Clark Bartram Articles

Clark: How did you get started in modeling?

Kathleen: I never thought about becoming a fitness model or even a model until my

second or third year in college. I can thank my friends for opening the

doors to my aspirations about pursing the fitness industry.

In July 2005, Miss Hawaiian Tropic (sun care company) held one of their

nationwide preliminary model searches in Utah. My friends heard the contest

being advertised on the radio and called to see if I was going to compete.

They convinced me I should try. I had done a few aerobic classes in

college, but other than those few activities I did not work out or have a

clean diet.

I had six days before the first competition and I put the pedal to the

medal. I made dramatic changes to my diet and went on a work-out frenzy! I

was shocked how much change I made in one week. One of my friends stopped

by my apartment to help me select my wardrobe and was shocked by my

transformation. I ended up winning and won a few more competitions. In the

end, I walked away with the Utah title and traveled to Hawaii for the

national competition. Since that moment, I have been addicted and because of networking with

others have been blessed with so many opportunities.

First, suspension exercises are a relatively new concept that is catching on fast in the fitness industry. I came up with a design about three years ago after playing around on my kids' swing set. The result was the Vegas Pro Straps. These straps are basically a handle at the end of some webbing that is height adjustable. There are a number of accessories that allow you to use them in various locations.

People are trying to compare Jennifer Hudson's version of the National Anthem to Whitney's Houston's stellar performance back in 1991 at Super Bowl 25. I say No Way, not even close!

Ya, Jennifer Hudson came back from a devastating loss, but that isn't the point. The comparison is who sang a better version and hers can't even compare to Whitney's in my humble opinion.

I get up pretty early in the morning and I'm always interested in what new infomercials are out there, so I'll sit and watch a few. One that comes to mind right off, because I watched it this morning, is The Perfect Pull and The Perfect Push Up.

I happen to know the Navy SEAL who invented it and appears on the spots, and let me tell you that he is one passionate guy and he has spent years developing and perfecting these products. He went through many failed attempts before his shows finally "hit" and became successful.

I've been fortunate over the years to be able to train with different people from different walks of life. From the physically challenged to the world's baddest, being the Navy SEALs and let me tell you these guys really do know a thing or two about "functional training".

Everything they do needs to translate into mission related performance. That being said, typical weight lifting isn't something that you would be doing if you embarked on a SEAL routine.

Back when I had my television show American Health & Fitness I shot the pilot episode with the Navy SEALs. The concept of my show was that I would do instruction throughout the show and then for the last segment I became the student putting myself in situations where I needed to depend on my instructor to help me finish the task at hand.

Well, when I did the pilot with the SEALs let me tell you needed my "swim buddy"!

We first did a "run, swim, run" where we ran a mile, swam a mile and then finished off with another mile run...and this was just the "warm up".

After that we did the obstacle course pushed me pretty hard. I completed it and gained the respect of this group of elite athletes. Trust me when I tell you that this community of men doesn't accept very many outsiders. Especially someone like me that was coming with television cameras and trying to prove that I could hang.

My desire wasn't to "prove' anything except that these guys are truly bad asses! Once the "alpha dog" syndrome settled down and they knew I was there for the right reasons we became good friends and I was actually given the honor of becoming an honorary member of Seal Team Three.

Honestly, my following comments have absolutely nothing to do with who is in office, but more to do with the "State of the Union"

When everyone was battling it out to get a seat in the oval office the economy was an area of discussion. "we will cut here to save money" "we will do our best to trim the deficit" so on and so forth. 

I was just watching the news and found it rather disturbing when I heard that it may cost close to 150 million to host this  "inaugural party". Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, U2 just to name a few are all a part of an event that will cost more than any inauguration to date.

 
 
A few weeks ago I was in a big Globo Gym squatting, not very heavy, but squatting none the less. As I finished my fifth set or so a "trainer" approached me and said, "Dude, that's bad for your knees"!
 
"What's bad for my knees? Squatting"? I replied. "No, going all the way to the floor like that." He said.
 
I didn't want to argue with this young, enthusiastic, over zealous trainer, so I just basic response was, "this is how I've been squatting for twenty years and I cannot do it any other way."
 
It's true though, very rarely do I see people performing good old fashioned butt to the floor squats.(or at least below parallel) I remember days back in the early eighties where we had full on squat workouts and if you didn't bottom out and puke you weren't leaving the gym.

There is nothing more fun than watching your children compete in athletics, especially when they are competitive. Competition in sports is great as long as it is kept in perspective. My kids love to get out there and give 100% at their given sport and I see that carry over into other aspects of their lives as well.

I think it's important, however, to understand the difference between competition in a sporting event and competition in other aspects of life. Things like looks, possessions, jobs and other things that really don't matter in the end. I think that type of competitiveness brings out the ugly in people, sometimes sports bring out the ugly in people too, but usually not as much. I've ran into more than my fair share of over zealous parents..trust me.

I guess my whole point is this. I think it's important to teach our kids the difference between the two types of competition. When Mitch lines up under center to start a play, or Taylor lines up on the track ready to run I fully expect them to be thinking, "I want to win"!

On the other hand I want to teach them that having that same attitude in life sometimes doesn't translate the same. My goal is to help them understand that if they always give their best, work hard and go above and beyond the call of duty...there is no competition. If they walk off the playing field and into life with an attitude of a winner and someone who always does their best in serving others, they will always come out on top.

I recently submitted an article about Eugene Blakely that got me thinking about how many inspirational people who are out there that may have never been heard of. We want to get their stories out there, printed in magazines but it seems no one will listen.

Well, let’s put and end to that! I want to give a venue for you to share a story/photos about yourself or someone you know who has been an encouragement to you or others. It may not even have anything to do with fitness, it could be anything. A teacher who inspired your life, or a friend who brings out the best in you, a parent, child, brother/sister your pastor, rabbi, whatever.

Personal Discipline is something mostly all successful people have in common. Most are willing to do things that average people won't or are afraid to.

I often refer to the Bible as a source of inspiration and encouragement, as do most success coaches. Many of them either mention a certain scripture or you can easily tell by what they say that they are familiar with scripture. Anyway, a good one for times like this would be:
"God does not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, love, and self-control." 2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT)