Search

Hi, I'm Katie!

  • - Personal Trainer
  • - Wellness Chef
  • - Fitness Model

Hello and welcome to katiecordoza.com
I've been helping clients reach their fitness,
nutrition, and physique goals for over ten
years, and I hope I can help you, too!

My passion for food and fitness goes back to my childhood, but my formal education started with nutrition and strength expert Robb Wolf at NorCal Strength and Conditioning in Chico, CA. This is where my coaching journey began.

Like so many others that get involved in coaching, I wanted to make a difference in people’s lives and help them become a better version of themselves. And selfishly I wanted to learn the best practices for myself, so I too could be healthy and fit. NorCal provided me with that education. In addition to learning the art of personal training, Robb introduced me to the Paleo and Keto diets, which forms the basis of my recipe and nutrition approach. He also introduced me to CrossFit.

During my time at NorCal, I learned how to coach Olympic lifting, powerlifting, gymnastics, and how to program high-intensity workouts. I loved everything about it—the training, the community, the competition—but after seven years of CrossFit, the brutal workouts started to take a toll on my body.

I was always broken down and inflamed. Even worse, I wasn’t happy with my physique. I looked puffy, my quads and hamstrings started to take over my legs, and my shoulders and lats were huge. Sure, I was strong and athletic, but I didn’t feel sexy. Though I loved CrossFit, I knew something needed to change.

My Training
Transformation

When I first started training and coaching, I primarily thought in terms of performance, and I didn’t think much about aesthetics. I thought if you trained hard and incorporated functional movements, you would get a nice physique as part of the package. Though this is true for some people, it was not true for me.

As a personal trainer, my job is to help my clients achieve their goals. And most of the people I trained didn’t care about performance. They just wanted to look and feel better. I had written off bodybuilding and other physique training systems because I thought they were shallow and not functional. But as my body started to adapt to my training and I started listening to my clients and their goals, I realized that there needed to be a balance between training for function and training for aesthetics.

When it comes to physique training, everyone has their own opinions of how they want to look or what feature they find appealing. I encourage everyone to embrace their body and train however they want as long as it is safe and effective. But to make forward progress and to stay consistent with your training, you need to have fun and work toward goals.

My goal was simple. I wanted a bigger, rounder, stronger butt. This led me to the work of Bret “The Glute Guy” Contreras. Considered the world’s foremost expert in glute training, I started to incorporate Bret’s techniques into my practice. The results were immediate. Even better, my clients loved the new methods and training style.

With more and more people becoming interested in glute training, I started a group class at NorCal, which was an immediate success. We still incorporated functional movements like squats, deadlifts, and pull-ups, but with an emphasis on glute training. And I continued to use a constantly varied CrossFit style approach to programming. This style of training—circuit based workouts with a focus on glute training—is bedrock to the system featured on this site.

I believe there can be a balance between training for function and training for aesthetics. You don’t have to sacrifice one for the other. The glutes are the strongest and biggest muscle in the body and control a wide range of functional movements. Everyone can benefit from glute training. But you still need to train other areas of your body, and you need to understand how to move correctly. This is why, as you will see in my programs and training videos, I emphasis form and technique with all the movements I teach.

Passing on Knowledge

I’ve since moved on from Chico, but I’m entirely grateful to Robb, my professors, and the coaches and clients at NorCal for molding me into the coach I am today.

Robb transformed how I think about food. He gave me a blueprint for eating (and living) that I hope to pass on to you. Though my diet is not perfect, I do loosely follow Paleo principles—meaning I avoid grains, processed food, and vegetable oils. I eat organic fruits and vegetables, and free-range and grass-fed sourced meat. As a personal chef, I also cook Keto-friendly meals for my clients, so you will see some low-carb recipe options sprinkled into my blogs from time to time as well. My cooking style is simple, yet effective and efficient. I work hard to create easy-to-follow, delicious recipes that are also great for your health. Just like you don’t need to sacrifice function for aesthetics when training, you don’t need to sacrifice eating delicious food to be healthy. The meal plans and recipes on this site will work for everyone, regardless of skillset and experience.

When it comes to exercise, I’ve been fortunate to work with highly influential coaches including professor Thomas Fahey, Mark Rippetoe, Amiee & Greg Everett, and Kelly Starrett. My husband, Glen Cordoza, co-wrote Becoming a Supple Leopard (BASL) with Kelly and I was featured as a fitness model in the book. My approach to movement mechanics and mobility is based on his system. As you will see, I incorporate a lot of Kelly’s mobilizations and use his blueprint for human movement to guide my coaching. Moving correctly and having full range of motion is not only critical to looking and feeling good, but also living a long, healthy life. By following my programs and workouts, you will get exposure to the methods and techniques featured in BASL in the form of warm-ups and cool-downs.

As if working with these fitness giants wasn’t cool enough, I’ve recently had the supreme fortune to learn and get coached under Bret Contreras. My husband is writing a book with Bret, and I was lucky enough to work as the fitness model for the project. In addition to exposing me to glute training, Bret continues to guide my coaching, programs, and strength training techniques. The learning never stops. His glute training methods are the cornerstone of my programs.

Although working with these mentors has filled me with motivation and knowledge, my ultimate source of inspiration is my Dad. From as early as I can remember, he was modeling me into an athlete and personal trainer. Having coached football his entire life, he’s particularly good at plyometric or jump training. Incorporating his plyometric training into my exercise routine has had a profound impact on my performance and physique. In addition to working speed, agility, balance, and coordination, this is how I keep my legs lean and train for speed.

As you will see in my workouts, I use a lot of plyometric boxes in my training, not only for plyometrics, but also for step-ups, box squats, mobility drills, and so on. We build these boxes out of my Dad’s woodshop in Chico. Together, we run armorplyoboxes.com where we make and sell lifetime guaranteed plyometric boxes. If you’re interested in learning more, please check out our website. You might see me post about a cutting board from time to time as that is another side passion born out of my Dad’s shop.

Every coach, teacher, and instructor has mentors that they’ve learned from. While I remain hungry, I’m not entirely self-taught and I owe so much of what I teach to my coaches. My goal is to take everything that I know and continue to learn and pass it on to you, so you too can live a healthier more fulfilled life.

How I Can Help You

My mission for katiecordoza.com is to create a platform where we can train together. If you’re interested in training with me, you have a few options. The first is to follow my Instagram workouts. I do my best to post all of my workouts so you can follow along with me at home or in the gym. I also post free workouts on my blog from time to time. If my Instagram workouts are too challenging to follow, another option is to sign up for one of my courses. If you’re new to glute training and you want to get a solid base, I recommend beginning with my Starting Glutes course, which is a full body program with an emphasis on glute training.

Although the courses can work for everyone, sometimes you need a more personalized approach to reach your goals. Designing programs is one of my specialties, and I would love the opportunity to work with you.

If you’re comfortable with glute training and performing the exercises and you simply want a program that is specific to you and your goals, then you can choose the program design option.

This allows me to assess your goals and design a program that is specific to your needs and interests. If you’re someone that wants a more hands-on approach with daily guidance, then we can work together on a one-on-one basis. This gives me the opportunity to assess your movement and keep you accountable as you progress through your customized program.

I believe in the principles, methods, and techniques featured on my site because I have seen them work time and time again. It’s changed my life, and it will change your life too.

 

Katie's Credentials

Education B.A. in kinesiology with an emphasis in coaching from California State University, Chico.

  • Certifications
  • USAW L1 Sports Performance Coach
  • Olympic Weightlifting - Catalyst Athletics L1
  • Crossfit level 1
  • Crossfit kids
  • Featured In
  • Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength DVD
  • Fitness RX for Men- March 2012- Cross Training Article
  • Fitness RX for Men- April 2012- Olympic Lifting Model
  • The Paleo Solution- Fitness Model
  • Power, Speed, Endurance- Fitness Model
  • Free+Style- Fitness Model
  • Becoming a Supple Leopard- Fitness Model
  • Glute Lab- Fitness Model
  • Seminars, Certificates and Experience
  • 7 years of coaching experience at NorCal Strength and Conditioning.
    (Note that I trained directly under owners Robb Wolf–New York Time’s best selling author of The Paleo Solution–and his wife Nicki Violetti–the developer of Crossfit’s well known On Ramp curriculum–during the first four years of my time coaching at NorCal.)
  • 2 years experience running NorCal Strength and Conditioning’s Olympic Lifting Program
  • Developed NorCal Strength and Conditioning’s Strength Class Program
  • Developed NorCal Strength and Conditioning’s Glute Training Workshop
  • Spent 2 weeks with Mark Rippetoe, filming the Starting Strength DVD and learning his methods
  • Bret Contreras' Muscle and Strength Seminar
  • Bret Contreras' Glute Lab Seminar
  • Carl Paoli’s Gymnastics Seminar
  • Kelly Starett’s Mobility Seminar
  • Ido Portal Seminar
  • Robb Wolf’s Paleo Solution Seminar- Attended four times total
  • Kettlebell seminar
  • 10th place finish in the 2009 Norcal Crossfit Regionals
  • 3rd place Finish in the 2009 Crossfit Games Affiliate Cup
  • Chico State University teacher’s assistant for Professor Thomas Fahey in the Principles of Strength and Conditioning course
  • Trained the Marine recruits on several different occasions
  • Taught numerous children’s and teen’s volleyball and basketball summer camps
  • Trained Muay Thai in Thailand
  • Basketball has been my primary sport of choice for the majority of my adolescent and young adult life. Although I don’t play much anymore, except for the occasional game of horse, I managed to compete at the junior college level. I’ve also competed in volleyball, softball, and cross-country. Currently, I’m most interested in plyometrics, weight/glute training, yoga, gymnastics, hiking, sprint work, and Olympic lifting.
 

GOT A QUESTION?

or simply want to
say Hi?

Feel free to message me. I’ll try my best
to get back to you the soonest!

  • EMAIL SUPPORT (PST)
  • Monday – Friday: 5 am – 5 pm PST
  • Saturday: 9 am – noon PST

*You can expect a response within 24 hours,
excluding Sundays