Catalyst Athletic and Crossfit

Today's Workout: 043010

For time:
70 Burpees
60 Sit-ups
50 Kettlebell swings, 1.5 poods
40 Pull-ups
30 Handstand push-ups

Today's Workout: 042910

For time:

100 Double-Unders

75 Pushups

50 Air Squats

25 Pullups

400m Run.

Ty did it in 6:30 at CASS.  Go beat it!

June 4 is our Midnight 5k run.  Sounds like we have a band lined up, and there will definitely be some Family Time afterward.  But on the weekend before (May 30) is another great run: the Mountain Maple on St. Joe Island. 

Download MMR10 - pamphlet b&w March 24 2010 - Pamphlet

Download Mountain Maple Saplings brochure registration from 2010 - Registration Form

May Evening OnRamp

This is going to be a long summer.  Our snow was gone by May, and though temperatures haven't been far above the average, you're going to be outside a lot.  At friends' houses.  In backyards. Hopefully, at the beach.

In shorts.  In T-shirts.  In less.  Doing stuff.  Playing.  Digging.  Working.  Sweating.

This is NOT a beach-body ad.  Yes, I care about how you look.  Yes, I want you to seek occasions to take your shirt off.  But I'm more interested in what you do with yourself.

Will THIS be the summer you show up for your buddy's beach volleyball game and barbeque....or another summer when you politely decline, and watch movies inside instead? Will THIS be the summer you put 1000k on your bike - like you believed you'd do when you bought it - or will it it stay a statue in your garage? Will THIS summer be the one you wear shorts?  A sleeveless shirt?  Will you play frisbee? Will you sit on your blanket, watch your kids, and say, "Oh, I wish I had their energy?" Will you plant a garden?  Will you go to a party where you don't know anyone? 

OnRamp isn't just about abs.  It's about strength.  It's about slowly becoming a member of a community of happy, confident, exercising people.  Whitney and Coop won't introduce you only to deadlifts, squats, handstands, and snatches....they'll introduce you to two hundred others, all very different, all just like you. Better yet, they'll introduce you to the person you could be.  

Big promises, yes.  And we've never found, in decades of cumulative experience, a program that could deliver them - until we found CrossFit.

There's a person, standing only a foot in front of you, who's on that road already.  They're not yet among the uberfit; but their clothes feel a bit better.  Their chin is up.  They make more eye contact.  They're noticing their triceps.  Want to be in their shoes?  All it takes is one small step:

Register here for May OnRamp.  Evenings for two weeks with Whit, evenings for one week with Coop, culminating in Baseline Week: our annual week-long celebration of personal bests. If you choose, finish the week with a Midnight 5k run with about 50 of your new workout partners (and a band, and maybe a can of beer!) and a smile.  It's gonna be a great summer.

Today's Workout: 042810

Front squat 3-3-3-3-3 reps

Since last week, Chris and his shareholders have negotiated  a package to transfer ownership of Catalyst.  Chris and Robin now own Catalyst 100%!

Today's Workout: 042710

For time:
30 Handstand push-ups
40 Pull-ups
50 Kettlebell swings, 1.5 poods
60 Sit-ups
70 Burpees

"All my surfer dude bluster was straight gone, the “just for fun” commentary proving the shield of a man who didn’t want to face the prospect of caring and losing, of making this a matter of personal identity and then being shattered."

Jon Gilson's latest: 502.  Take it from a guy who finished 53rd (the last event at Ontario Sectionals wasn't factored in) : it's all too true. Except that I STILL loved it.

Today's Workout: 042610

Last Friday, Chris and Mike were at Rosedale PS to introduce 200 kids to CrossFit.  Above: CrossFit Kids had 'Kilt Day' - and a Highland Games WOD - on Friday at their HQ.

50 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball

10 Muscle-ups
40 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball
8 Muscle-ups
30 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball
6 Muscle-ups
20 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball
4 Muscle-ups
10 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball

2 Muscle-ups

The Sport of Fitness keeps growing - CrossFit Games 2010 at the Home Depot Centre.

Catalyst Games 2010 is going to be the biggest ever, too!  The new website is starting to come together.

Today's Workout: 042510

Above: the Green Army after the Cabin Fever 5k yesterday!  AWESOME JOB! Cam won overall, 3 age group winners, 5 PRs, and a few first-time finishers.  Couldn't be more proud.

Another great WOD by CrossFit Football!  Adrian coaches at 9am, or noon:

Power Clean 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
Weighted Chin Ups 3, 3, 3, 3, 3

Then:

Complete the following sprints:

2 x 20 Meter Sprints (rest 20 seconds between efforts)

Rest 30 seconds then...

4 x 30 Meter Sprints (rest 30 seconds between efforts)

Rest 30 seconds then...

10 x 10 Meter Flying Starts (rest 30 seconds between efforts)
*take 10 meters to accelerate, you should be full speed by the time you hit your start.

Today's Workout, and Good Luck Green Army!

This morning, a dozen or more Catalyst members will be doing the Cabin Fever Run in Sault, MI.  For some, it's a chance to improve on a best time; for others, it's their first 5k ever.  Enjoy it, folks! 

Meanwhile, we'll be doing:

Death By Tabata

Perform:

Alternating Tabata Deadlift and Burpee

*Start the clock and perform as many reps as possible for 20 seconds of deadlifts. Rest 10 seconds. Then perform as many burpees as possible in 20 seconds. Rest 10 seconds. Repeat this 14 more times for a total of 16 sets. Your score is counted by the total number of reps in 16 sets; 8 alternating sets of deadlifts and burpees .

*The entire workout should take 8 minutes.

...and then running 1-2k on our trail!

Today's Workout: 042310 - and Odie's First Blog Post!

Three rounds for time of:
135 pound Hang power cleans, 15 reps

15 Burpees

Today, Coaches Coop and Mike will be at Rosedale, teaching kids how to move better.  Ten classes of kids will get to try CrossFit, thanks to "Betty" Steph Mick and their forward-thinking staff.  Thanks Steph - the first new 'Sport of Fitness' Tshirt goes to you! 

Great quotes from last night: "If it wasn't for CrossFit, I wouldn't still have my job."  "If it wasn't for CrossFit, I'd be suffering from depression."  Wow.

And now, Odie:

Chris Cooper has kindly asked me to write up a blog on my experiences at Catalyst, I
But I have decided that I will do more than that. Some people have mentioned to me that I'm a secret and they don't know much about me... Well here is the chance and what better time for me to write than on a greyhound on a 11 hour bus ride back to Toronto.

Earth Day Workout

In 20:00

Run 2km (at the Park, use our trail!)

As many muscle-ups as possible

If you can't do muscle-ups, 3 ring pullups + 3 ring dips counts as 1 rep.)

Today's Workout: 042110

For time:

• Row 500m
• 30 Pull-ups
• 30 Push jerks (65% body weight)
• Run 400m
• 20 Pull-ups
• 20 Push jerks (65% body weight)
• 60 Double-unders
• 10 Pull-ups
• 10 Push jerks (65% body weight)

Today's Workout: 042010

Clean one rep every minute on the minute for 15 minutes. Increase the weight as you go.

Let's give ourselves - the Catalyst family - a round of applause this morning:

First, Mike and Jenny Skinner finished the Boston Marathon yesterday!

Then Jeremy got his Murph picture posted in Get Out There magazine!

In the last week, over 20 different CrossFit gyms - in a couple of languages! - have reposted Chris' essay, "Is CrossFit Hardcore?"  It's a good week to be in the family!

Workout: 041910

3 rounds for time of:
Walking lunge, 100 ft
50 Squats

25 Back extensions

Today's the Boston Marathon! This morning, non-runner Mike Skinner will join the tens of thousands at the starting line. 

Mike Skinner has been a client of mine as long as I can remember.  He's super strong (he holds our front squat record), and an all around nice guy.  Mike came to me a few months ago with an interesting dilemma.....he and his wife Jenny had been accepted to run the Boston Marathon through Manulife Financial (Mike's employer and major race sponsor.)

Mike wasn't a "runner,"  It didn't matter, he set his mind on a goal and today he sets out on the streets of Boston to acheive it.  A creative mix of Crossfit and Crossfit Endurance programming have transformed Mike's waistline and mindset.  The man can run.

The knee pain, a Snowspike induced hamstring injury and countless hours doing Crossfit workouts, rowing and hours spent on the massage table will culminate today over 42.2 km.

Mike and Jenny are doing it up right, they had a beer (or three) at Cheers on Friday, went to a Celtic's playoff game Saturday and were planning on taking in the action at Fenway today.  This is a couple worth rooting for!

For those interested in tracking Mike and Jenny Skinner check out this excerpt from an email sent out before they left!

To put it in perspective, it's like running from downtown to the St. Joe's Island turnoff.  With 25,000 of your closest friends.  And 500,000 people cheering you on.  Oh my god... what have we got ourselves into??

 

For those so inclined, you can track by bib # (24922 for Jen & 24923 for me) or even just the person's last name.  As we're in the 2nd wave, our times won't even start showing up until 11:45 or so (10K mark).  You can sign up online to get updates via email or realtime.  They send emails at the 10km mark, 22km, 30km, and the final time at 42km.  The website is www.baa.org  I believe it's also televised.  Don't look for us running alongside the Ethiopians or Kenyans - they'll likely be finished before we're 10kms into it.

 

Thanks,

Mike & Jen

P.S.  You can track us online via the microchip in our shoes.  If you see mine stop for awhile - it's just me having a turkey club with a Sam Adams (or 2).  If it suddenly accelerates & leaves the course, that's me in the ambulance... Cheers!  Mike

Right: Glen goes for the wall ball.  Thursday night, Glen became a black belt.  Attaboy!

Today's Workout: 041810

Beginning today, Adrian will coach workouts from CrossFit Football on Sundays.

That means longer workouts with more strength emphasis. Typically, there are two strength movements - big ones, like squats and snatches and bench presses - and then a shorter, heavier METCON.  Whit, Tyler, and Coop all like CF Football, and use it in their training. 

Today:

Power Clean 3-3-3-3-3, then:

Complete 5 rounds of the following:

3 Clean Pulls
3 Power Cleans
3 Push Press
3 Push Jerks
3 Good Mornings

*Perform at 60%-70% of 3 RM Power Clean

*Rest 2 minutes between rounds

Today's Workout:

"Diane"

21-15-9 of:

Deadlift

Handstand Pushups

Can't do a handstand pushup?  Never been much of a deadlifter - or worse, been told that deadlifts are bad for your back?  We'll set you on the right path!

Beginning tomorrow, Adrian will coach the Saturday CrossFit Football WOD at Sunday's 9am group.  This means at least one full strength movement PLUS a short, heavy METCON. 

King of the Cage returns May 8!  Catalyst members Ray Gowlett and Jeff Elliott will be in the ring again! Want tickets?  $75 at the Park!  More details on facebook here.

Today's Workout: 041610

Four rounds for time of:
Row 500 meters

Rest 3 minutes

Today's Workout: "McGhee"

Turnabout is fair play: Josh coaches Mike.  Josh will likely be part of our Summer Apprenticeship program!

Complete as many rounds in 30 minutes as you can of:

275 pound Deadlift, 5 reps
13 Push-ups

9 Box jumps, 24 inch box

We're on the CrossFit A-Blog today!

Coincidentally, read Lisbeth Darsh's post, "Get Off Your Knees!" (Lisbeth is editor of the CrossFit A-blog, and we sometimes feature her essays here.)

Today's Workout: 041410

From Feasting On Fitness, "It's Sabotage!"

Yesterday, we promised you a choice between three WODs, from the CrossFit Online Qualifier.  We'll be running the events at the following times:

7am - WOD 1 - at the Park:

Five rounds for time of:
225 pound Deadlift, 10 reps (155lbs for women)
10 Box jumps 24 inch box (20 inch box for women)
10 Toes to Bar

12 Noon - WOD 2 - at the Park AND Downtown:

For time:
150 Double-unders
135 pound Thruster, 30 reps (85 pounds for women)
30 Chest to bar pull-ups

7pm - at the Park:

"Filthy 50"

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

Think they're each tough?  You're right.  But someone will do all three - bet on it!

Nurses' Week 2010

I like my nurses the same way I like my airplane pilots: rested, happy, stress-free.

One of the greatest tragedies in medicine: our nurses are exhausted, overworked, understaffed, and possibly unsafe.

Rates of nurse burnout and depression have never been higher.  Nurses are sicker themselves than they've ever been.  They're getting overuse injuries; they're carrying the load of two.  And they're usually smiling their way through it anyway.

Nurses need help.

This year, we're going to take action.  During Nurses' Week (May 10-15,) nurses may attend any CrossFit group at either of our locations for FREE.  No charge.  We want you to feel better; to get stronger.

We don't want you to risk injury every time you flip a patient, or succumb to cortisol-induced cravings for sweets at midnight.  We want you to have an outlet for stress. 

On Saturday, May 15th at 11am, we'll host a Safe Lifting Clinic for nurses and healthcare providers (also 100% FREE.) Save your back. Save your knees.  Learn to move people (and yourself) more effectively.  Our Trainers are schooled and experienced educators in workplace ergonomics, safe lifting and loading practices.  We're also big fans of nurses.  

Catalyst family: you can help, too.  Join us for Nurses' Week workouts.  Welcome and thank the nurses you meet.  In the long term, keep working to lighten their load.  It's up to us.

Today's Workout: 041310

Dads give kids more leeway to explore, says Charlie Gillis.  Above: Crista proves him wrong.

Complete as many rounds as possible in 15 minutes:

10 Supine Ring Pull Ups
10 Push Ups
10 Ball Slams 40 lbs

Today's the day for the CrossFit Games Online Qualifier.  Three WODs will be released at 9am; we'll choose one (but you're welcome to do all three, of course.) This is significant in the CrossFit universe: military personnel have this chance, and this chance only, to qualify if stationed abroad. 

Since this is a video-submitted Qualifier, athletes may take as many attempts at each WOD as they like, provided they submit by 6am tomorrow morning.  We'll video our athletes (if they'll allow us) and post them HERE tomorrow.

In the meantime, to Pam Didonato: Right foot first!  Today's the day you start walking better than you have in 12 years!

"Physical activity is associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer's.  It's the one thing that works." -Neurologist Martin Samuels, in his Maclean's interview

Today's Workout: 041210

The Sunday running crew: Kathleen, Jo Ann, Anna "Stamina," and Carolle.

Snatch balance 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

Skills: Handstand pushups, inversion in the rings

New Barbell Bettys Level II Starts tonight!  The Frat starts Wednesday!

Teen groups, too!  Tuesday Night at 7pm, and Wednesday Night at 7pm (they're close to sold out, but registering will still get you on the waiting list at no cost!)

Today's Workout: "Erin"

Why does 'Corporate Fitness' have to mean lunchtime yoga classes?

 "Erin"

Five rounds for time of:
40 pound Dumbbells split clean, 15 reps
21 Pull-ups

Today's Workout: 041010

Nefertiti.  Cleopatra.  Melanie Rose. The logical evolution of women who rule in Egypt.

Today at 9am: "Sole Survivor"

Athletes start with Thruster and continue, at a pace of one rep per two seconds, until they can no longer complete another rep. Without rest, they continue to Front Squat; upon exhaustion, they immediately commence Push press, etc.  The goal is to be the last one standing.....er, planking.

Exercises are in this order:

Thruster (Beginner: 45lbs; Intermediate: 55lbs; Advanced: 75lbs)

Front Squat (same weight)

Push Press (same weight)

Bodyweight Squat (from below parallel to standing)

Ring Dips (shoulder must pass below elbow, and full lockout must be reached)

Plank

Who can grit their teeth longest?

Other groups today will do the main site WOD:

Five rounds for time of:
135 pound Back squat, 20 reps
Handstand walk 20 yards

Is CrossFit Hardcore?

CrossFit doesn't look like your workout.  No, it doesn't.

There are no '3 Sets of 8.'  Not a single 'triceps kickback' to be found.  And while we have lots of novel exercises to 'work your core' and 'improve your stability,' we prefer to teach you to move better in your own skin than stand you on a blue-pimple novelty and watch you quiver.

We make big claims: that we create an elite level of fitness.  That we get you places you've never, ever, ever been before.  That their workout is our warmup.  To back those claims up, we have to do movements that are efficient, challenging, and get you far more bang for your buck than a selectorized machine ever could.

A clean and jerk, for instance: once a staple of the workout crowd, and a fundamental lift for improving your grocery-carrying and storage, is banned from nearly every 'fitness club.'  For all the wrong reasons, too: it requires coaching, chalk, and the occasional drop of a barbell from overhead.  Knowledge plus cleanup plus noise?  Not an option if your teenage 'personal trainers' have to learn it all in a two-day course.

But a clean and jerk is a big lift, requiring a lot of energy.  From a purely mathematical standpoint, it's four times as challenging as a bench press.  If it seems scary, it's only because you haven't seen it around much - or have you?  Lifting your bike onto your roof racks - that's a clean and jerk.  Storing your Christmas lights on the top shelf - that's a clean and jerk.  Doing it in the gym first just makes you break fewer bulbs.  And fewer backs.

That's right: contrary, maybe, to what you've been told, this stuff prevents injuries.  The strongest, safest backs in the world belong to powerlifters, NOT bed-resters.  Knee injuries are typically the result of misuse, imbalanced use (the knee extension machine, anyone?) or non-use.  Deadlifts don't hurt your back - given the right chance, they'll save it.  Ask around: chiropractors, physiotherapists, and doctors send patients to us.  We modify our methods for the injured, yes.  But they're on the same road as our competitive CrossFitters, albeit a different starting line.

We choose to exercise in stark boxes.  While exercisers from the 1920s,1930s,1940s, and 1950s would feel right at home, the modern machine-indoctrinated fitness pursuer will struggle to comprehend our methods.  At least, at first. Slowly, they'll recognize little glimmers of sameness.  "Hey, I did that as a kid!"  "We do squats at my gym...but we don't go that low."  "I've seen this on TV, but I never thought I could do it...."

Our workouts are short, but tough.  But you'll want more.  After a month, you'll find yourself checking our website on a daily basis, and joke about 'drinking the Kool-Aid.'  After three months, you'll start breaking your own personal bests and bringing your friends.  We've grown because CrossFit is amazing, not because we have a special limited-time offer on our membership.

Now, there's no denying that for most people, once they've been immersed in CrossFit, they can't ever go back to average.  It tattoos you.  And once you've offered up your fresh, pink skin to the prick of the needle, its mark is indelible.  You can't undo CrossFit; once you've been painted, you can't go back to beige.

There's joy in sweat.  There's family in common discomfort.  There's a chemical addiction that comes from challenging yourself this way.  There's pleasure in learning new stuff every single time you're in the gym.  That's what CrossFit is: sweat+community+knowledge.  Call it what you like.

Today's Workout: 040910

From the Central Canada Sectional:

“Canadian Crippler”

For time (22 min cap):
30 Chest to bar Pull-ups
15 Deadlifts (225/155lbs)
400m run
30 Push-ups
15 Push Press or Jerk (135/85lbs)
30 Squats
15 Front squat (135/85lbs)
400m run
15 Deadlifts (225/155lbs)

30 Chest to bar Pull-ups

Want to see how you'd have compared?  Click here for the results.

In case you missed it yesterday, find someplace private, crank the sound, and enjoy (there are two tiny bad words in there, but totally worth it!)

Question: what if we're wrong, and global climate change really is just part of the Earth's natural cycle? Does that absolve us from having to clean up our own mess?

WOD 040810

"DT"

Five rounds for time of:
155 pound Deadlift, 12 reps
155 pound Hang power clean, 9 reps
155 pound Push jerk, 6 reps

The Youth rowing record (2:03 for 500m) by Jake Bailey stood up to every challenge for the last 6 months.  Until last night.

First, the Teen group shattered the record - four times - ending with a crowd-screaming, all-out killer row by Taylor Jaehrling. She beat the record, set moments before, by a mere 0.9 seconds.  We took pictures, high-fived....

...and then Tyler Smith showed up.

Hammering the record by over 10 full seconds, Tyler showed why many consider him the future face of Ontario swimming.  A 15-year-old - Craig Bovingdon - on the same team (Sault Aquatic Storm) was only 10 seconds off our all-time mens' record.  Time to push the rowing in CrossFit groups!

The next 6 weeks of Teen groups are nearly sold out!  Register by clicking the links below!
Tuesdays at 7pm

Wednesdays at 7pm

Today's Workout; 040710

For time:
Row 500 meters
150 Double-unders

50 Burpees

"I was scared to lose weight, because I didn't know what I'd look like." - does fear of the unknown trump your progress?

From Kyle Maynard: five amazing infographics for Catalyst members.

Start From Strong

It's good to have brothers.

Brothers know when to push.  They know when to joke.  They know when to just shut up and let their actions do the talking.  And sometimes, they know when to rub it in a bit.

Right: Glen breaks Jimmy's long-held Rack Jerk record with a huge 245.  

Walking to Day Two of Ontario Sectionals, we were all on edge; it was sleeting and freezing, and we were shivering more from the anticipation of a long chipper than from the cold.  Josh was on the podium bubble, and was feeling the pressure.  So Ray shared a funny little story about two bulls overlooking a field of cows.  It was perfect for the moment, and we've been calling Ray "the old bull" for two weeks now.  You've gotta love the older, wiser brother.

On the other hand, somebody's gotta paw the dirt a bit; somebody's gotta keep the other bulls ready to charge.  We leave that responsibility to the youth.

The right mix of wisdom, piss, and vinegar is magical.  That's why we train in groups.  That's why we mix the bulls.  

We also lift weights.  It's good to be flexible; it's important to be coordinated; it's better to be strong.  When you're strong, the rest comes more easily.  When you're strong, you fight less.  The more you can carry, the lighter your load. 

If you're a CrossFitter, being stronger makes even the METCON more effective.  Since the goal is total work (measured in Joules,) consider the wattage output of 'Fran,' using 75lbs or 95lbs, even though the heavier weight takes longer:

95lbs - Six minute Fran          75lbs - Five Minute Fran

56362.96 Joules                     51799.3 joules

This isn't wattage, it's just plain old brute work.  Will this apply to running, or pushing a wheelbarrow, or competing in a Strongman contest? Absolutely!  The ability to do more total work is a blessing that's guided the leaders of our society from its primordial days.  And now, it's time for YOU to pick up those reins.  Everything in life is easier if you're strong. And strong is why we're here, after all.

Fraternity Barbell II starts April 14th!  This round, you'll spend more time on OLY lifting, as well as some Strongman work mixed in.  WODs will be a mix of CrossFit Strongman, powerlifting, and CF Football. Coaching by Tyler and Mitch.  Blood, sweat, and progress: all your own.

Register here - 6 weeks for $80 (members) or $119 (non-members, includes a gym membership!)

Today's Workout; 040610

This is Tobi.

She likes kettlebells best.

Overhead Squat 5-5-5-5-5

Given their choice, most people would choose kettlebell work over, say, overhead squats anyday.  And that's exactly why we do them.

Thanks to new member Latisha Jackson (she's spent some time at CrossFit Hamilton) for her help with Turkish Getups yesterday!  Look for those babies in a WOD soon!

Today's Workout; 040510

For time:
10 Dumbbell Clean & Jerks
1 Weighted pull-up
9 Dumbbell Clean & Jerks
2 Weighted pull-ups
8 Dumbbell Clean & Jerks
3 Weighted pull-ups
7 Dumbbell Clean & Jerks
4 Weighted pull-ups
6 Dumbbell Clean & Jerks
5 Weighted pull-ups
5 Dumbbell Clean & Jerks
6 Weighted pull-ups
4 Dumbbell Clean & Jerks
7 Weighted pull-ups
3 Dumbbell Clean & Jerks
8 Weighted pull-ups
2 Dumbbell Clean & Jerks
9 Weighted pull-ups
1 Dumbbell Clean & Jerks
10 Weighted pull-ups

Use 25, 45, or 65 pound dumbbells. Use one of the C&J dumbbells as the load for the weighted pull-ups. Placing the dumbbell between legs crossed at the ankles works very well.

April OnRamp starts tomorrow!  A new batch of CrossFitters, just headed into the oven!

Our FGB photo contest starts today!  Submit your best shots to chris@catalystgym.com, or 'tag' Chris in your facebook album!  Some great art is out there already!  Winner gets a free 1-month gym membership!

The Park gym is open regular hours today; there will be no CrossFit group downtown at noon,however.

Seeds

A little over a year ago, local two-wheeled maverick Andre Riopel rode his bike through a snowstorm to chat.  He said lots of great stuff, but here's the part I keep repeating: If you care about your body, you have to care about your immediate environment.  And if you care about your neighbourhood, you have to care about the world.

If we had to add one Commandment to a ***New! Improved!*** New Testament, I'd push for this: "Thou shalt leave no footprint."  Leave it better than you found it.  Carry in, carry out. 

Have humans made our planet into this big, grungy mess? Probably.  However, we stand alone as the species with the means to clean it up again. If Fight on Friday proved anything, it's that our Catalyst community responds enthusiastically to a challenge; but add a benefit for someone other than ourselves, and that response is absolutely overwhelming (70 people!?!? Unbelievable.)

If there was ever a time for useful Resolutions, it's Easter, not New Year's Eve.  We're not pegged down by the elements now.  Time to plant a garden; time to build a playground; time to grow some trees. 

The path to progress will not be cut by the uncallused hand. Like CrossFit, if it were easy, everyone would do it.  Also like CrossFit: you can't really have faith in anyone until you first build faith in yourself.  It's got to start somewhere; what better place than here?  What better time than now?*

Happy Easter.  We're closed today.  Take a day away from improving yourself, and expand your influence instead to improve your neighbourhood.

*quoted from a source that's perhaps never been quoted in a 'Happy Easter!' message.

Today's Workout: 040310

 

"I believe that the Good Lord gave us a finite number of heartbeats and I'm damned if I'm going to use up mine running up and down a street. "~Neil Armstrong

"Do a rep while you're resting!" - Josh Deluco

 Today is Saturday.  It's not a day of rest.

Complete, for time (you may mix up the in-gym exercises)

400m Run

40 'Man on Fire' burpees

400m Run

Monkey Bars - forward and back (if you drop, pick up where you left off and continue)

400m Run

40 Slosh pipe Squats

400m Run

Keg Snatch

*note: you may use our running trail if you don't mind getting muddy.  Just leave your shoes outside each rep.

Celebrate your new life as a CrossFitter.  At 9am, Coach Coop takes the helm; surrender yourself to his many charms. No, it won't be a Vilaca-style "shirts and skins" workout, but it will still be awesome.

Question: would you buy a car based primarily on its weight?

Then why is that the principal concern of the masses?  Why isn't performance a question, unless you have sport-specific ambitions?

Fight On Friday

In this workout you move from each of five stations after a minute. This is a five-minute round from which a one-minute break is allowed before repeating. We've used this in 3 and 5 round versions. The stations are:

1. Wall-ball: 20 pound ball, 10 ft target. (Reps)
2. Sumo deadlift high-pull: 75 pounds (Reps)
3. Box Jump: 20" box (Reps)
4. Push-press: 75 pounds (Reps)
5. Row: calories (Calories)

The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. On call of "rotate," the athlete/s must move to next station immediately for good score. One point is given for each rep, except on the rower where each calorie is one point.

Today, nearly 70 athletes will participate in our annual Fight On Friday challenge.  This year, entry is $10, with all proceeds going to the travel fund for our Canada Regionals athletes: Josh Deluco and Whitney Pagnucco.  Come.  Do, or watch. Take pictures (we'll have prizes!)

Not registered?  Show up anyway!  We'll fit you in somewhere! However, no other workouts may be done today.  Sorry.

We’ll be open today – a holiday – for Fight Gone Bad only.  We’ll resume regular hours tomorrow.  See you then!

The 2010 Apprenticeship Program

In 1998, after finishing University, I  started my education.

With a degree under my belt, I was still young enough to believe I knew everything - or that I could figure it out, at least.  Twelve years later, I realize I'm still just starting.  I scramble, every day, desperate for answers.  Each new piece of research raises more 'why?'s than "a-HA!"s. 

There exists a gap between a student's formal education and the readiness to apply practical knowledge.  In more industrial fields, Apprenticeship programs bridge the distance. Sadly, in the fitness community, fresh-from-the-oven recruits are typically thrown into leadership roles with as little as a weekend of instruction.  Ready?  Fire!  Aim!

Even with a four-year degree, I recognize now that I was in no way prepared to train people at an acceptable level; I thank my earliest clients for the start of my real education. I was blessed with a collective of very inquisitive teens (most of whom are now pursuing education in kinesiology-related fields) who quizzed me on every detail of their training.

Looking back further, had it not been for the hands-on immersion of high school co-op education, I'd be miserably fixing computers today, carrying even worse posture, nearing my first heart attack and shying away from carrying 'heavy' monitors.  That gratitude toward employers willing to take on risk for no discernible benefit prompted us to accept 4 co-op students this semester, and it's been very rewarding.

One of the best things about the Catalyst Coaching Team: diversity.  We're united by a common pursuit of excellence, but our backgrounds are very different.  Exposure to each coach, in turn, will give a much broader perspective into excellence than any coach alone.

This summer, we're offering the type of program we wish we'd had during our formal education: hands-on, in-depth, and challenging.  We'll be accepting five students to study with each coach on the Catalyst roster; assist in coaching groups; get their feet wet with individual programming; experience the endurance required to be a great coach; read and write research; coach and referee at events; and perform better, themselves, at individual skills.

We're asking each student for a small enrollment fee.  The value of this program - including participation in Catalyst groups for free, a free membership, and some paid work time - exponentially exceeds the cost.  That said, we don't want everybody.  Students will be assigned a letter grade at the end of their residency.  Not all students who pass through our Apprenticeship program will eventually be hired to work at Catalyst (in fact, most won't) but new Catalyst staff will come from this group. 

Over the summer, students will:

• Participate in coaching at both Sault Ste. Marie facilities;
• Be enrolled in every Catalyst group offered at no additional cost;
• Learn to operate the Park gym, in pairs and solo;
• Write, read, and study more intensely than any University program;
• Assist in coaching CrossFit groups;
• Assist in coaching sport-specific groups
• Assist in coaching for special populations
• Assist in coaching teams
• Become trained in the CAT Testing system;
• Receive group training on professionalism, coaching, and client adherence strategy
• Participate in coach-only meetings and clinics
• Actually do the stuff that makes us great.

Prerequisites:

• Enrollment in a College- or University-level exercise-science program
• Confidence
• Outstanding verbal and written skills (this sounds like a filler.  It's not.  If you can't write without correcting mistakes, save yourself the time.)
• Experience in a wide variety of exercise philosophies, not just techniques
• Ditto nutritional strategies
• Ability to laugh at yourself
• NOT be a perfectionist
• "Beginner's Mind"
• Familiarity with the CAT Testing system
• Happy and smiley at 6am and 9pm - ideally, on the same day
• You've got to care.  "Liking the job" is not enough: if it wakes you up at night, you have the potential to be one of us.

Interested?  Email chris@catalystgym.com for the Student Residency Package. If your email is your first contact with us, please tell us your story.

Download Catalyst 2010 Residency Package

Today's Workout: 040110

As many pullups as possible

Run 400m.

Repeat for 20:00.  Your goal is as many pullups as possible.  As soon as you drop from the bar, run.

Over 60 entrants for Fight Gone Bad tomorrow!  This could be our biggest event EVER!  Haven't yet signed up or made your $10 contribution?  Click here.

This morning, Coach Coop and Odie will be at Sault College Health and Wellness fair, talking about our new Apprenticeship Program (details released around 10am.) 

And you, a student of excellence, a contemplator of Kaizen?  What's for you to learn today?

Strategy.  Fight Gone Bad strategy, from a number of great sources:

CrossFit Delaware Valley

CrossFit Redmond

'Gaming' FGB - from the CrossFit.com discussion community

Rowing strategy for FGB - CrossFit Journal (subscription required)

What's Kaizen?  Continuous self-improvement across broad, general domains. Sounds familiar....