July 4, 2025 • 11 mins
After beating skin cancer, I didn’t tiptoe back into life. I charged into one of the hardest programs on Tonal: House Volume 2.
Why?
Because I needed to prove to myself that I’m not broken. That I’m stronger because of what I’ve been through, not in spite of it.
In this episode, I open up about:
🔥 Choosing hard on purpose
🔥 Why I push myself past the limit
🔥 The coach who taught me how to meet the tough stuff head-on
🔥 Training alongside my badass friend & the power of uplifting energy
🔥 What resilience really looks like after cancer
This one’s for anyone who’s walked through hell and came back lifting heavier.
This one’s for the fighters. 💪
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hey, welcome back to Strength inNumbers where we don't just lift
weights, we lift ourselvesthrough it.
All you guys know I'm Katie, andtoday's episode, it's one of
those where I'm gonna talk aboutwhy I chose one of the hardest
programs on tonal, I think Houseof Volume two, right after
beating skin cancer.
(00:21):
I didn't want it to be like, Ididn't want my first program to
be easy.
I know a lot of people werelike, oh, she's probably gonna
do Power Bill.
She's gonna go right towardsPower Bill.
I wanted something that wouldlike push back at me so I could
prove I could prove something tomyself that I'm still here.
I'm still strong and dedefinitely not broken.
(00:43):
This episode is all aboutresilience and choosing that
hard on purpose and refusing tolet life cancer write the ending
for you.
I'll also get into why I pushthe way I do and the incredible
connection I have with my coach,and how doing this alongside my
badass friend was a whole epicexperience, even more electric.
(01:07):
So let's dig in because thisone.
It's from the heart and themuscle.
All right?
After finishing all the cancersurgeries, I knew I needed to
feel strong again, but I didn'twanna take a baby step.
I didn't wanna go to my comfortzone.
You know, I just wanted to get,I wanted something that was
hard.
I wasn't looking for that ease.
(01:28):
I, I wanted to prove somethingto myself.
So I decided House of Volumetwo, not in spite of, you know,
what I've been through.
Because of it.
It's intense, brutal.
And honestly, I, I craved thatbecause I didn't want to feel
fragile anymore.
I didn't wanna feel like, Ididn't wanna feel broken.
(01:50):
I wanted to face something hardand say, let's fucking go.
I needed to test myself to proveI was still standing.
I was still capable.
I was like, I was ready to takeon all the kind of discomfort it
was gonna bring, and I knew itwould make me stronger.
Not scared, so let's just sayit.
(02:11):
I know I push hard.
I'm not sorry about it because Ibelieve in myself more than
ever.
Not in acute kind of, you know,cute Pinterest quote kind of
way, but you know, you've beenthrough some things kind of way.
I didn't fight through cancer.
You know, I have our kid andrebuild my body just to take it
(02:31):
easy.
Now I push because I can,because I want to, because
showing up when it's hard isexactly how I remind myself what
I am capable of.
And also pushing hard is fun.
It's chaos.
It's sweet.
It's that moment when the musichits and you surprise yourself
by hitting another rep when yourbrain said, Nope, I live for
(02:53):
that.
It's not about punishing myself,it's about believing that the
best version of me hasn't evenbeen built yet and I get to
build her one rep at a time.
So let's talk about my coach,Joe.
Because this guy, he's, he's notjust a coach to me.
He's my mentor.
You guys know when I firststarted on training, training on
(03:15):
tonal, I just thought I was justgonna be lifting some weights
and getting stronger.
I was, but what Joe brought intomy life was this whole other
level of mental toughness, hisstyle of coaching.
It's not fluff.
There's no coddling.
He's just.
I mean, the jokes, the humor, Ilove it.
(03:38):
It's just raw, direct, and he'sjust incredibly smart and
exactly what I needed.
Joe just didn't tell me I couldbe strong.
He built the path for me toprove to myself.
I remember the few first fewprograms that I started with
him.
You guys know it was hard, likewhy am I doing this?
(03:58):
Like, I can't do this.
But what made me stick with it,it wasn't just like the gains
and, you know, getting, youknow, the numbers on the screen.
It was the mindset he wasteaching behind the programming.
Joe has this way of prepping youfor life, not just in the gym,
(04:19):
but every deadlift, every dropset, every burnout finisher.
It's like he, he's asking, yougot more.
And guess what I always did?
Even when I didn't think I did,for some reason on that screen,
he made me believe it.
He made me believe more inmyself.
He made me believe in what I hadinside me before I saw it in
(04:41):
myself.
And then cancer hit, everythingchanges.
After a diagnosis like that.
You wonder if you'll bounce backif your body will respond the
same way.
If somehow.
You know, you're less.
'cause I know that the thoughtprocess that was going through
my brain, I'm gonna try to getthrough this without crying
(05:04):
because it's never easy hearingthat word.
But in the back of my mind, Ikept hearing the same tone, meet
the stuff, meet the tough stuffhead on, and it was Joe's voice,
his style, his trust in theprocess that didn't vanish.
(05:25):
I felt like I was soccer punchedwhen I came back.
I didn't wanna just ease in.
I wanted to show him, and Iwanted show myself, show my
family that everything that I'velearned from my coach, from my
life, I kept it.
(05:46):
I lived it.
That I didn't just want, I just,I just didn't wanna hear his
cues.
I, I absorbed them.
I wanted him to see that thiswasn't just about reps and
recovery, it was, it's aboutresilience, about walking into
house of volume two.
Like I'm still standing, let'sfucking go.
(06:10):
And truthfully, it meanssomething deep to me to make,
you know, my coach proud.
I don't need his applause.
I don't need PR bells orfireworks.
What I need is to know that theperson who helped shape the
fighter in me seized what theeffort was built and that I'm
(06:30):
gonna keep moving forward.
Joe's just not my coach.
He's a part of my comebackstory, multiple comeback
stories.
He's, he's part of my, he's abig part of my story, and every
time I pick up that weight anddo the work I.
I am saying thank you withouteven needing to say anything.
(06:53):
Doing House of Volume two wasextra special, especially being
alongside one of my goodfriends.
It was a game changer.
She was there for me when I gotthe cancer diagnosis.
I, there's something powerfulabout sweating through hell with
someone who gets it.
(07:14):
Someone who shows up, encouragesyou and then hits you with girl,
my chest is still on fire, butwe just kept going.
Watching her and hearing abouther, crushing her goals every
week, amped me up in a way Ididn't expect.
It is like this invisible energyloop that was like constant.
(07:37):
Every week she levels up, Ilevel up, we feed off each other
in the best kind of way, and theconversations, they're so
different.
When you're surrounded by peoplewho lift you, they're not trying
to shrink you.
It's not about burning calories,about, it's about building
muscle mindset and building thatmomentum.
(07:58):
There's no competition.
There's no comparison.
It's just 110% support and thatshared ambition.
And honestly, I'm obsessed withthis energy.
If you've never trained withsomeone who hypes you, that has
like a mindset and then textsyou an hour later that says, I
still can't feel my arms, youare missing out on the best kind
(08:24):
of sisterhood.
Finishing this program didn'tjust feel good.
It felt transformative because Iknow I didn't just survive
cancer.
I rebuilt something even betterAfterward.
Every rep, every pause, squat,every bench press, every sweaty
(08:45):
finish, every pushup reminded methat I am just not back.
I am different.
I am more patient.
I'm more present.
I'm more powerful because whenyou've had something threaten
your health, your life, youlearn how to appreciate every
single step back.
Resilience is not, is isn'tabout bouncing back.
(09:10):
It's choosing to step forwardwhen you could easily sit down.
It's doing the hard things notto prove a point to anybody, to
the world.
But to prove to yourself thatyou are still evolving this
body.
It's earned every drop of sweat,and I am not done yet.
(09:33):
So why did I pick one of thehardest programs on tonal after
beating cancer?
Because I wanted to.
Because I needed to, because Ibelieve in myself now more than
ever.
House of Volume two wasn't justa workout program to me.
It was a message to myself,you're still in the fight and
(09:53):
you're coming back swinging tomy coach.
Joe, thank you for showing mehow to meet the hard stuff head
on.
Your words, your programs, yourtrust in the process.
They built this version of meand I'll never show and I'll
never stop showing up because ofthat.
(10:14):
To my friend Amy, who crushedthis program alongside me.
You made every lift lighter,every win sweeter, and every
hard day was so worth it.
And you, my listeners, you know,whether you are just starting
out or crawling your way throughsomething really heavy right
now, you are not broken.
(10:35):
You are being built.
So go lift something.
Go do something heavy.
Go lift the heavy thing, go dothe hard thing, go meet yourself
on the other side.
So thanks for hanging out withme.
I'll catch you guys next week.
Until then, keep showing up,keep pushing through, and keep
proving to yourself thatstrength is never just physical
(10:57):
because of you.
You are built for this.
Hey, welcome back to Strength inNumbers where we don't just lift
weights, we lift ourselvesthrough it.
All you guys know I'm Katie, andtoday's episode, it's one of
those where I'm gonna talk aboutwhy I chose one of the hardest
programs on tonal, I think Houseof Volume two, right after
beating skin cancer.
(00:21):
I didn't want it to be like, Ididn't want my first program to
be easy.
I know a lot of people werelike, oh, she's probably gonna
do Power Bill.
She's gonna go right towardsPower Bill.
I wanted something that wouldlike push back at me so I could
prove I could prove something tomyself that I'm still here.
I'm still strong and dedefinitely not broken.
(00:43):
This episode is all aboutresilience and choosing that
hard on purpose and refusing tolet life cancer write the ending
for you.
I'll also get into why I pushthe way I do and the incredible
connection I have with my coach,and how doing this alongside my
badass friend was a whole epicexperience, even more electric.
(01:07):
So let's dig in because thisone.
It's from the heart and themuscle.
All right?
After finishing all the cancersurgeries, I knew I needed to
feel strong again, but I didn'twanna take a baby step.
I didn't wanna go to my comfortzone.
You know, I just wanted to get,I wanted something that was
hard.
I wasn't looking for that ease.
(01:28):
I, I wanted to prove somethingto myself.
So I decided House of Volumetwo, not in spite of, you know,
what I've been through.
Because of it.
It's intense, brutal.
And honestly, I, I craved thatbecause I didn't want to feel
fragile anymore.
I didn't wanna feel like, Ididn't wanna feel broken.
(01:50):
I wanted to face something hardand say, let's fucking go.
I needed to test myself to proveI was still standing.
I was still capable.
I was like, I was ready to takeon all the kind of discomfort it
was gonna bring, and I knew itwould make me stronger.
Not scared, so let's just sayit.
(02:11):
I know I push hard.
I'm not sorry about it because Ibelieve in myself more than
ever.
Not in acute kind of, you know,cute Pinterest quote kind of
way, but you know, you've beenthrough some things kind of way.
I didn't fight through cancer.
You know, I have our kid andrebuild my body just to take it
(02:31):
easy.
Now I push because I can,because I want to, because
showing up when it's hard isexactly how I remind myself what
I am capable of.
And also pushing hard is fun.
It's chaos.
It's sweet.
It's that moment when the musichits and you surprise yourself
by hitting another rep when yourbrain said, Nope, I live for
(02:53):
that.
It's not about punishing myself,it's about believing that the
best version of me hasn't evenbeen built yet and I get to
build her one rep at a time.
So let's talk about my coach,Joe.
Because this guy, he's, he's notjust a coach to me.
He's my mentor.
You guys know when I firststarted on training, training on
(03:15):
tonal, I just thought I was justgonna be lifting some weights
and getting stronger.
I was, but what Joe brought intomy life was this whole other
level of mental toughness, hisstyle of coaching.
It's not fluff.
There's no coddling.
He's just.
I mean, the jokes, the humor, Ilove it.
(03:38):
It's just raw, direct, and he'sjust incredibly smart and
exactly what I needed.
Joe just didn't tell me I couldbe strong.
He built the path for me toprove to myself.
I remember the few first fewprograms that I started with
him.
You guys know it was hard, likewhy am I doing this?
(03:58):
Like, I can't do this.
But what made me stick with it,it wasn't just like the gains
and, you know, getting, youknow, the numbers on the screen.
It was the mindset he wasteaching behind the programming.
Joe has this way of prepping youfor life, not just in the gym,
(04:19):
but every deadlift, every dropset, every burnout finisher.
It's like he, he's asking, yougot more.
And guess what I always did?
Even when I didn't think I did,for some reason on that screen,
he made me believe it.
He made me believe more inmyself.
He made me believe in what I hadinside me before I saw it in
(04:41):
myself.
And then cancer hit, everythingchanges.
After a diagnosis like that.
You wonder if you'll bounce backif your body will respond the
same way.
If somehow.
You know, you're less.
'cause I know that the thoughtprocess that was going through
my brain, I'm gonna try to getthrough this without crying
(05:04):
because it's never easy hearingthat word.
But in the back of my mind, Ikept hearing the same tone, meet
the stuff, meet the tough stuffhead on, and it was Joe's voice,
his style, his trust in theprocess that didn't vanish.
(05:25):
I felt like I was soccer punchedwhen I came back.
I didn't wanna just ease in.
I wanted to show him, and Iwanted show myself, show my
family that everything that I'velearned from my coach, from my
life, I kept it.
(05:46):
I lived it.
That I didn't just want, I just,I just didn't wanna hear his
cues.
I, I absorbed them.
I wanted him to see that thiswasn't just about reps and
recovery, it was, it's aboutresilience, about walking into
house of volume two.
Like I'm still standing, let'sfucking go.
(06:10):
And truthfully, it meanssomething deep to me to make,
you know, my coach proud.
I don't need his applause.
I don't need PR bells orfireworks.
What I need is to know that theperson who helped shape the
fighter in me seized what theeffort was built and that I'm
(06:30):
gonna keep moving forward.
Joe's just not my coach.
He's a part of my comebackstory, multiple comeback
stories.
He's, he's part of my, he's abig part of my story, and every
time I pick up that weight anddo the work I.
I am saying thank you withouteven needing to say anything.
(06:53):
Doing House of Volume two wasextra special, especially being
alongside one of my goodfriends.
It was a game changer.
She was there for me when I gotthe cancer diagnosis.
I, there's something powerfulabout sweating through hell with
someone who gets it.
(07:14):
Someone who shows up, encouragesyou and then hits you with girl,
my chest is still on fire, butwe just kept going.
Watching her and hearing abouther, crushing her goals every
week, amped me up in a way Ididn't expect.
It is like this invisible energyloop that was like constant.
(07:37):
Every week she levels up, Ilevel up, we feed off each other
in the best kind of way, and theconversations, they're so
different.
When you're surrounded by peoplewho lift you, they're not trying
to shrink you.
It's not about burning calories,about, it's about building
muscle mindset and building thatmomentum.
(07:58):
There's no competition.
There's no comparison.
It's just 110% support and thatshared ambition.
And honestly, I'm obsessed withthis energy.
If you've never trained withsomeone who hypes you, that has
like a mindset and then textsyou an hour later that says, I
still can't feel my arms, youare missing out on the best kind
(08:24):
of sisterhood.
Finishing this program didn'tjust feel good.
It felt transformative because Iknow I didn't just survive
cancer.
I rebuilt something even betterAfterward.
Every rep, every pause, squat,every bench press, every sweaty
(08:45):
finish, every pushup reminded methat I am just not back.
I am different.
I am more patient.
I'm more present.
I'm more powerful because whenyou've had something threaten
your health, your life, youlearn how to appreciate every
single step back.
Resilience is not, is isn'tabout bouncing back.
(09:10):
It's choosing to step forwardwhen you could easily sit down.
It's doing the hard things notto prove a point to anybody, to
the world.
But to prove to yourself thatyou are still evolving this
body.
It's earned every drop of sweat,and I am not done yet.
(09:33):
So why did I pick one of thehardest programs on tonal after
beating cancer?
Because I wanted to.
Because I needed to, because Ibelieve in myself now more than
ever.
House of Volume two wasn't justa workout program to me.
It was a message to myself,you're still in the fight and
(09:53):
you're coming back swinging tomy coach.
Joe, thank you for showing mehow to meet the hard stuff head
on.
Your words, your programs, yourtrust in the process.
They built this version of meand I'll never show and I'll
never stop showing up because ofthat.
(10:14):
To my friend Amy, who crushedthis program alongside me.
You made every lift lighter,every win sweeter, and every
hard day was so worth it.
And you, my listeners, you know,whether you are just starting
out or crawling your way throughsomething really heavy right
now, you are not broken.
(10:35):
You are being built.
So go lift something.
Go do something heavy.
Go lift the heavy thing, go dothe hard thing, go meet yourself
on the other side.
So thanks for hanging out withme.
I'll catch you guys next week.
Until then, keep showing up,keep pushing through, and keep
proving to yourself thatstrength is never just physical
(10:57):
because of you.
You are built for this.
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