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January 31, 2009
WOD 013109
January 30, 2009
WOD 013009
Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:
"Nicole"
Run 400 meters
Max rep Pull-ups
January 29, 2009
WOD 012909
21-15-9 reps of:
"Elizabeth"
Clean 135 pounds
Ring dips
January 28, 2009
January 27, 2009
Go! Newsletter - February 2009
This month's newsletter is sponsored by Cafe Natura - best cup of coffee in town! If you're downtown, you owe it to yourself to stop. While you're there, say 'hi!' to Mama Belanger - Muffin Maker Supreme, and Mama of Tyler to boot! Personally, I like the salmon best, but others prefer the Asian Beef.
February's a short month, and we're CRAMMING it full of fun stuff!
For our second year, we're celebrating the new stat holiday - Family Day - with a big kids' party at SSMGC! We've rented the gymnastics club for two hours (12-2pm) on the 16th. Bring your kids, play with them on the trampoline, jumping track, spring floor, and foam pit! Open to kids of Catalyst clients! Last year, this was a RIOT!
Our FLAT-OUT BOOT CAMP continues into February! Starting Feb. 9, you can join the crew for an intense morning workout 3 days per week for 3 weeks. This is the Sault's First and Best Boot-Camp workout ! 9 classes, starting on the 9th, for $99! Easy to remember, simple but effective exercises, lots of laughs, and a great group. If you want to lose fat, this is the best way possible!
February 7, we'll hold our first Olympic Lifting meet. We've held Powerlifting meets in the past, but this is the first time testing our Cleans, Jerks, and Snatches in front of an international judging panel via the internet. No podiums, no pressure, just fun. This just in: we'll be hosting a pre-event Cleans Clinic with Nick Zossimas, OLY lifter and Catalyst Gym member. Clinic starts at 8am, meet starts at 9:30!
February is Heart Month,and Mike's got a program that will improve your cardiovascular health like no other. His new Running Group kicks off February 16, 2009! This is a running-for-fitness group; there's no distance goal attached. A good way to measure off the days until spring! Group runs start at 7pm, and as usual includes a food plan, running 'homework' plan, and Mike's incomparable charm.
Our biggest news in January: finishing (at last!) our new system of measuring fitness in clients: the CAT Scale. No one's ever put this much information about you together, tracked it, and shown you measurable progress every day. You can literally watch yourself improve online whenever you like!
We can't give you the link to the site yet, but you can download our new book about the testing procedure here, and schedule a test date with an elite Personal Trainer here.
Speaking of Trainers, we're very excited to have Lisa Proctor, BSc. joining our elite Team Catalyst! Lisa's been practicing up on kids for the last month (just kidding, but she IS the leader for our Catalyst Kids program, and it's really rocking!) and she's really excelling in the gym herself! She's a teacher, a gymnastics coach, and if you've been on the Catalyst Gym site in the last few weeks, you've seen her in action. Lisa has a degree in kinesiology from the University of Calgary, and she's taking personal training clients starting February 1, as well as taking over the leadership for Flat-Out! Welcome, Lisa!
On a downer, January 31st will be Tiffany's last day (aka Sparkles, the Tiffinatrix, etc) with Catalyst in her current role. We'll miss her; she's a bright light in this industry! Good luck teaching, Tiffarino! On a positive note, Sarah Grand's new blog kicked off at the end of January. Follow Sarah on her incredible journey through cancer. Her original article was one of our most popular of all time; have some kleenex nearby!
Enjoy February. You have 28 days to make yourself better; make sure March 1 sees an improved version of you! Go!
January 26, 2009
WOD 012609
SEBASTIEN WETZEL, AGE 15, PRESSES 115lbs ON HIS WAY TO QUALIFYING FOR THE SPECIAL OLYMPICS.THE MEET VIDEO FROM SATURDAY WILL BE UP THIS MORNING - KEEP CHECKING!Five rounds for time of:
30 Glute-ham sit-ups
25 Back extensions
January 25, 2009
January 23, 2009
SATURDAY, JANUARY 24
AS SUCH, OUR 9AM CROSSFIT GROUP IS CANCELLED FOR TODAY. COME CHEER FOR YOUR CROSSFIT HEROES FROM 8:30AM-11AM.
GUEST LIFTER: MIKE MORGAN (1900LBS+ POWERLIFTING TOTAL)
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS: SEBASTIEN WETZEL, 15-year-old LIFTER AND SPECIAL OLYMPICS QUALIFIER
ANNA CAPPELLI, GOING FOR OUR FIRST FEMALE 300lbs DEADLIFT
JEFF LEONARD, GOING FOR OUR FIRST CLIENT 500lbs DEADLIFT
This meet will be videotaped and judged online by an international panel of judges. Lifters have 3 attempts at each: bench press and deadlift. Belts are allowed, but no other equipment. IPF Powerlifting rules apply (bar must pause on the chest, butt can't leave the bench, etc.) You want to see REAL bench pressing? Come and watch!
January 22, 2009
WOD 012209
Five rounds for time of:
45 pound barbell Overhead walking lunges, 50 feet
21 Burpees
Let trailing knee gently kiss the ground on each lunge.
Watch the Demo here.
Perfectionism - A huge hurdle to weight loss. We've said it over and over again. How do you know if you're a perfectionist? Use the 'room painting' example: if a room had to be painted, would you wait for the perfect time, when you could do the entire job at once, or do it bit-by-bit as time allowed? If you chose the former, you may be in trouble.
January 21, 2009
WOD 012109
For time:
15 Handstand push-ups
1 L Pull-up
13 Handstand push-ups
3 L Pull-ups
11 Handstand push-ups
5 L Pull-ups
9 Handstand push-ups
7 L Pull-ups
7 Handstand push-ups
9 L Pull-ups
5 Handstand push-ups
11 L Pull-ups
3 Handstand push-ups
13 L Pull-ups
1 Handstand push-up
15 L Pull-ups
January 20, 2009
January 19, 2009
WOD 011909
The Gals Are Rippin' It Up!
Saturday's Pairs Challenge saw 'Team Black' (Anna and Suzanne) beat the boys handily. They finished in 14:34 to take out Team Green, Team Red, and Team Orange - all mens' teams. Nice!
This Saturday, Anna and Lisa will attack our Push/Pull Meet. Will we see our first 300lbs deadlift by a female? No pressure, Anna!
Whitney's training for the Crossfit Games 2009 Qualifier. Under 100 women in the world will get to compete at the Games - and only 12 from Canada.
Sarah Grand, another superhero, started her new blog on the weekend. To celebrate, today's WOD is 100 Grand, Sarah's own creation.
"100 Grand"
25 ring pushups25 tuck jumps
25 knees to elbows
25 walking lunges
4 rounds for time.
January 18, 2009
January 17, 2009
A True Measure of Fitness: The CAT Scale
This may shock you, but your weight on the scale isn't really that important.
Ready for more? Neither is your BMI.
Scale weight and BMI are correlates of fitness - but neither can predict how long you're likely to live, how you'll die, or your quality of life in the meantime.
Research showing that increased mortality rates are associated with a lot of belly fat are okay, but they don't tell the whole story. Yes, people with more belly fat tend to have more heart attacks. But does the belly fat cause the problem, or is it just a clue toward the lifestyle of its bearer? If your waist-to-hip ratio is too small, does it GUARANTEE a stroke?
Consider this: elite athletes like boxers and gymnasts and bodybuilders would have a high BMI. If Evander Holyfield had gone to a Weight Watchers meeting when he was at his World Heavyweight Championship peak, wearing sweats and a poncho, they'd tell him he was obese.
At the other end of the scale, bodybuilders and other extreme dieters have a very low percentage of body fat, at least in competition. But sneak backstage at a major show, and you'll be shocked: oxygen tanks, dialysis machines, defibrillators.... Regular people can also be small without being any healthier. Picture the mall entranceway in the spring: skinny women in size '0' jeans smoking. At least you've got them beat.
Who is truly fit? Who is likely to survive longest? Who has their body working in unison hormonally, aerobically, neurologically, immunologically, digestively, and muscularly?
Here comes surprise #3: we've never known. There's never been a good test, backed by research and peer review, to determine overall fitness.
Until now. Introducing the CAT Score.
In a nutshell (you can read the whole file by downloading it below,) we've chosen 10 Elements of fitness, based on common scientific acceptance. For each Element, we've chosen a test, based on the following criteria:
- Longevity – they’ve been around awhile
- Peer-review – they’ve been used and critiqued
and argued extensively
- Scientific – they’re replicable
- Validity – they provide precisely the type of
information we require
- Simplicity – they can be done with minimal
equipment
- Rigor – while they can be performed by a
novice, their level of accuracy improves in the hands of a professional.
- Relevance – each Element must be challenging
even to one specialized in that particular Element.
- Objectivity - different people at the same levels would receive the same score.
From there, we've used the original scoring scale of each test, but assigned a numerical value (1 to 10) where there may not have been one before. On some tests, the original authors may have used a different numerical scale, or no numerical scale (using 'Excellent,' 'Very Good,' etc.) In those cases, we've simply assigned a numerical value to the same ratios on the same scale.
Each Element of fitness is rated equally. While it's tough to get a good score in the Strength category, a 9 out of 10 doesn't necessarily equate to a high overall score. If there's one thing to remember most of all, it's this: we're looking for a high level of overall fitness, including all aspects and forsaking none.
This project didn't happen overnight. As you'll read in the ebook below, this is the culmination of nearly 3 years of research, math, and testing.
Where are we going with this? Well, as you may have read in local media, Catalyst Fitness has received NOHFC funding over the last two years to develop an online training and measuring system. The CAT score is one side of that very big coin. The other side is currently with the engineers, but the beta version has been chugging along for six months, and it's really cool. It can't be unveiled yet, but here's a hint: you do your workout, then you log your score. It takes about 6 seconds. Watching your CAT Score, you notice your Stamina Element rises, and that adds a point to your total. You're progressing! You're now a 74 out of 100. You check your friends' scores - only 5 more points until you can say you're more fit than Tim! Awesome! Tomorrow is a running day, and you KNOW you're faster over 2km than last time - another chance for a point up on ol' Tim. Think you're going to make the workout tomorrow? We think so.
We encourage Catalyst clients, Catalyst Gym members, other personal trainers, and the public at large to try the tests. They're most accurate when done with a Catalyst Trainer (we've been doing trials for weeks now,) but they can be done on your own. All the information is in the ebook. Download away.
WOD 011709
RUN 10KM
- OR -
"The Twins"
Done with a partner, each team must complete a total of:
200 Kettlebell Swings
100 Pullups
200 Pushups
400 Squats
For time. Each team will be assigned a colour.As you count off reps, shout out, "Red Ten Pushups!" for the benefit of the scorekeeper. Exercises may be partitioned as necessary.
January 16, 2009
January 15, 2009
WOD 011508
"MED BALL MAYHEM"
3 ROUNDS:
20 WALL BALL
15 SITUPS (with Med Ball)
20 MED BALL CLEANS
15 PUSHUPS (on Med Ball)
Keep the same weight all the way through.
A great post from Crossfit Again Faster:
“In the bottom of a clean, quads burning, you’ll want to quit. Pulling deadlifts, the skin on your hands tearing, you’ll want to quit. Your body protesting, crying for relief as your veins pump waste, you’ll want to quit.
Your mind will scream from its high perch, commanding you to stop, lest you break, crash, and burn. Feeling the outer limits of your capabilities, it will hit every physical and emotional alarm in the arsenal, rocketing pain, misery, and doubt into your thoughts.
It would be easy to give in to the hot rush of your brain’s emergency brake. To drop the bar. To get off the rings. To let your knees collapse as panic breaths heave through your chest.
Don’t.”
January 14, 2009
WOD 011408
Overhead Squat 3-3-3-3-3
Suggested assistance work: light hang snatches, leg extension, knees-elbows
Our video demo from our exercise index section. Have you taken a stroll through our video archives yet? You can tell the age of the video by the hair on Mike and Chris' heads. We're currently updating the archives, as you can probably tell.
Looking for a great way to spend $6.37? You can buy "Enter the Zone" on audiobook for less than tminutes. I finished it in one round-trip to the gym. An excellent summary of the Zone eating method. Click the picture below to link to Audible:
January 13, 2009
January 12, 2009
Competitions At Catalyst - Winter 2009
We love competition, even against ourselves. Our Strength Coaches make people strong; our Trainers make people fit. What better way to test your progress than against your old PRs?
In 2009, our goal is to have a unique physical challenge each month. As we progress through the year, our goal is to add instructional and information-based events to the physical challenges. For instance, how would a seminar on Olympic Lifting right before a Clean and Jerk competition be? We think it would be great - for competitors and non-competitors alike!
Our calendar for 2009 thus far:
January 24th: Push/Pull Powerlifting Meet
Our two favourite traditional Powerlifts: bench press and deadlift. 3 attempts at each, rules available by clicking here. Belts allowed, no bench shirts or singlets. Bench press as per IPF rules - pause on the chest, wait for the 'press' command, then press.
March 14th - Murphy Challenge
February 7th - Olympic Lifting Meet
3 attempts at each: Clean and Jerk, and Snatch. Let's put these platforms to the test! Rules available here. We recommend watching the demo videos available at Virtualmeet - the difference between a 'Jerk' and a "press" is small but could result in a lift being disqualified.
It's one of our favourite WODs - "Murph" - done in a different shade. Green, that is. Dark green is good, Catalyst Green is better. The race: run a mile, then perform 100 pullups, 200 pushups, and 300 squats in any order. Then run another mile. First across the line wins the Big Green Something.
Think you've got a better test of fitness? Let us know! We take the suggestions of our athletes seriously. One word of caution, though: first to call the workout DOES the workout!
Article: Fall Of The Machines
"The gym industry is predicated on the idea of using machines because it is extremely cost-effective for them to train their staff on the use of those machines. In other words, it's cost-prohibitive for a gym to hire a strength coach to teach everybody in the gym...how to do squats, presses, and deadlifts." Mark Rippetoe on NPR, January 2 2009
Are weight machines better exercise than free-weight and bodyweight exercise? No. Are they safer? No. Are you surprised? Keep reading....
But are these things actually helping you? No. In fact, they could be making the problem worse.
We're a seated culture. We hunch for 8-12 hours every day. We lean over laptops, slouch on the phone, recline in front of the television. When it comes to sitting down, we've gotten pretty good at it. We could give lessons.
Add to this problem that we now have less time to exercise than we once did, and we've got the deck stacked against us.
When you're exercising, it's more critical than ever to use your body the way it was meant to move. It's absolutely essential to re-learn the correct way to sit down and stand up (squat,) bend over and pick something up (deadlift,) and lift something overhead (press.) Your body simply doesn't know how to DO these things anymore. Would your grandfather have hurt his back lifting the Purolator package onto your desk? Would grandma hesitate to climb up on a high stool to reach the 30lbs bag of flour in the pantry? I really, really doubt it. Yet these movements do pose real risk to the desk-sitter.
Sitting in place, locking your body into a seated position, and moving one joint on one plane is only making the problem worse. Your joints were made to stabilize themselves while moving against resistance. Want a good example of what happens to a joint that's stabilized in one plane of motion while free to move in another? Look at Neck-Stretching 
Rings. Yes, neck vertebrae are joints, too. The wearer of the Stretching Rings is free to move her head left and right, but the resistance is taken off the joint by the rings. Take them off, and she can't hold her head up anymore. Ah, beauty; no price is too large!
Why do gyms have a ton of machinery and few free weights? Forget the usual 'safety' excuse - it's a red herring. Frankly, it's very cheap to employ unskilled labour and instruct them on the use of machinery. It's quite another to bring a highly-paid strength coach into the gym for 16 hours per day and have them teach hundreds of people how to squat properly. How much difference is there? Triple the cost. Now, charge for 'Personal Training' on the same machines, by the same instructor, and you've got a large return on a small investment.
The system is against you. You've got to find your own way. Learn to do basic movements - they're exercises, but also fundamental necessities for your life - from a professional strength coach. Do them well. Do them with challenging weight, or do them fast, or mix them with other movements. Test yourself. Let your Trainer test you. Compare yourself to your previous score. NOW you're on to something.
One more thing: if you're looking to lose weight or just 'get fit,' you can't beat free-weight exercise. Not only will you burn more calories, but maintain your musculature (fat-burning furnace) and stimulate the right hormones to burn fat.
Look at our facilities: lots of open space, lots of free weights, lots of room to move. Few machines. This confuses a lot of people, and even turns some beginners off. However, once you know the difference you can make using your own body, your progress will astound you.
January 10, 2009
WOD 011009
RUN 5KM
- or -
"Lucky Sevens"
7 Rounds of:
Thruster x 7
Squat Jumps x 7
Pullups x 7
For time.
Catalyst Kids starts today! 9am at Queen Street! We can still squeak in two more kids - show up and go!
January 09, 2009
January 08, 2009
January 07, 2009
January 06, 2009
WOD 010608
Complete four rounds for time:
Run 400 meters
15 Handstand Push-ups
15 ft Rope Climb, 2 ascents
RIGHT: Crossfitter Ashleigh Sauve at her deadlift-friendly holiday party. Nice plates, Ash. This summer, let's hit up some garage sales!
Hey, if you can keep good posture in the deadlift without wrecking your silk dress, you've truly reached some kind of pinnacle in life.
January 05, 2009
January 03, 2009
WOD 010308
5 ROUNDS FOR TIME:
Run or Row 400m
10 Ring Dips
15 Overhead Squats
100-Day Burpee Challenge: Day 3. Do 3 burpees after the WOD
January 02, 2009
WOD 010208
With a continuously running clock do one 135 pound Clean and Jerk the first minute, two 135 pound Clean and Jerks the second minute, three 135 pound Clean and Jerks the third minute... continuing as long as you are able. Use as many sets each minute as needed. IRONY. Translation: we're not really sure what Crossfit is, but it's different and it threatens the status quo. We like our clients to pull and push, mindlessly, on machines that have no bearing on human movement, and not ask questions, unless it's to a 'certified fitness trainer,' who may or may not know any other way. We're not entirely sure about weird stuff like 'work capacity' and 'intensity' and evolution, so we'll throw out the 'unsafe' tag to keep people on our side of the fitness fairy tale. PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN! REALITY: Crossfit is safer than your machines. It fixes problems that machines cause. It improves your basic human movements. Plus it's fun, it's quick, it's something different every day, and it only makes money when people show up, instead of charging people for memberships they don't use. Yes, it requires good coaching. Yes, it's hard. But nobody's uploading videos of your workouts. No one's talking about you to their friends. Just keep looking straight ahead, and ignore the alarm bells warning you of the big iceberg ahead.
January 01, 2009
WOD 010109
"Murph" For time: Partition the pull-ups, push-ups, and squats as needed. Start and finish with a mile run. If you've got a twenty pound vest or body armor, wear it. ABOVE: RAY GOWLETT BREAKS THE 'FIGHT GONE BAD' RECORD WITH 363 REPS IN 3 ROUNDS. SEE YOU LATER, CLINT! ALSO, LISA LAWRENCE FINISHED THE WOD AS Rx'd WITH 221 REPS! NICE! WATCHING BELOW: ERIC ROSS, CROSSFITTER SINCE 2005, AND AFGHANISTAN VETERAN.
1 mile Run
100 Pull-ups
200 Push-ups
300 Squats
1 mile Run
