Katie Wildhagen, CEO and founder of theBAKESHOP, is carving a space for women in health and wellness — one booty at a time. Her unique focus on core and glute strength has empowered and inspired confidence in women, including herself.

As a teenager, her sense of independence came from getting a gym membership. She was active and participated in many sports, including basketball. However, at 18, she went into cardiac arrest and was told she couldn’t work out anymore. 

“[My doctor’s] actual words were, ‘You cannot get your heart rate above anything past a walking pace,’” she said. “I remember thinking to myself, ‘That’s just not happening.’”

Despite this setback, she continued to pursue fitness and weightlifting, in particular, knowing that women, especially, need to lift weights as they age. 

“The heart thing actually led me to be in the gym more because, one, my mentality was, if you tell me I can’t, I’m going to figure out how I can. And two, I was going through a time where I was a kid going to college, but not as the college athlete I thought I was going to be, so I was kind of lost in who I was and the gym space was the one place where I felt like myself.” 

After working as a personal trainer with Equinox for nine years, Wildhagen founded theBAKESHOP to create exercise programs focused on core and glute strength. 

Inspiring confidence through core and glute strength

Women being accepted into weightlifting circles is still new. For many years, Wildhagen describes being one of the only women at the gym. 

“We were doing ourselves a disservice by not finding ourselves in those spaces,” she said. 

Her work in fitness turned toward making a space for women. She chose to focus on the core and glutes because she feels that the core and glutes are her center of power mentally and physically, and it is for many other women also. 

“I really felt powerful when I was feeling strong in my core and glutes. I really think it does have to do with a connection with the female essence and embodiment of how the physical is connected to our soul…When we work on that and we make it stronger, we are going to be stronger, we’re going to be more confident, we’re going to feel like we can conquer anything.” 

One of the best things women can do for themselves is find the confidence to focus on their fitness. Finding a space for women, by women, like Wildhagen’s, is the first step to gaining the strength and power within. 

Tapping into inner power for healthy aging

Building core and glute strength also lets women tap into their inner power and strength. Focusing on fitness as we age is paramount for maintaining a healthy body well into the golden years. 

“Your body will stay strong if your core structure, including your glutes, is strong. A lot of the time what we hear people dealing with when we get older is our back and our knees,” she said. 

For Wildhagen, the core encompasses the glutes, back, and abdominal muscles. She sees how each part of the body is connected and by working on the core, we are able to benefit our overall fitness and function. 

“We’re not going to have knee problems if your glutes and hips are functioning properly. It takes a lot of stress off of the spine and the knees, the things above the [core] and below it.” 

Building strength is a “superpower” for women, and she just wants to help guide women to finding what’s already within them. 

Building theBAKESHOP

To take her expertise in fitness to the next-level, Wildhagen founded theBAKESHOP, which features group fitness workouts focused on the glutes and core. 

The name of her fitness brand came from a nickname: “Katie Cakes.” She said since cake is another word for booty, “theBAKESHOP” just made sense as the perfect name. 

“So, not only do I have this obsession with booties, I am really passionate [about] wanting women to feel more comfortable in this space, but I was never the type of person that’s going to be all about aesthetics.”

A self-proclaimed booty-lover, Wildhagen wanted to create something accessible to all women. Her original Cakes Foodie Class is a 45-minute group fitness class that doesn’t require weights. If you have a band, you can do this class. 

Since starting theBAKESHOP, she’s seen how the health and wellness space has changed to focus on body positivity and body acceptance. 

“Culturally, [having a booty] was something that I know I was made to feel ashamed of. I grew up in a school where I was known for having a big butt, but it wasn’t really that big, it just was not the norm, and I got made fun of for it,” she said about the inspiration behind her mission. 

“I’m loving where it’s shifting now towards making our bodies and our butts the best that they can be in the way they are, their shape, their structure, and just using the idea that it is a muscle, so we can build it.” 

Outside of her work at theBAKESHOP, Katie Wildhagen also hosts the "A Piece of Cake" podcast.