Reviews

I met Katie at the April RKC. I was experiencing some very intense pain in my back, a reminder from an old injury. Katie employed several corrective drills and the pain subsided. She explained a progression plan to eliminate future pains along with some recommended drills to prevent future injuries. Within the short time frame of 3 weeks, i have not only completely eliminated pain, but my strength has grown. I believe Katie is exceptionally skilled as a Z health instructor and she can help you perform at the next level. I strongly recommend her services to anyone looking to fix broken movement patterns and move pain free.

Thank you Katie!

Katie is an excellent kettlebells instructor. I'll admit I was a little hesitant when we got a new instructor at Condition because I was so used to going to class with Delaine. After the first class with Katie, I was put at ease. Katie is very encouraging and wants you to enjoy yourself while you are at class. She is exceptional at assisting with technique. She makes small suggestions that provide big gains. She keeps things moving by throwing in extra activities. She also tries to keep a smile on everybody's faces. I really enjoy going to Katie's classes!

I had been working with the 35lb kettlebell following ETK DVD and Book. I was doing get ups, sumo dead lift, swings, halo, and clean and press. I wanted to make sure I was doing it right. It felt good and I was getting some amazing results. I also wanted to learn to snatch properly. Katie watched all my moves taught me how to improve them to make them more effective and efficient and taught me to snatch and squat. Her technical expertise is wonderful. She shows a solid understanding of movement and safety. Most of all she kept our session as much fun as it was informational. I definitely plan to train with her again.

I had been practicing Z health, R-Phase, on & off for a little over a year to address some chronic from a shoulder injury & surgery years ago, and not having much success. I was about to give up on it, but after reading so many accounts of others successes, I decided to try one more time. I found Katie Bigelow in Atlanta thru the Dragondoor training forum.

I met with Katie in August, 2008. My military pressing on the injured side was suffering due to an altered track as I would press a heavy kettlebell, and this track was also causing a lot of painful irritation in the joint. I also had trouble activating my lat on that side.

Our session started with a discussion of my history, symptoms, and goals, and an explanation of how Z Health works. Then she had me do some diagnostic drills & presses. The end result was Katie gave me a customized set of Z drills to practice on my own, which has helped tremendously. Even during the session, I noticed my pressing groove was getting better and I could begin to feel my lat in the press. Now, I am able to focus more on the strength building aspect of my reps, rather than finding the best groove to avoid pain. My shoulder feels smarter. This progress has been in a little over 9 days.

Katie was the perfect blend of kettlebell instruction & Z health. Katie was very professional, knowledgeable, and easy to work with. Even though Ive been training with KBs for over 5 years, I still came away with improved function and technique, because my shoulder was finally able to move more like the way its supposed to. Now its my strength, rather than pain, that limits what I can press. Im looking forward to seeing even more improvements as I continue the drills. I highly recommend Katie if you need help with kettlebells, want to reduce pain, improve your performance, or all the above.

ScottA

I met Katie at a Z Health certification the week before I moved back to Atlanta from San Diego. I was happy to have found someone with similar fitness philosophies living in Atlanta. As soon as I opened Condition, Katie began assisting at the intro workshops while she was gearing up for the RKC. Now that she is certified she is permanently on the schedule. It is so nice to have someone whom I trust to take care of the people and have them do safe, effective exercises. I dont have to worry about walking in and having her instucting people to stand on one foot, do a bicep curl while hopping up and down on a BOSU. :-)

I have attended Katie's classes multiple times. There will be no need to wonder if your form is correct, she will ensure it is. The reasons for the exercises and stretches are explained clearly. In the classes I attended, even the experienced kettlebell lifter had an "oh, thats why we do that." moment. Her workouts are special in that you are taught and tortured at the same time!

I really enjoy Katie's technique. She makes every class fresh and fun and keeps your mind involved, as well as your body. She relates to every single student on a warm and personal level and explains everything in an easy format. She's great at making sure everyone is in proper form during the exercises. And I really enjoy how she mixes up the workouts. I also like that she asks everyone to say their name at the beginning of class - that way you get to know your fellow kettlebellers and form a camaraderie. Overall, Katie makes every class fun and it's obvious that she loves what she's doing. Thanks Katie!

A class with Katie always has more - more information, more play, more exercises, more new ideas.

Katie brings her own experience with her body, (she's the queen of snatches); her knowledge about minds and learning, (including what she's studying at Emory); her experience with KB and ZHealth, and an interest in us to every class.

Whether she gives us new exercises, new times, new activities during rest periods, new warm-up or cool-down exercises, or new information, a class with Katie is always physical, fresh and new.

Katie is fantastic! She welcomed us to the gym and took the time ensure that we were comfortable for the workshop. She is supportive and ensures that the new student has grasped the correct technique. She takes the time to not only explain why but ensures that all your questions are answered. She is very motivated and her enthusiasm permeates the class!

What's cool about Katie is that she likes to mix things up. You never know what to expect when you get to her class -- except that you know you will learn something new. She's really passionate about people understanding why they are doing certain exercises as well as what they are called - and she makes it fun to learn the information. She also has a sense of calm about her that makes you feel like its ok to do something wrong as long as you pay attention and try to fix it. At first all I could think of was how she was different from my other instructor, but now I have learned to appreciate the differences.