Kathy Laucius Interview

After the birth of her second child, Kathy Laucius decided to "get serious" about her physique. Well look at the pictures and you can see what happens when Kathy gets serious. She says she is as of now, retired from competing. The stage's loss is her clients gain, because she is clearly serious about her personal training, and as I said, look what happens when Kathy gets serious. Whether she competes again or not, Kathy is a great representative for women in the sport and a great role model for women just starting.




Q: Kathy I want to thank you for taking the time to do this.
A: Thank you. I'm always excited to share my story as well as learn from other female athletes & competitors.

Q: Can yous tart out by telling a little about yourself.
A: I've lived in Houston for 21 years. After graduating from the University of Missouri, I drove South & never looked back. In my previous life, I was a sales/marketing rep for various companies. After having kids, I decided to be a stay at home mom. My children are now 9 & 11. I'm one of those that found fitness later in life (mid-30's) so I decided to take my passion and become a personal trainer in order to help others achieve their goals.

Q: What initially led you into the gym?
A: I was never the athletic type. I never played sports or really cared about exercise. Only after the birth of my 2nd child, did I decide to hire a trainer & get serious about my physique.

Q: Was training something you picked up fairly easy? How long before you saw results?
A: Surprisingly-YES! I started to see the changes almost immediately from a 3 day workout plan of strength training so I was hooked. But, it wasn't until several years later that I truly learned how to change my physique with a clean diet. That's when I knew I was in this for life.


Q: What made you decide to compete for the first time?
A: At the age of 40, I had finally reached my transformation. I decided to take it to the next level & hire a trainer that specializes in preparing men & women for competition. I knew this was an experience not to be missed. My trainer, Hal Louis of Houston TX, made me believe anything was possible. I am so grateful to him & he has been one of the most influential people ever to come into my life. Without him, I don't think I would have made it.

Q: Was competing something your family and friends supported?
A: Hmmmm-well, my family supported my desire to train for something but they were very unsure of the aspect of a figure competition. But, I truly believe the concern my family had came from pure ignorance to the sport. Why would I put my body through all of this? What was the point? This sport is something that we all do for ourselves. Each one of us has our own reason for doing it. For me, it was stepping outside my box and proving that a 40 year old woman could do it. Pushing yourself to the limit is not something that can ever be taken away from you.

Q: Was competing what you expected or did anything surprise you?
A: I think the biggest surprise I found from competing was the camaraderie of all the competitors. We really are a small band of brothers & sisters. I had so much fun hanging out with the competitors behind the scenes. I also learned that I loved the training & prep almost more then stepping on stage...crazy!

Q: Can you share your contest history.
A: Contest History:
*June, 2008- South Texas Classic -Placing 2nd -Masters
*July 2008-Branch Warren Classic- DNP
*August 2008-South Texas Capital Roundup- Place 1
*November 2008- LaBrada Championships-Place 8
*July, 2010-NPC USA's- Place 16


Q: What would you say is your best body part?
A: I would have to say my shoulders. I love training them & by manipulating my workouts week to week, I've been able to keep them guessing & growing!

Q: Do you have a part you most like to train?
A: I wouldn't say I love to train legs but my favorite exercise are Smith Squats. I believe in going heavy to build the glutes & that has worked wonders for me.

Q: What is your normal training routine and diet like?
A: My training is a 5 day split: 2 days of legs, 1 day of Back/Bi's, 1 day of Chest/Tri's & 1 day of shoulders. Since I'm not competing anymore, I maintain 4 hours of cardio a week. When I was competing, my cardio regime was 10-12 hours of cardio/week.
I keep my diet very clean throughout the week & give myself a cheat day on Saturday.
My diet is the following:
Meal #1: 4 egg whites
1/4 cup oatmeal (measured dry)
1/2 grapefruit
1 tsp flax seed oil
Meal #2: 4 oz tilapia
1/4 cup brown rice
1 cup green vegetable (cooked)
5 almonds
Meal #3: Pre-Workout
1 scoop Whey
1 grapefruit
Meal #4: Post workout
4 oz tilapia
4 oz cooked sweet potato
Meal #6:
2.5 oz of salmon
2 Wasa crackers
Meal #7: 3 oz of lean ground turkey
1 cup green vegetables or 1/2 cup mixed vegetables


Q: When people see your physique for the first time, what is the most common reaction? More positive or negative?
A: I would have to say a little of both. One one hand, people are amazed by the commitment I make to my body. And seriously, the commitment comes in the diet-not necessarily the workouts. On the negative side, people would assume I was starving myself & that is a total joke.

Q: When they see it that first time what is the one question or comment you are most sick of hearing?
A: Again, that I must be starving myself to reach a certain level for competition. The problem is that most people could NEVER commit to a clean diet & they know that....so it's easier to just sit back & judge what they THINK we do as competitors.

Q: What is the biggest misconception about women who train and compete or the one thing you wish people understood?
A: I think the biggest misconception other than starving ourselves or spending hours in the gym is that we are all on drugs. I've had many people want to know my secret "cocktail" for competition. Secret cocktail? Clean food baby-and lots of it!

Q: What is the best and worst part of training for you?
A: The best part of training is watching my body change. I think that it is almost more of a high than actually stepping on stage. The worst part is knowing that I had 10-12 hours of cardio weeks prior to a show. That really wore me out.

Q: Are there any competitors you are a fan of or any you admire?
A: I admire so many that it's hard to pick just a few. I have admiration for anyone who commits to a competition, trains with all their heart & makes it happen.


Q: Do you have a favorite cheat food?
A: Oh yeah! I used to say Mexican but now it's Mediterranean...I love Pita Chips, Hummus & lots of potatoes with my lamb.

Q: If another woman told you she wanted to start training, what is the one piece of advice you would most want to give her?
A: My biggest piece of advice is to dig deep - REAL deep as to WHY you are competing. You need to be one with the goal. There will be days you will ask yourself "Why?" and knowing WHY is the key to keeping you on track. For me, reaching the national stage was the pinnacle of my bucket list.

Q: Do you think its becoming more common to see women weight training?
A: Yes, now that there is an abundance of info available to women it is definitely more of a phenomenon than ever before. Just being skinny isn't cool anymore. Now, the idea of having some muscle on your body is really the new look & the saggy look is out.

Q: Outside of training, any other hobbies?
A: My main hobby is researching the latest fitness trends. I'll try anything once & I'm proud to say I have a variety of athletic accomplishments on my resume.

Q: Describe a typical day in the life of Kathy Laucius.
A: The basis of my life is centered around my family & my training business. I wake up very early to do my cardio & then it's off to the gym after taking my kids to school. An average day of clients is anywhere from 5-10 as well as fitting in my own strength workout. I pick up my kids from school every day & then it's off to their homework/activities. I'm pretty exhausted every day but I pinch myself that I get paid to help others achieve their goals as well as have time with my family.

Q: Describe Kathy Laucius in five words.
A: Compassionate, Generous, Over-Active, Determined & Impatient

Q: What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
A: I absolutely hate shopping at the grocery store as well as cooking my food. It's a real chore to get these things done in order to stay on course with my goals.

Q: Any set plans for the near future?
A: I have retired (for now) from competing but my goal is to continue to build my PT business as well as help others who have dreams to compete.

Q: Anything you want to plug or promote?
A: Please visit my web site at www.kathylaucius.com I also have a fan page on FB as 'KLFitness'. I am always posting links & helpful tips for everyone's fitness goals.

Q: Are you looking for sponsors? If so how can they reach you?
A: I would love to represent all women over 40. I love inspiring my fellow women & especially mothers who think it's too late to get in shape. I can be reached at kathy.laucius@yahoo.com


Q: Kathy, again I thank you for doing this. Any last words before you go?
A: Thank YOU for the opportunity to be a part of this wonderful site. I have had many many wonderful moments in my life but training & competing is right up there with the best of them. Thank you again to my trainer Hal Louis for always having my back, for always believing in me & pushing me to reach my best and for all the wonderful hours of training.