Choosing his path, overcoming limiting beliefs, and reconnecting with his identity as an athlete.
Member of the Month Kade Anderson has been putting in the work both in and out of the gym to be the best version of himself and is absolutely crushing it.
Keep up the awesome work Kade and thanks for sharing your inspirational story with us below!
Tell us a little bit about yourself (background, work, fun, etc.)
“I’m from Glasgow (Montana, not Scotland), which has officially been named the literal “Middle of Nowhere,” and moved to Missoula in 2013 to attend graduate school at UM.
After graduation, I started working as a therapist in a school-based mental health program and have since become licensed as an LCPC. Currently, I serve as the Director of Residential Care for Youth Homes, which allows me to work right in what for me is the sweet spot between direct clinical work and more systems-level work.
Outside of the office and the gym, I’ve been prioritizing spending more time reading and writing for fun, and now that the weather is starting to get a little warmer, I’m looking forward to getting outside for some hiking, camping, and rockhounding adventures.”
What is important to you health and fitness wise? (Why do you train consistently)
“There are the obvious benefits, but ultimately, training in this way is something that helps keep me connected to a piece of my identity I thought I had to give up at many points in my life. I fell in love with sports at a very young age, and while I didn’t quite have the language to put around my experience yet, I was realizing I was trans right at the same time.
This was in the early 90’s, and even though the spotlight wasn’t shining on trans kids’ participation in sports like it is right now–no bills, no highly publicized debates–I was growing up in rural Montana, and I did catch on pretty quickly to the fact that I was going to face some tough challenges and choices if I chose to continue playing sports.
After a miserable season of slow-pitch softball, I did stick with baseball until feeling like I had no choice but to switch over to softball, and even though I had a complicated relationship with playing, I fully invested in having a successful high school and college career.
The field was a place I could feel present and grounded and as whole as I could feel at that time. Being an athlete became a huge part of my identity, and it was an identity I could proudly and openly share with other people. And still, despite being a hard-working, high-achieving player heading into college, I ended up quitting a few weeks into my sophomore year for reasons I still couldn’t articulate.
Stepping away from softball felt like a tragic breakup with someone I deeply loved but wasn’t compatible with. I started spending all the time I used to spend in the gym and on the field in bars. I wasn’t taking good care of myself physically or mentally. I tried playing co-ed slow-pitch in the summers, but it just wasn’t right.
I gave it up entirely for a few years, briefly got back into doing some somewhat consistent at-home workouts and cleaning up my diet, and tried playing slow-pitch again after moving to Missoula, but eventually I felt like the same miserable kid who couldn’t stand to spend another second on a girls’ softball team.
It was around then that I started coming to the gym, and even though things were somewhat gendered–barbell sizes, prescribed weights, etc.–it didn’t seem to be anything anyone was paying attention to.
Walking into the gym was intimidating at first, especially as I was pretty self-conscious about how I compared to other people, but I stuck with it. I started making progress and started feeling like an athlete again. Still not quite at home within myself, but an athlete again.
And then the pandemic hit. During that time, I was forced to ask myself the same hard question I’m sure many of us asked ourselves during those early, uncertain months: “If the world is going to end, is this the life I want to be living when it does?” My answer was “no,” and I decided to change that.
I moved forward with parts of my transition that felt too overwhelming to tackle before, and in the process, I realized that I also might have been transitioning permanently out of organized sports. That came with a lot of grief. Some delayed, some fresh.
A lot of grief in sacrificing one, very foundational piece of my identity to pursue a more authentic existence, all with the noise of public opinion blaring in the background—noise that only seems to have gotten louder over the past couple years.
This time around, though, unlike the period of time in college post softball breakup, through barbell lifts and burpees and box jumps, I’ve been able to hold on to all of my pieces, all at the same time.
I’ve been able to quiet the noise and focus on living in alignment with myself. I don’t know when it might feel right to play a sport again, especially but what I am now fully clear on is that being an athlete–whether it’s because I’m on a team or because I continue to get myself out of bed at 5:55 every morning—and prioritizing my health and fitness is a core part of who I am, and I’m not fully happy, healthy, or whole without it.”
What are some things you enjoy about being a member?
“I’ve tried both traditional gym workouts and at-home workout videos. While I did have some success with both, having someone else programming an entire training cycle for you is a total game-changer, and having a regular class time with classmates and coaches who know you, what you can do, and when you don’t come to class helps with accountability, both in terms of showing up and working hard the whole time.
There’s no way I’d be choosing on my own to do half the things we do in the gym, and while I’d love to say that I’d push myself just as hard at home, that’s just not true.”
What results have you noticed over the last year or so both in and out of the gym?
I’ve been navigating some big transitions, especially within my work life over the past couple years, and while these have been overwhelmingly positive, all of the shifting of schedules and priorities was making it hard to find a sustainable routine.
It seemed like whenever I’d start to get some consistency going, something outside of my control would pop up, and I’d struggle to get back on track.
It was always, “I’ll start over next Monday,” or “When things slow down after ______, it’ll get easier,” but that just wasn’t happening. I knew I needed to make a change, but I really didn’t like the obvious choice: switching to AM classes.
I had, after many brief, failed attempts at becoming one, decided that I was “not a morning person.” Fortunately, one perk of being a therapist is that–at least sometimes–you’re able to use your skills on yourself. After a little self-administered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, I decided to approach my “I’m not a morning person” thoughts as self-limiting beliefs and shifted my focus to all of the pros of switching up my routine: more control and consistency, not having to choose between the gym and social events or spending time outside, more time for other hobbies in general, etc. and started setting my alarm for 5:55.
Since making the switch, I think I’ve only missed two scheduled classes in almost three months now, and those were both days I chose to take a recovery day as I was adjusting to the more frequent gym schedule.
I surpassed my goals during the last training cycle, adding 20 lbs. to my 3RM front squat, and recently was able to hit a random personal goal of hitting a 30″ box + 45# plate box jump.
I can’t wait to see what kind of gains I’m able to make this cycle, but I think the biggest success has been finding new motivation to keep challenging those self-limiting beliefs both in and out of the gym.
What keeps you coming back?
I think the style of training we do in the gym builds mental toughness just as much as it does physical strength. I’ve recently found myself able to do things I couldn’t do or do very well before, whether that’s lifting a certain weight, rowing a certain 500m time, or cycling T2B, I’m more motivated than ever to keep pushing the limits of what I can currently do.
If you were a flavor of ice cream what flavor would that be and why?
Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked, because I’ve sure eaten enough of it. This could also double as an answer to the previous question.
Massive Thanks to The Patio at Rattlesnake Market for sponsoring our Member of the Month!!