Back Squat 5-5-5-5-5
Doesn't this picture make you wish it was deadlift day today? That's 500lbs, kiddies.
Tonight at Strongman: Hex bar DL to max, Back Squat 5x5, Farmers' Walk. Free for gym members (7:30.) Featuring the best of the Catalyst Gym Grunts.
This will be our thread for pictures, video, and stories. Click 'Continue...' or 'Read More' below to see. Official results are below. Keep checking regularly - our spectators have been sending in hundreds of photos and hours of video! You send 'em in, we'll put 'em up! If you need help sending files, please click 'contact us' to the left. Thanks!
Continue reading "Catalyst Games - Lights And Sounds NEW VIDEO!" »
FIRST OFF, THANKS TO JOE SCOTT, OUR HEAD JUDGE. JOE'S A ROCKIN' CROSSFITTER WHO EMBODIES THE CROSSFIT SPIRIT. WHO ELSE WOULD JUMP IN AND DO 'MURPH' WITH US AFTER A FULL DAY OF JUDGING AND ON AN EMPTY STOMACH?
POINTS: TRUCK/DEADLIFT/MURPH/TOTAL
Open Class:
Gowlett 10/10/10/30
Strickler 8/7/9/24
Wardell 7/6/8/21
Cappelli, Ed 5/9/6/20
Keating 8/5/5/18
Heroes Class (grouped with Open for points)
Cyr 6/8/7/21
Cappelli, Anna 5/5/5/15
Trainer Class:
Watson 8/8/9/25
Belanger 9/9/8/26
Kubis 7/7/5/19
Cooper 10/10/6/26
Corelli 6/6/10/22
Scott DNF/DNF/7
FULL EXPANDED RESULTS BELOW (CLICK 'CONTINUE POST.')
PUSH JERK 5-5-5-5-5
I know, it's a repeat. But who trained yesterday?
Now accepting pics and video from Catalyst Games 2008! Email us for our Google Video upload password, and we'll share with the world (or not, we can make them private-access only also.)
I know there's some great footage out there - share it if you please!
Thanks to all. Official results will be posted later today.
Sunday 080928
Push Jerk 5-5-5-5-5 reps
The Winners' Circle - Catalyst Games 2008
Check tomorrow for video, pics, and the 'tale o' the tape!'
It's Catalyst Games Day.
See you at 99 Industrial Court 'B.' Rules are below. Timetable:
8am - bench press/truck pull combo
10am - deadlift to max
12pm - 'Murph'
All proceeds go to Christy's Light Foundation. 3 classes: Open (everybody,) Fire/Police/Military, and Trainers. The battle between Trainers is getting very intense, including a LOT of chirping! Cheer on your favourite Catalyst Trainer (or heckle them. It's your chance!)
Cafe Natura will be on hand - if you haven't had their coffee, you've gotta add it to your 'life list.' We'll have a charity food booth there too.
Anyone can finish. Anyone can compete. Let's support this very worthwhile cause, have a good time in the progress, and make a couple of 'sweat angels!' Don't miss the return of 'Intern Taylor!'
30 Muscle-ups for time
Post time to comments.
If you cannot do the muscle-ups do 120 pull-ups and 120 dips.
We're on Elitefts today. Elitefts is the brainchild of Dave Tate, one of the famed Westside Barbell athletes. Westside (Louie Simmons is the founder) helped shape a lot of my athletic career, had a huge influence on how Catalyst coaches behave during workouts (loudly,) and are, in general, a bunch of guys who want to help. If you're in powerlifting, you know who they are, because they're the best.
This is a picture of me, 8 years ago, lifting in my first powerlifting meet. Everyone else in the picture is an inmate. The picture is in a US Federal Prison. Without the Morgan brothers and guys like Dave Tate, I'd never have been there. Powerlifting had a major formative influence on the way I - and Catalyst - operates: it gave me insight into lower back training and rehabilitation (and prehabilitation,) coaching, competition, and what's "possible" in life (pretty well anything, if you go for it.)
Hardcore powerlifters browsing this site today may wonder at my affinity for Crossfit. Crossfitters may wonder at my continued enthusiasm for powerlifting.
So, to powerlifters: Crossfit had 5 women waiting here Tuesday night for me to arrive. They were waiting to pull a truck. They're jacked to hit PRs (hell, even knowing what a 'PR' means is a big deal, you know that) in deadlifts, and they perform when I'm behind them, yelling into the backs of their heads. You can see video here. Crossfit gets people INTO powerlifting, whether they realize it or not.
To Crossfitters: on the last Deadlift 1-1-1-1-1 day, if my Trainers had all posted to the main 'Comments' board, we'd have registered the heaviest 3 deadlifts on the day. That's not bragging, it just shows where our emphasis lies; our running coach pulls over 450 unbelted. The success of a Crossfit affiliate is largely determined by its level of coaching. Powerlifting gave us a major boost in that area.
See you at the Games tomorrow! 8am start (Kelly will have coffee on at 7:30 from Cafe Natura.)
"Nicole"
Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:
Run 400 meters
Max rep Pull-ups
Right: Mike Watson's ready for Saturday. Are you?
Catalyst Games Timetable:
7am - registration open, coffee from Cafe Natura, tour the gym
7:45am - competitors' meeting, rules review for all events, weigh-in
8am - Bench Press/Truck Pull
Open Category
Fire/Police/Military Category
Trainer Category
10am - Max Effort Deadlift
Open Category
Fire/Police/Military Category
Trainer Category
12pm - "Murph"
Open Category
Fire/Police/Military Category
Trainer Category
2pm - Awards
OFFICIAL RULES ARE BELOW. CLICK TO READ.
Here's the 9am Tribe Hitting Filthy Fifty:
Affectionately referred to as, "The Filthy Fifty"
by Crossfit vets,
For time:
50 Box jump, 24 inch box
50 Jumping pull-ups
50 Kettlebell swings, 1 pood
Walking Lunge, 50 steps
50 Knees to elbows
50 Push press, 45 pounds
50 Back extensions
50 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball
50 Burpees
50 Double unders
Ohhhhhh, yeah. It's gonna be like that.
In the 'Good News!' file: Beth is back doing pullups! Here she is, showing her 'war face!' Good girl, Beth!
Run 5k.
Alternate: Barbara
20 pullups, 30 pushups, 40 situps, 50 squats
5 rounds for time.
Here's Chris' first 5 reps of Grace yesterday. While not perfect, still much prettier than the last 5!
Simplicity Meets Science: Mendy's Crossfit Metaphor
This morning, Mendy was worried she'd be too tired to count rounds of 'Barbara,' today's alternate WOD. She used rocks as an abacus.
Brent Fryia's a guy I admire. I've liked him since I met him a decade ago. He knows more about training - preparation, coaching, mentality, and physicality - than 99% of coaches and athletes out there. He's done a lot already, and he's right on the cusp of a great career as a MMA fighter. Oh yeah, he's a teacher at CASS, and part of our Training Team (wrestling.) This email from Brent this morning sums up why I like Brent so much:
I'm not nearly as fight ready as I'd like to be. I cranked my knee about three weeks ago and thought it was nothing... and then it didn't go away and it's still bugging me. I haven't been able to train quite the way I would like, but such is the nature of the sport. The guy is pretty good but I've got some good scouting on him and we've put together a game plan that should work. And if it doesn't, there's always plan B (Swing for the fences).
....no complaining, just a statement of fact, identification of a possible problem, and solutions to match. Excellent preparation, willingness to share success with a team (we've put together a game plan..., referring to his training buddies at Jim Liguori's facility) and BONUS: a plan 'B.'
How can you help but like a guy like that? Have fun this weekend, Brent!
It's Chucks. With an arrow on them. There WILL be a Christmas after all, kids!
The Great Wall of China took 1000 years to build (6th Century - 16th Century, primarily.) It stretches 4000 miles. At its peak, over a million men patrolled its walls.
Enter Genghis Khan. Faced with the formidable wall, Khan didn't try the same thing that had failed for other armies (attacking the longest stretches with full siege equipment, archers, and horses.) Instead, he bribed the gatekeepers. The Chinese dynasty fell to the barbarians.
Type II Diabetes is caused by a lack of insulin sensitivity in the muscle. Every time you hit the cell with an insulin spike (following a glucose, or blood sugar spike) it gets a little better at resisting insulin. It fortifies its defenses.
A cell operating normally has no problem with insulin; too much, though, and the walls start to go up.
Exercise makes muscle cells more sensitive - less resistant - to insulin. Instead of dieting to lose weight, why aren't we just bribing the gatekeepers?
Pick up your gear and represent your new Crossfit addiction! Guys and girls' shirts available!
Got a great shirt idea? Email it to us!
Click the 'STORE' link (left) to enter!
This week, I was comparing insurance quotes for our two facilities and diverse group of Trainers. There are really only two providers in Canada; these are emails from the company we DON'T currently deal with:
Hi Chris
Thank you for your interest in our program.
Unfortunately, we are unable to insure Crossfit facility.
When I asked, "why not?" in my usual polite fashion, I got:
Hi Chris,
When our carriers looked into the Crossfit operations, they were concerned that the training methods were outside what we are able to cover (ex. Olympic weightlifting, tractor pulls, etc.)
Tractor pulls. Really.
Don't get me wrong: if there were tractor pulls in Crossfit, I'd love it even more! And Olympic weightlifting? Compare the injury rates (3 per 10,000) to soccer (1 in 7) or football (1 in 3) and the logic just doesn't follow.
Add to my argument that the certification process for Crossfit is one hundred times more stringent than Can-Fit-Pro or any of the dozen 'weekend-and-website' certifications that the company DOES cover......
...and where are we? Well, it's more frightening than you think. It means that the 'fitness' concept isn't just being watered down externally (gyms, media, 'core' gadget infomercials) to attract the less fit; it's being watered down as part of a larger mandate by insurance companies. Do Crossfit? Don't get insured, at least not with these guys! Do BOSU balls and other useless stuff? Sure! No, they don't work - but no one gets hurt, either!
Does 12 years' experience count for anything? Nuh-uh. Degrees? Nope. Physio on staff? RMT specialist in-house? Huge array of professionals to turn to in times of trouble? Nada. But if you read Oxygen magazine this month, or maybe Womens' Tone 'n Trim Weekly, and send in your cheque, we'll back you to the hilt!
Think about how this all trickles down to you, the one sweating through another aerobics class with a new name and spongy pink bars: what useful information is the instructor not telling you? What does your coach NOT KNOW that they should? What's Big Brother keeping from me?
Crossfit doesn't cause injuries. Ignorance causes injuries.
If the purpose is noble, the preparation is easy.
One of my favourite WODs ever!
2 new records: 3:27 by Luc, and 3:53 by Suzanne! Here's the crew afterward, showing their contempt for 225lbs!
From left: Luc, Karen, Anna, Ed, Philsy, Shawn, and Suzanne.
Good times! Videos to follow!
"Diane"
21-15-9 of:
Deadlift 225lbs
Handstand Pushups
Are you dedicated - even on days when it's outside your 'normal'?
...off the ground and into the record books at 7am today! Sick lift!
On a nice Saturday morning, Phil, Eddy C. and I committed our deadlifts to internet perpetuity. Had a nice warmup. Speaking for myself, I know I could have eaten more the day before; I came in light, further underscoring the lack of food.
Phil opened right up with 365, which was a PR. A big risk, but he nailed it without a hitch (literally) to get 3 white lights (2 is a pass.) Ed got it too, no problem.
385 - Phil hit it, Ed missed.
400 - Phil missed. Ed missed his second attempt at 385. Good form, just gotta get stronger - and that's after only about 2 months of deadlifting EVER!
I opened at 465, which is high as an opener for me, but I was aiming for a 515 lift on the day, and wanted to jump right to 500. After all, I'd had a 485 unbelted AND a 510 within the last 2 weeks.
465 zipped right up, but I noticed I was slow off the floor, and my legs extended faster than my back could keep up. I decided that it was good - that my hips were stronger than I was used to, that's all.
It REALLY meant that I'd lost a bit of strength in my lower back. Even though your hips really determine the lift, your back has to be able to maintain spinal arch integrity, and guess what? Mine can now maintain integrity through 465lbs - but not 500.
Surprisingly, 465 alone was enough to win the meet. We'll go again in December - who's in?
"Michael"
3 rounds for time:
800m run
50 situps
50 back extensions
below: Shawn Cyr finishes Fight Gone Bad on 090908. He's ready for the Catalyst Games. Are you?
Five rounds for max reps of:
Body weight bench press
Pull-ups
Body weight back squat
Post reps for all three exercises in all rounds.
Picture: Scot Mendelson (left) and Gene Rychlak (right,) the two first men to bench press over 1000lbs.
Splash, don't skip.
If you really want to know how something works, immerse yourself for a month. I did.
We ran Crossfit for months before I did a real, honest-to-goodness WOD. But the shameful truth is that I KNEW about Crossfit in 2003. I dismissed it.
In 2006, when we launched our study into exercise adherence, the results were a real shock: people liked exercise that was broad, general, inclusive, and unexpected. In other words, people like Crossfit - they just don't know it yet!
Putting Crossfit into black and white is like 6 blind guys describing an elephant: depending on where they are, their description is much different! Starting Crossfit after powerlifting for 3 years, my concern was loss of strength. Runners, though, worry about bulking up too much.
Do Crossfit for 1 month. If you can bear it, do Crossfit and nothing else (if you're doing it right, you shouldn't have anything left to give after the WOD anyway!) Watch what happens (hint: you won't lose strength - my deadlift hit an all-time PR of 520 in May, after a month of Crossfit.)
Drink the Kool-Aid!
Kaizen (改善, Japanese for "improvement") is a Japanese philosophy that focuses on continuous improvement throughout all aspects of life.
A key philosophy of Catalyst is continual, broad-based improvement. That means more than just physical fitness, more than just 'wellness,' and more than just 'health.'
Physical well-being is a cornerstone to a happy life, full of meaning and purpose. So is mental health, spirituality, and self-actualization. Like physical well-being, these other cornerstones require practice and exercise.
While there are hundreds of exercise books and theories and websites, there are very few texts that exist to provide day-to-day coaching toward a well-rounded existance. Sure, you'll find 'self-help' books galore on Amazon.com; you'll get great advice on living a decent life at your religious service of choice. These are important and shouldn't be skipped.
For practicality, though, it's easier for most of us to take one actionable item per day and execute it. Improve in one area per day, instead of procrastinating for the one 'perfect' moment or lightning strike.
Like Crossfit has done for exercise, we will attempt to do for Kaizen. Daily, you'll be given a simple (but not easy) task. Some will take 5 seconds. Some will take longer. Sometimes you'll be taken out of your comfort zone: these are the most important ones!
Like exercising, self-improvement must be done in small, incremental steps. You can't skip the gym all week, and expect to make it all up over the weekend. Likewise, waiting for the annual 'retreat' won't trigger long-term, permanent change.
Our Kaizen blog, with daily WOD, is here.
Here it is: the Title Belt. Exclusively for the Catalyst Games. Engraved: Catalyst Games 2008 Champion. 6 are up for grabs (1M, 1F for each of 3 categories.) Get training!
"Grace"
30 reps of Clean and Jerk for time!
Men: 135lbs
Women: 75lbs
First-timers to our gym usually do a double-take. Since fitness culture has burrowed headfirst into machine-dominant, seated training, our concept of functional movement at high intensity isn't always the familiar one. After a weekend of boot camp, new Crossfitters can get their head around our setup, at least a little. It takes a good month of solid, intense workouts to 'get' Crossfit, and it's the same at Catalyst Gym.
The point of 'working out' is not to 'work out.' It's not self-fulfilling. Simply 'working out' doesn't guarantee you anything - saving the game, saving the mission, saving your life - at least, not for long. When you start, ANYTHING will work. But you can't keep starting forever.
The point of physical exercise is continual PHYSICAL self-improvement. That can be true in a broad sense, such as Crossfit, or in a narrower one, such as sport-specific improvement. It can mean a lot of things to different people. However, showing up is not enough.
In the same way that going to church doesn't magically endow you with spirituality (religion, like any love affair, takes work) a gym membership doesn't bless you with fitness. This is also true of education: showing up doesn't get you an 'A' - at least, it shouldn't. Grading based on attendance, especially at the college level, is building an unrealistic expectation into young people that just 'showing up' counts. It doesn't. But I digress.
We want you to get your butt in here, shake it around, and leave better than you were. If we can do that in 20 minutes, why would you want to hang around for 2 hours? Sure, be friends with your training partners. Take them for coffee after 'Fran.' Buy your spotters lunch. But don't base your social network on gym people.
We celebrate success more loudly than most. We yell and cheer and bark encouragement. We love you. But we didn't build our gym so that you'd hang around here longer. We built our gym so you'd achieve personal growth. Now let's go for coffee.
Below: pictures of a member's membership card exercising. Gotta admit, that card looks GREAT: lean and hard, not flimsy. Wonder how the client's doing?
