Katie Kollath

Don't let her size fool you. This JYM Army fixture is a pound-for-pound beast in the gym.

Written By Jim Stoppani, PhD

Updated September 28, 2023

Written by Katie Kollath

My fitness journey has pretty much been a continuing process through my entire life. I was a little chunky kid involved in sports, but I have always really enjoyed being active. When I first started to get serious about weight lifting, I just wanted to learn as much as I could about fitness from a trusted source. I wanted to gain lean muscle and strength. I wanted to be a strong woman in fitness, both physically and mentally.

During my biggest fitness transformation, I gained 20 pounds of lean muscle. I went from 103 pounds to 123 pounds. Over the course of 12 weeks, I added 20 pounds to my bench press – I could barely hit 75 pounds, and by the end of Shortcut to Size I was benching 95 pounds for reps. I also added about 30 pounds to my squat, taking it from a 185-pound max to doing 205 pounds for reps.

My first Stoppani program – and my first real program in general – was Shortcut to Shred. I became extremely lean and conditioned from doing the program. I continued training for fat loss by doing Super Shredded 8, Super-Man and Down and Up Mass with cardioacceleration. I decided it was time to gain some muscle, so I jumped on Shortcut to Size and continued my strength and muscle building journey with Six Weeks to Sick Arms, Back and Fourth and 5,3,2 Strength, which is when I started competitive powerlifting. I've competed in two powerlifting meets since then. My meet PR for squat is 253 pounds, bench 121 pounds and deadlift 275 pounds, weighing in at 119 pounds. I've hit a 255 squat, 135 bench and 290 deadlift since my Nationals meet in April. I'm still training for strength and doing powerlifting, and I definitely plan on competing again in the future. I want to be lean and mean, but most of all strong!

Nutrition has always been extremely important to me. I've always followed Doc's Dieting 101 as my outline for my macro intake. I adjust my carbs depending on my goals, whether it's decreasing or increasing intake. Currently, I'm doing the carb cycle program that Jim plans to get on the site soon to lean out while continuing to build strength and muscle, which has been working really well for me personally.

When it comes to supplementation, I have been taking every single JYM product since it's launch. I take the FULL JYM system (minus Alpha) in FULL doses. I just want to say to all of the women out there training hard that we do NOT need specific supplements or training programs. Women need to lift heavy, eat clean and supplement properly! Train for your goals, not your gender, ladies! :)

My motivation comes from many places. First and foremost, I do it for me because fitness is my passion and I ALWAYS want to get better. The JYM Army has also been one of my biggest forms of motivation throughout my journey. The camaraderie and support we give to each other fuels me to continue to achieve my goals. My partner in crime Heather has been one of my biggest personal motivators especially for powerlifting. She pushes and supports me every single day in pretty much every part of my life and she is a powerlifting beast herself!

One of the coolest things for me is walking in the gym (being pretty small and lean), lifting some heavy weight, and having women come up to me asking me how I do what I do. My answer is pretty much summed up as hard work, dedication... and JYM.

My biggest piece of advice for others is to train for your goals, supplement properly with JYM and train hard. Your dedication will show off your results no matter what the goal. Don't worry about other people; just be the best version of your own self, because in the end that's who matters the most.

One of the greatest experiences I've had during my fitness journey was meeting the doc himself, my big bro Justin, Mike and many other JYM Army members at the Arnold Classic this past March. I want to continue to share the resources and knowledge that the JYM Army provides. I want to be an educator and a strong woman in the fitness industry. The knowledge I've gained from Jim allows me to do that. I will always be a part of the JYM Army and be here to educate and motivate others because that's what is most important to me as a fitness professional.

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