly routine. She admitted that initially it felt radical. She went as far as to say it was “self-indulgent” in terms of cost and time. It helped a lot that her partner was supportive of her strength journey. She was compelled by the strong community at Lift and Breathe. Kate had goals to feel strong and she wanted to take up space in a way she hadn’t before this.
To share a little background, Kate had her first child fifteen years ago and she had 2 more children in quick succession. She jumped into being a mom and because she hadn’t been consistent with exercise in the past, it wasn’t a priority during her first thirteen years of parenting. She is now 45!
I asked Kate how she felt brave enough to start in the first place, as fear is a common factor that holds women back. Her original impetus was to get stronger. We had worked together postpartum more than a decade ago, so there was trust and familiarity. When she attended her first class, she was blown away by the inclusivity and the encouragement. “This is a place for every body at Lift and Breathe. Come as you are and you will be embraced,” Kate said.
A few of the many traits we love about Kate are her stories and her honesty. She shared in class one day, just a few months into lifting, that her family was debating whether to watch women’s basketball or video games. Out of the blue, her youngest son proposed a challenge, “I’ll arm wrestle you for it.” She agreed and then surprised him by winning! The best part may have been his shock. Her children quickly realized how strong she was becoming and her family watched women’s basketball that evening.
Leading up to the summer of 2025, Kate had a secret goal: To be strong enough to get up on one water ski, something she hadn’t done since having her kids! She had started her strength journey nine months prior and was making significant gains. In July, Kate sent a video to me of her getting up on one ski! Not only was she water skiing slalom, she was confidently going in and out of the wake with a gorgeous Adirondack landscape as the backdrop and a big smile on her face! Included was a note about how happy and proud she was of this accomplishment. Kate’s story is testament to building muscle, strength and endurance in the gym that translates to her life outside the gym. That is our purpose!
For Kate, and many other women, there is often a disconnect between wanting to get stronger, yet being afraid of hurting yourself. She has built confidence in the process and has been open and vulnerable while making gains. Kate has learned that soreness isn’t a bad thing…it can mean growth. It’s a whole new way of getting to know your body at forty-five, which she finds new and super exciting.
In November of 2025, Kate coined the term, Liftaversary, defining one full year since beginning to lift weights! Kate said, “It comes back to this feeling of awe - of what our bodies and minds can do.” Kate has a strong desire to “lean into joy during these times when the world can be dark and depressing.” She uses her sessions at Lift and Breathe to celebrate what our bodies can do and channel her energy into building a stronger body.
Kate pointed out a real shortcoming in fitness culture today: a hyper focus on the numbers, i.e. how much people are lifting. She said it makes it hard to share your stats. One way that Kate has shifted the conversation is making space to celebrate the many functional ways that strength impacts our lives. She had an awesome idea to start a Strength Wins board in the gym where everyone is invited to share their every-day strength wins. Some examples women have shared are:
Carrying groceries on your own
Moving an air conditioner into a window with ease
Lifting and carrying a sleeping child up a flight of stairs
Lifting a kayak on top of your car
Building a massive, beautiful garden
Digging holes for fence posts and carrying stones
Holding your niece and nephew on each hip
Kate has worked hard for her progress. Lifting weights has given her confidence to do activities she loves with her kids - water skiing, boating, hiking and downhill skiing. These activities were familiar in her teens and twenties, but had not been part of her landscape in her thirties and forties until she started at Lift and Breathe.
Last week, Kate and her fifteen year old, Luke, worked out together for the first time at home. This week, they’ll do it again. Their goal is to lift once a week together this summer, taking turns to set up the routine and show each other new things.
Kate believes that it’s important to be public about showing up for yourself and for other people. Our community is small, but mighty. People notice when you aren’t around and check on you. Now that Kate has had this experience of getting to know her body through lifting, she is curious about what other types of exercise might be possible. Stay tuned…perhaps her next secret goal will be revealed:) We can’t wait to cheer her on!
Outside the gym, Kate is a small-business owner. She founded and runs The Editorial Ally, a consultancy that offers editorial support to academic authors. She spends a lot of time thinking about ways to make academia more equitable, history more inclusive, and publishing more accessible.