Q&A: Finding Healthy Body, Mind with Kate Allgood of Balanced Bodyworks

Kate Allgood is helping local business executives, professional athletes and weekend warriors improve their game. Allgood runs Del Mar-based Balanced Bodyworks to provide both physical and mental skills training to help people improve their performance.

Allgood is a certified Muscle Activation Techniques specialist and a certified sport hypnotist. She has a degree in psychology from Brock University in St. Catherines Ontario, Canada.

Patch sat down with Allgood to learn more about growing up playing sports and how she is now working with others.

Patch: Tell us about your experience as an elite Canadian athlete.

Kate Allgood: My experience as an elite ice hockey athlete really helped shape who I am today. To excel at something is a great feeling – it is a lot of hard work, but it’s also a lot of fun to focus your energy at becoming one of the best at something. There are definitely times when I miss being in that atmosphere and rising to the occasion of a big game.

Patch: Why did you start Balanced Bodyworks?

Allgood: I started Balanced Bodyworks because toward the end of my competitive career in hockey, I became passionate about helping athletes, especially through some of the services I had personal experience using. To have so much drive for something, but to be either physically or mentally “stuck” and not able to get to the next level or face having to stop competing, is one of the hardest things an athlete can go through. I love helping my clients push through it and be able to continue to enjoy their sport and excel at it.

Patch: Do you have clients in North County?

Allgood: I serve many clients from the North County area, as well as all over San Diego and in Canada. Some of my services allow me to work remotely, so I am able to work with athletes from anywhere.

Patch: What services do you provide?

Allgood: There are three main services that I provide: Muscle Activation Techniques, sports hypnosis and mental skills training. Muscle Activation Techniques (also called MAT) corrects muscle imbalances to relieve pain and boost overall functioning, and sports hypnosis improves athletic performance through mental visualization and reinforcement techniques. The mental skills training provides programs for individual athletes, teams, parents of athletes and fitness professionals, as well as executive coaching for business professionals.

Patch: Who are your “typical” clients?

Allgood: Currently I’m working a lot with high school athletes and “weekend warriors.” I have also worked with professional and college athletes, but the majority are teenagers or athletes over 40.

Patch: Who have been some of your more notable clients?

Allgood: I have worked with players from the Padres and Chargers, as well as Navy Seals.

Patch: Why do you think it’s important for athletes to balance both their mind and body?

Allgood: Most athletes focus solely on their physical skills and talents, not realizing that over 90 percent of their ability to perform is mental. No amount of skill is going to be effective if an athlete’s mind is not trained to perform and deal with high pressure situations. If an athlete really wants to get to the top of their game, they need to train their mind like they would their body. Just like it takes time to develop the physical skills and talents necessary for a sport, it also takes time for the mind to develop properly. This is something that needs to happen on an ongoing basis.

Patch: How would you identify your role—are you like a coach? A specialist?

Allgood: You could probably call me both. I specialize in high performance, but my role with my clients is more of a coach. I am coaching them to reach their highest potential through certain techniques and specializations. I help guide my clients, but they are the ones who make the changes and do the necessary work. I help them to see things they often already know. However, results are directly related to the client’s own willingness to do the work and openness to make the appropriate changes.

Patch: How long would it usually take for a client to see/feel results for Muscle Activation Techniques? Mental training?

Allgood: Results are very dependent on a number of variables. For Muscle Activation Techniques, the client’s medical history, how much stress they are currently putting on their bodies and how frequently they come in based off of my assessment and suggestions all play a part. That said, some clients will notice a difference after one session, while with others it will take a number of sessions.

For mental skills training, there are also several factors, including the client’s own openness and receptivity to the skills being learned. Again, some clients will notice a difference after one session, for others it will take a few sessions.

Patch: What has been one of your best success stories?

Allgood: There are a lot of great success stories, but two that stick out in my mind are helping a client go from barely being able to walk to being able to ballroom dance like he used to. Another success story is helping a teenage baseball player who lacked confidence and the ability to keep his emotions in check. Following his treatment, I received an email from his mom after his first game saying that his coach used him as a positive example of how to play. 

Patch: What is your favorite spot to go to in Del Mar when you’re not working?

Allgood: I like the downtown area and any beach in Del Mar – especially the dog beach, where I like to take my dog, Rylea.