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  • Being A Fierce Female With Kate Parr

    31st March 2021

    31st March 2021

    By Caitlin Bell

    Kate Parr (she/her) is an expert trainer at boutique fitness studios Boxx London and BLOK London, teaching boxing, strength and cardio, and dance. Kate is also an actor, scoring lead roles in UK musicals and more. Kate's passion is helping others feel inner strength through fitness, and instilling the empowerment that comes from feeling strong both physically and mentally. We sat down with Kate to learn more about what inspires her, her hopes for gender equality in the fitness industry, and the positive change she wants to see in the world. 

    Tell the readers a little bit more about yourself and your background?

    So I'm Kate, a personal trainer specialising in strength, movement and boxing. I’m also an actor trained in Musical Theatre.

    Who or what inspires you?

    I find my inspiration in many people. I’m constantly learning! Everyday I’ll see something in a friend, client or even someone I follow on social media that I want to emulate.

     

     

    How do you define female empowerment?

    Female empowerment to me is an awareness of the struggles women face, an acceptance of who we are, and always striving to be the best version of yourself. All of the above but as a collective force. It’s the drive to do something and the confidence to go for it.

    Do you think fitness has a role to play in female empowerment?

    Absolutely. I truly believe the power that comes from whatever sport or type of fitness you enjoy is huge. Whether that comes from the community, from the strength you gain, or discovering the potential of what your body and mind can achieve.

    What inspired you to take up boxing?

    So I’ve always loved movement. I’ve danced literally from when I learnt to walk and then trained professionally from the age of 11-21. However, throughout this whole time, I was never good at sports- couldn’t kick a ball to save my life! I discovered the benefits that came from strength training which is still a big part of my routine. However there was always something missing. For me, that was boxing. I took a class at BLOK London not having a clue what I was in for and straight away I was hooked. The agility, power, coordination, endurance and focus that it teaches you is huge and I haven’t looked back since.

    How do you think boxing could become a more inclusive sport to both genders?

    Take away the perceived violence of fighting and underneath that there’s a huge amount of agility and power. In terms of inclusivity, I think there's a huge shift already. The more women to just start and go for it just like me the better. It’s a humbling sport and there is always more to learn. So, whether you're a novice or someone who has boxed for years, know that whatever level you really will be accepted.

    Do you see more women taking up the sport?

    I definitely do! I teach classes Boxx London and BLOK London and its definitely got a lot more female heavy over the last three years. There’s something special in that. It gives me goosebumps when I see a full class of women absolutely smashing a bag!

     

     

    Why is fitness so important to you as a woman?

    What ‘fitness’ means to me has changed drastically over the years. I’ve gone through many different stages. I've used it as a weight loss tool, as a way to build my strength both in and out, and as a form of meditation and escapism. Through all that, I’ve found passions. Things that aren’t a way of changing my body, but goals that are strength focussed, agility and skill focused etc. For me now fitness is me time, playtime. Something fun that I enjoy and as a by-product it's a way to improve and better my health and mental wellbeing. That is a huge shift and one as a PT I want to help all of my clients find. And still there’s so many more areas that I want to explore. 

    Best advice you’ve ever received?

    This is a hard one! I think, "cancel, reset and continue". If something hasn’t gone as well as you would have wished, or you haven’t smashed your goals...park it, take a breath, reset the goal... then keep going.

    What is your proudest accomplishment?

    I have a couple. My latest one would be leading the International Women’s Day Strength class for @bloklondon. There were just under 400 people working out at once and even though it was on Zoom, the energy that came from each and every one of those people was massive.

    My other one would be when I got my first lead role in a UK tour of a musical. After a whole life of working towards being a professional actor, to be a lead was an amazing feeling. I’m focused on getting another role like that. 

    What change do you hope to see in the future?

    To see gender neutral phrasing and language across society. For society to be truly inclusive.

     

     

    What are 3 ways that you think women should lift each other up?

    1. Celebrate the wins. No matter how small just acknowledge that accomplishment. 

    2. Support female businesses. Change that narrative. 

    3. Just be there. Share the experience, the joy and the pain. We’re in this together.

    Who’s an inspiring female role model in your life and what have you learnt from them?

    My mum. She works in motorsport, which is a very male dominated world. I think the most amazing thing about her is that she can do absolutely anything she puts her mind to. Whatever challenges come her way, she still manages to be kind and always always looks for the good. She manages to take a breath and calmly respond to anything, and get the job done.

    As a woman, what’s the one thing you’d like men to do more of and to do less of?

    Less watching me and my clients when we're in an outdoor PT session. Accept we’re there you don’t need to look, comment or catcall please! And more acceptance of our strengths and abilities without gender stereotyping. 

    To learn more about Kate, follow her on Instagram.

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I also run on caffeine and hate coffee so got hooked on the pre-workout to fuel going to the gym, uni, working at lululemon and a busy social life!  I joined the Insider program as soon as I was able to, and have seen so much growth for the brand since then! I love all the extra merch, the sweatshirt and duffel are essential - so would love to see more of my go to gym bag essentials become Innermost 👀 Our topic this month is resolution. How would you personally define resolution and has it been a pivotal part of your life?  Resolution means taking control of your own life and making conscious choices that lead you towards the often intangible ‘better’. It's about having the determination and drive to create the future you want for yourself, and accepting the task of navigating the challenges that come your way. To me, resolution is about being true to myself and living with purpose. It's about not letting fear or doubt hold me back, but instead trusting in my own strength and abilities to overcome any obstacle even when it feels like it’s too difficult, or unfair. To be resolute requires a strong sense of self-discipline and self-control, as well as a clear vision of what you want to achieve. It requires a sense of resilience and adaptability, and the understanding that things sometimes get worse when they get better. Resolution has showed up for me in my journey with eating disorder recovery and weight restoration, with difficult conversations with therapists, even with holding boundaries with friends when sometimes it feels easier to let things slide. It’s not just about the big things! Ultimately, resolution is about living a life that is authentic, meaningful, and fulfilling. It's about having the conviction to pursue my passions and make a positive impact on the world around me. How do you go about setting goals in your life? So this is an interesting one. I suck at New Years resolutions. Or so I thought. With a background in disordered eating and a late diagnosis of ADHD I can retrospectively look back at some of my new years resolutions and understand why they felt so insurmountable.  To keep it brief, they were generally unrealistic, overly restrictive or prescriptive, and boring. And to be honest, sometimes goals aren’t going to be exciting.  I’ve read quite extensively around habit forming and achievement and currently quite like the 12 week year format (it’s a book, decent read but for a short version there’s a video on my TikTok!) The 12 week year has really resonated with me - it's all about focusing on what's most important and taking consistent, small steps towards achieving your goals over the course of three months, and then re-evaluating. So a year long goal gets broken into 4 three-month goals, then 12 one-month goals, and so on, until the minutiae of daily habits. It helps you focus on what matters most It keeps you accountable It allows for flexibility It helps you make progress faster Do you ever struggling with sticking to your goals and resolutions? How do you overcome setbacks? Overcoming setbacks in pursuit of your goals can be tough, but it's also an essential part of the journey towards success. Every challenge and obstacle presents an opportunity to learn, grow, and become stronger. I am a very emotionally driven person, when I get sad or anxious or I’m face with a negative life event, my goals are quite easily derailed. So for me it’s important to allow myself time to recuperate after a major setback, as it can be emotionally and physically draining to deal with challenges and obstacles. Taking a break to rest and recharge helps refocus and regain energy and motivation.I practice self-compassion and am not afraid to reach out for support when things feel overwhelming. I’m also a strong believer in setting boundaries for myself to protect my time and energy. Naturally some setbacks are less personal, things like the pandemic or tube strikes. In those cases I try to keep things in perspective: an old manager at lululemon used to say, at the end of the day, it’s just black stretchy pants and I apply that thinking to most areas of my life. Don't let setbacks define who you are or what you're capable of. Instead, use them as an opportunity to learn and grow. Are there certain times where you feel more motivated to set goals or resolutions? Naturally times like birthdays and new years have loads of messaging around goals and time passing, but in my experience I find birthday goals and new years goals are just that. They exist until I feel less festive and then things get difficult. I find the goals that come to me in the other 75% of the year are actually more in line with what makes me feel happy and healthy. The 12 week year method really helps facilitate this for me. Furthermore according to a study published in the journal Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, people are more likely to succeed in their goals when they start working towards them immediately, rather than waiting for a specific time (like the new year) to begin. When we set a goal, we often have a burst of motivation and energy that can drive us to take initial steps towards achieving it. By waiting to start working on our goals, we risk losing that initial motivation and energy, which can make it harder to get started. So why wait for the new year to make changes that will make you happy? What advice would you give to others about setting goals and resolutions for the future? Check in with yourself to make sure your goals are your own and not what you think people expect from you. And don’t be afraid to set goals that people aren’t going to see happen, there have been points in my life where my goal has been to get out of bed every day for a week and they were probably more difficult and transformative than any weight loss or fitness goal I’ve set for myself.  Do you have any important personal resolutions for the next year? I have some goals from my previous 12 week cycle, including the turf games in summer 2023 hopefully, which naturally lends itself to some commitments around training style and frequency.  I think saying no more often is a big one for me. Not to everything by any means but I do a lot of things that I think I ‘should’ do and I usually go in eyes wide open knowing it’ll leave me not feeling great. So hopefully this year I’ll have the resolve to just say no straight off the bat!  That's a wrap! To keep up with Anj, check out her Instagram and TikTok. Read more