09/20/2025
MEET YOUR TRAINER!
My name is Katie Peavy. I became a Certified Personal Trainer through National Academy of Sports Medicine in 2011, but my fitness journey began long before that in 2002. April 20th, 2002 would become the best worst day of my life! My life changed that day with one decision. At 21 years old and no sense of mortality, I got on a mechanical bull and rode at almost full speed for 30 seconds. When it finally bucked me off, I ended up with a compression fracture of my L1 vertebra. In layman’s terms, I broke my back. My prognosis was a lifetime of pain, and pain management including prescriptions and physical therapy.
In 2005 I gave birth to my first child and my pain got worse. Labor and delivery shifted my pelvis causing even more pain. Physical therapy helped a little, but I still needed to take prescription meds every day to help with the pain and inflammation. I couldn’t even pick up my newborn out of her crib without excruciating pain, and if we had appointments, my husband would have to take the time off work to take us because I couldn’t lift our baby in her carseat/carrier.
In 2008 my husband got deployed to Afghanistan and I was left home to take care of our toddler by myself. Getting her in and out of the car, and getting groceries in and out of the car was so hard on me, I would have to take a full day to recover, just from grocery shopping, and found it was easier to pull a wagon and walk to and from the grocery store, than to load and unload the trunk of my car. The physical and mental demands of living in chronic pain while trying to raise a child took its toll on me, and I became depressed and insomnia set in. It was during one of those nights I couldn’t sleep that I saw a very well known infomercial for a fitness product called Turbo Jam, and I decided that might be what I needed to get myself out of the funk I was living in. So I bought it. Once I started, I was able to sleep better, my mind wasn’t racing as much at night, my depression lessened, and I noticed on days I used weights, I was in a LOT less pain the next day. This whole time I was still in physical therapy, doing ultrasound, high voltage, and TENS treatments on my back, with little to no difference in my pain levels.
In spring of 2009, the creator of Turbo Jam was advertising that she was coming out with a new program that focused on heavy weight lifting to build muscle, because muscle burns fat. Since I had noticed that I felt better on days we used weights in her Turbo Jam program, I was intrigued. I talked to my physical therapist and asked him if I should try the new program. He asked me why I wanted to start lifting weights and I told him I felt like strengthening the muscles around my injury may support it better to help lessen my pain. He said, “I don’t know if that will make much of a difference, but there’s no reason why you can’t.” There’s no reason why I can’t. I ordered the program as soon as it was available and started it as soon as it came in. I did the first three workouts with absolutely perfect form with heavier weight and lower reps, and something amazing happened: I woke up on day 4 and was able to stand up straight right out of bed for the first time in seven years! When I went to physical therapy later that evening, my physical therapist’s jaw almost hit the floor when he saw my improvements from the week before. My range of motion was in the normal range, and more importantly, my pain level was close to zero. He brought in all the other physical therapists to hear what I had started doing to make such a difference, and I told them all it was heavy lifting. We were doing deadlifts, overhead presses, rows, squats, and my favorite, Romanian deadlifts. That was the last time I ever went to physical therapy. In 2010 I had my second child, and lifted weights all throughout my pregnancy, which really helped me have not only a healthy baby, but a healthy body during labor and delivery.
With my new found life, I pushed myself harder than ever to pursue my dreams! I became a volunteer firefighter in 2011, and also became a Certified Personal Trainer that year, and Corrective Exercise Specialist. My passion is helping others and I get to do that as a first responder and in the gym. In 2012 I became an EMT, and also earned my Sports Performance Enhancement Specialization. I also started college that year and earned my Associates in Applied Science degree in Fire Technology, and Advanced Rescue Certification in 2014. I ran my first half marathon in 2012 and my first full marathon in 2013. In 2015 I gave birth to my third child, and lifted weights and ran long distances all through that pregnancy. Since then I have earned specializations in group personal training, behavior change, online personal training, weight loss, fitness nutrition, and earned certification as a nutrition coach. I started doing online personal training and nutrition coaching 2016.
In 2022 at 42 years old, I delivered my fourth child, and 5 months later I opened my first fitness center, Valkyrie Fitness Training, LLC. VFT is a 24/7 fitness center for members, and we offer full personal training, group training, and fitness classes such as boot camps and yoga. In the recent years I have also become a Senior Fitness Specialist, helping seniors to add years to their lives and more life to their years, and have earned certification in prenatal/postnatal fitness to help moms like me, and a specialization in home gym design.
One of the many things that makes me a good trainer is the fact that I can empathize with my clients. I understand what it’s like to have chronic pain, and I understand what it’s like to be overweight and struggle with weight loss. I was always an active person, but I still always had a few extra pounds that made life a little harder. With my first two pregnancies, I gained almost 50 pounds each and had to work very hard to take that weight off. I know what it’s like to live every day just existing, and I know what it’s like to take life by the horns and actually LIVE!
If you’re ready to take your life back and LIVE, I’m ready to help you get there! I have spots open for personal training and small group training, and we have yoga classes going on now! Click the link below to schedule your FREE consultation.
https://vft.gymmasteronline.com/portal/signup
