Catalyst Athletic and Crossfit

What We're Doing About It

"You can hand out condoms, drop bombs, build roads, or put in electricity, but until the girls are educated a society won’t change."

— Greg Mortenson, author of "Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace, One School At A Time"

Greg's talking about digging into roots.  He's talking about very poor people in Pakistan and, more recently, Afghanistan.  He's talking about the way to really beat the Taliban in the Middle East.

We're talking about insurgency, too.

The common foe, when it comes to our health care system: dogma.  Do the same thing, hope for a different result.  Feed the machine until you're elected out of office.  Repeat the same information until it becomes a cultural mainstay.

"Walk-ing-means-the-loss-of-weight!  / Ev'ry-body-knows-it's great!"

Except it doesn't work.

"Eat-your-grains-and-you-will-see / You-can-beat-di-a-beet-ees!"

Not so much.

"Once-I-swore-by-Lip-I-Tor / Now-it's-ACE-in-hib-it-ors!"

....or you can do something else.

We're not going to change the system from the inside: that much is clear.  We've been waving flags, from deep in the back pocket of the Industrial Park, for years.  That doesn't work either.  We could revert to our more primitive techniques of yesteryear, and write angry editorials in the middle of the night, to no effect.  There's no way to make it through the centre.

We're going around.  In the next few months, we're building a library.

Though we're going to plant the seeds, this will be a community garden.  Using the mezzanine space at the Park, we'll make our texts, research, and Journals available to everyone, for free.  Got an interesting study?  Bring it in.  But this isn't about the Dewey Decimal System. 

Our goal is to spur discussion, and debate.  Dissemination of information is a skill, just like public speaking, cleans from the high hang, driving a car, or muscle-ups.  Practice is required. 

Yesterday, I wrote about the stressed-out Healthcare system relying on the old fallbacks of low-calorie, low-fat diets.  The basic code of The System is still an "if/then" model, in a world full of greys.  YOU'RE the one who's going to have to pull the sword from that stone.  Luckily, you're in the right group. 

We have a few municipal wrinkles to iron out, first.  And we need permission to reprint certain Journals and articles.  But in the meantime, start ripping things out; printing things off; storing things away.  Our interns are working on a filing system.   Coop's finalizing engineering-type stuff with the City.  We hope to deliver by September.  Thanks for making it possible.

Catalyst GO! Newsletter - March 2010

The Wrong Carrot

Quick: which is more likely to kill you: a shark, or a deer?

In an average year, Bambi outscores Jaws by a huge margin: 130 to 1.

The reason most people guess, "shark!" is because immediacy trumps common sense.  People are more scared of tornadoes than lung cancer or car crashes, because they can relate to the overwhelming fear they would feel when faced with imminent danger.

Statistically speaking, statistics don't work.  Since people generally can't visualize groupings larger than about 50, or 100 at the outside, saying things like "twenty thousand people will die of lung cancer this year!" or "we'll spend $3 Billion fighting diabetes in 2012!" doesn't have the impact that one good story will.  We can't relate to the million, but we can relate to the one.  Consider donations to testicular cancer research pre- and post-Lance Armstrong.  It's not that people aren't aware of lung cancer; of course they're aware.  They may even know the statistics.  But until you've heard a story, well.......you can't internalize the fear.

  Talking on the phone to a reporter from the Sault Star two weeks ago, I was asked why we push such an elite perspective on fitness.  My answer? We don't.  But we DO show what's possible.  We tell stories, we show movies, we celebrate success. We talk about Connor Martin, the original CrossFit Kid, overhead squatting 250lbs at age 16 (and 165lbs bodyweight.)  We talk about Everett and Burgener and Khalipa and Salo.  We talk about Tanya Wagner.  We talk about Carolle.

Talk about something serious, like diabetes, which I may or may not have earned, 30 years from now?  I'll walk tomorrow.  Today is for cupcakes.  McDonald's will always be more convenient than pullups.

Hold a stick over our heads, and we'll jump for it.  It's animal nature.  Talk about walking more, or 'taking the stairs,' or incorporating more 'whole grains'........meh.  Post a notice that we're doing "Murph" on March 6th?  Anxiety.  Stress.  Nightmares.  Self-doubt.  And strict preparation.  No missed workouts.  Intensity in the gym.

Make no mistake: what we're doing here, anyone can do it.  CrossFit grabs you and pulls you up from above.  It's NOT a walk in the park, dog on your leash.  It ain't easy. 

What it is, is fulfilling.  It demands a lifestyle change.  It doesn't beg; it compels.  Get to bed early, or else.  Don't eat junk, or you'll suffer for it.  Measure your progress against the clock; the bar; the board; not the scale.  Hold yourself against something higher.  Give yourself a reason.

Are You Fitter Than A Fifth Grader?

If you're over 25, and were born in Canada, I'm betting you can sing along to this:

In the 1970s and 1980s, Canadian students were pushed through a needle-eye called the Canada Fitness Test.  The test consisted of pushups, situps, a paused pullup ("flexed-arm hang") some sprints, a shuttle run, and a longer run.  Students were awarded Levels, based on their achievement in each event: Bronze, Silver, Gold, or the coveted "Award of Excellence."

The standards were a bit odd.  For instance, consider the times necessary to achieve an "Award of Excellence" in the 1-mile (1600m) Run.  As a twelve-year-old, you'd have to run the mile in 7:41.  As a 13-year-old?  11:31.  That's almost an extra 4 minutes, or 50% longer! 

Here are the original standards (labeled as 'Air Cadets Fitness Testing', but the same as the original ParticipACTION tests.)

Download Fitness_test

Why is it gone?  Well, like all tests, it was meant to be a tool for guiding teachers toward the pursuit of their students' weakest points of understanding.  Unfortunately, many teachers embraced the 'test' concept without using the resulting data to change the direction of their instruction.   No one in Grade Five can do more than 9 pushups?  Well, back to our regularly-scheduled floor hockey game.....

Also, the tests seemed very divisive.  The stigma attached to a Bronze continues to haunt many (as evidenced on various discussion boards,) and these days, it's not kosher to promote anything other than sameness.  In our lockstep march to mediocrity, the pace is driven by our desire to ignore individual strengths and weaknesses.  Failure must be avoided at all costs, right?  Kids will only be successful if they never experience losing.......right???  Instead of being great at some things and bad at others, it's better if we're all just kinda average at everything, maybe.

Above: the Tragically Hip, “Next to your comrades in the national fitness program/ Caught in some eternal flexed arm hang/ Dropping to the mat in a fit of laughter” - Fireworks

Many 30somethings will remember their scores on these tests (mine were all Silvers and Bronzes, I'm sure.)  I was probably reading a book while trying to do pushups.  The point: can you match - or better your scores today?  On Thursday, you'll get a chance to find out!

Bring your shorty-shorts.  If you can fit into your Amazing Spider-Man, E.T., or Michael Jackson "Bad" t-shirt, wear it.  Pigtails optional.  Let's revisit our youth.

Coach's prediction: CrossFitters will kill this test.

Virtuosity

 By show of hands: of the Seven Deadly Sins, who believes sloth doesn't get its share of the limelight?

Sloth is more than gluttony.  It's more than teenage binge-drinking.  It's more than one more cookie.  Sloth is the malevolent lack of self-denial.  It's self-abuse by abandonment.  It's active neglect.  It's not a passive process.  You have to allow it to happen.  Sloth isn't driving a city bus, that will broadside you on your way to work.  You don't wake up, hung over and disoriented, with a bad tattoo and Sloth in your bed.

Sloth is what makes you lazy mentally AND physically.  Sloth makes you careless with the feelings of others; it makes you arrogant.  Sloth makes it okay to not try.  Me?  I'm fine with failure.  I love success.  Can't stand not making an attempt.  This takes practice, of course.  You have to become comfortable with being uncomfortable, as we often say.  But this is how success works.  This is the way in which the same character elements that earned you a sub-5:00 Fran are going to get you a bigger paycheque this year.  This is how your first box jump is going to walk you down the aisle.

I don't care about the stripe of your faith; I don't care which church you'll attend tonight (Mosque, church, temple, DVD player?) I don't care to whom your children will bow tomorrow morning.  But I think we can all agree on this: 

However our body was produced - through evolution, through creation, through a dovetailing of the two - it's in our best interests to keep it tuned up.  If you tend toward the agnostic, you can't ignore the science behind the role of good fitness: your offspring will be healthier.  You'll live longer.  You'll contribute more - which is your social obligation.  If you're Christian, Muslim, Jewish...I personally believe it an affront to your Creator to neglect yourself.  Strong muscles?  All the better to serve you with, my dear.  Good aerobic capacity?  All the better to sing......

In faith, as in exercise, simpler is better.  Simple and easy are two different things, however.  Can't cross the Red Sea?  Part the waters, Moses!  Can't fix your sore back?  Learn how to pick things up better!  It's simple, really.  The simpler you can make your life, the better you'll live it.

In 2010, I don't care if you get a 400 on Fight Gone Bad.  I don't care if you clean and jerk 250lbs.  I'll cheer if you do, and be excited in a way that caffeine can never provide.  What I really want for you, my friend, is a simpler life.  Exercise that's hard but quick.  Food that grew up somewhere.  Friends without the burden of suspicion.  I'd like you to have a story, and I'd like to give you a forum to tell it.

2010 will pass quickly.  You're entering it with empty hands.  If you leave it without a story, it will be a wasted year.  Worse, you'll be guilty of not trying.  Your body will show it; your mind will show it.  You own 2010.  And possession is still 9/10 of the law.

Catalyst GO! Newsletter - January 2010

Note: if the links don't work in your browser, please click here.

 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Christmas Presents for CrossFitters

Yesterday, we posted a guide on what not to buy for the fitness-inclined.  Today: the solution.  In no particular order:

LaraBars.  Gluten-free, unsweetened, usable by those doing Zone OR Paleo. 

The Zone Live Lecture ebook. Why didn't The Zone book stay popular?  Well, it was kinda complicated.  In this 90-minute lecture, Barry Sears lays out his best advice: how to 'ballpark' Zone eating.  We did a little writeup here.

Chucks.  Best lifting shoe out there.  You don't need the original (since Nike bought out Converse, Chucks have gone from under $20 to over $60) but they're the best lifting shoes out there.  We even have our own pair with the Catalyst arrow on them!

Every Second Counts: The Movie.  Chronicles the training and lives of some of the top-rated competitors of the 2008 CrossFit Games.  Note: if you know who has my copy, get it back for me.  That can count as my gift.

Tooth.  This was from FranFest, by way of Michele Irwin's mouth:

Second Skin.  See hand, above. 

Tape.  To be applied over the Second Skin.

MuscleUps/Double-Unders/Butterfly Kips.  

Foam Roller.  For Pre-hab.  For warmups.  For a conversation-starter.  Almost as good as massage. 

YakTrax.  Run safely on local sidewalks, which typically feature a delightful array of salt, sand, water, slush, ice, and snow. C'mon - your treadmill "Murph" time doesn't count as Rx'd.

Parallettes.

Awesome Crossfit Tees.  There are a LOT of choices here.  Try the STORE at CROSSFIT.COM first, but there are some pretty amazing choices available at some of the affiliate sites, as well as these two: LifeAsRx and AffiliateShirts. (we also have a new one for Christmas at our own store.)

Punch Card/Membership to your favourite local CrossFit Affiliate!  Find your affiliate here: CrossFit Affiliates.  Get your CrossFitter coaching to bring up weak links; get them more training; get them into an OnRamp program.  It's really the best gift out there.

PaleoKits.  If you're looking for CrossFit-friendly snacks, you can't beat PaleoKits.  Bonus: all proceeds go to Steve's Club, a nonprofit affiliate to help introduce kids to CrossFit.

How To Avoid Buying A Treadmill This Christmas

Okay, an admission: I started writing this article November 14, 2008. And I just can't do it. I spent 3 years selling treadmills (and I was pretty good at it, I guess) but I no longer believe they're a solution. In fact, it's easy for them to become part of the problem.

The first few paragraphs below are from the original draft. They're true. But after that, it's all new. The text is shot from the hip, but the sentiment is straight from the heart.

Christmas is coming. Most people enter the Holiday season feeling less than great about themselves; lots of food, dumpy weather, and the shorter days have many depressed about how they look and feel. They KNOW they have to lose weight, or at least start eating better. I'd prefer they exercise.

If they choose the exercise option (hooray!) most people give themselves 3 choices:

1. Join a gym

2. Start walking, or plan to do something

3. Buy a treadmill

Now, we know that for exercise to be effective, you have to stick to it. And we know that, for you to stick to an exercise program (assuming you don't have some abnormal disorder,) the program has to be novel, challenging, fun, community-based, and allow for nonlinear progression (you can't just focus on the scale or some other subjective measurement.) To really work, the plan has to carry some sort of personal risk - financial is okay, but fear of letting oneself down is more important. This is why we do monthly challenges....but I digress.

Joining a gym is the best option, especially if the gym you're joining actually CARES about your progress, but I concede that it can be intimidating for people. Frankly, the absolute best option is to visit a good Trainer, and let them lay out the options for you.

(To visit and chat with the best, without spending any money or committing to anything, click here.)

Which of the three provides novelty? Which provides challenge? Which is fun? Which has a built-in community? Which provides nonlinear progression (more on that in a minute)? Which carries any risk?

Most treadmills end up as yard sale fodder. There, I said it. By March, they look like this:

...drying clothes!

Novelty: while most treadmills now feature "programs" as a price point, the novelty of blinking lights and auto-adjusting elevation wears off in about............now. Doing a walking program called "Pike's Peak" in your living room isn't like really going to Pike's Peak in Utah. It's like, well, standing around in your living room, a space built for relaxing, not exercising. Bedroom? Worse.

Challenge: it's walking. Walking is locomotion, not exercise. Yes, some people will run on a treadmill, but without an ultimate goal (5k, 10k, marathon) where you actually have a chance at failing, it's nearly impossible to make yourself walk on a treadmill for its own sake. And yes, some folks go to gyms just to walk on treadmills (not this gym) - but they're out of the house. They're really paying for the environment.

Fun: you can put in a DVD. You can link up to the internet. But as long as you have to distract yourself from exercise to keep exercising, you'll soon be distracted by other things instead. Above: the only fun you can have on a treadmill.

Community-based: treadmill walking is the fitness equivalent of writing a manifesto, alone, in your mother's basement, at midnight, in a stained t-shirt. It encourages brooding. You fixate. Your focal point narrows until little problems polish themselves into hard little pearls. You don't solve any problems on a treadmill. Got a problem with a coworker? Ask them to deadlift with you. You'll both feel better.

Nonlinear progression: you'll go farther if you can shift your focus for awhile. Stuck on a weight-loss plateau? Focus on gaining strength for a few weeks. Not getting any faster? Try improving technique on the rower. Strength not improving? Work on your sprints. A change is as good as a rest.

There are a hundred websites out there to tell you how to buy a treadmill. But consider: are you buying progress, or just forcing yourself to hold a yard sale in June?

The Original Eight

In March 2008, we were at a crossroads.  We faced an interesting dilemma: a 2-year study on exercise adherence was pointing us - shoehorning, really - toward CrossFit.  It had all the elements that, we'd shown, produced long-term adherence to exercise: community, challenge, progress, novelty, and a sense of 'sport.'  On the other hand, it was somewhat counter to what we'd learned in University.

You know the story: Tyler volunteered first (his original blog is here.)  Then, we offered a deal to eight friends and former clients: show up for a month straight.  We'll provide the space and the workout.  You provide the scores.

In the Original Eight: Philsy.  Kubis.  Whitney.  Krista.  Taylor.  Angela.  Gabe.  And one more....

But also in that eight was one hand uncounted, until recently.  She attacked the WODs in 2008.  She finished in the top half of participants in nearly every single workout.  She provided rides for other new CrossFitters.  And then....she got pregnant.  And gave birth 3 months early.

A year and a half later, she sent me this message: "Dare I come back?"  I invited her to watch FranFest; she did, tiny baby in tow.

Consider the story of Rip Van Winkle: asleep for a hundred years, the world moved on, abandoning him to culture shock in his own culture when he awoke.  Part of the society in which he was now estranged, he had to reabsorb into the stew for which he helped write the recipe.  

This was Vicki.  The last time she saw CrossFit, it was just a group of eight crazies at 7pm, trying not to disrupt a Pilates group that was sharing the space.  It was jumping pullups and high squats.  Now, it's FranFest.  The world moves on.  Imagine seeing FranFest through her eyes: fourty-four participants.  Dozens of spectators.  Loud music and sweat and chalk and broken plates.  Team T-shirts.  Spectators and Super Whit. 

Above: the early risers.  Some of the athletes (also Ed) before the spectators arrive.

Even more impressive: the community.  In the picture above, everyone knows the name of everyone else.  They know who's trying Paleo eating; who just had a crazy workout personal best; who just had a birthday.  They've celebrated, en masse, achievement and victory.  They've grown hoarse cheering each other.  They're teammates.

I'll never claim to be a good businessperson.  When I met Mel Rose, I told her I was the worst salesperson in Sault Ste. Marie.  I still am.  The CrossFit Community has grown from within: clients dragging friends to the Saturday Morning 9am group, or needling them relentlessly to get into the OnRamp group.  It's no longer about a gym.  The Eight have gone forth, and multiplied over and over.  

Catalyst GO! Newsletter - December 2009

ALERT!  We've decided, at the last minute, to run an OnRamp Group in December (starts Nov. 30.)  We have 3 people signed up; to make the group fun, we need six.  That means we're looking for 3 people in the next 6 days.  $199 for coaching - 21 straight days - lifelong improvement - a new habit set in stone by Christmas!  Can't beat it.  Call 256-1344.  We're only taking 3 more people!

Christmas Vacation Groups:

This year, if you're a high school student, you have an amazing opportunity to improve POWER and SPEED while your opponents are getting fat.  One hour per day for five days, you'll train your heart out with Mike Watson at the Park.  You'll jump, you'll throw, you'll push and pull and carry.  You'll emerge from the five-day cocoon as a more powerful athlete in every way.  

YOUTH SPEED AND POWER DEVELOPMENT CAMP

DECEMBER 28 - JANUARY 1 - INDUSTRIAL PARK LOCATION

10am - Boys Aged 10-13

11am - Girls Aged 10-13

1pm - Men Aged 14-19

2pm - Women Aged 14-19

Okay, we admit it: FranFest was awesome!  True story.  22 teams of two, 202 food donations to the Food Bank (loaded into the van in 1:33!) 4 hours of mayhem divided up into 5-minute chunks of misery.  Lots of suspense as teams made it from one round to another.  Some great T-shirts, a gym full of spectators, and some great stories. Tyler finished in 3:03 to break the Coach record; Ray (right, with partner Nicole Kinsell) finished in 3:14 to break the Gym record.  The whole write-up is coming soon.....

The Barbell Bettys competed in their first Virtualmeet, and some amazing numbers were hit: Anna Cappelli hit 310 at a reduced bodyweight; Melissa Oikari had a ridiculously-deep 215lbs back squat.  Unreal.  The next day, 20 women were ready to start all over.  Men: your chance is coming in January.  OLY coaching from Ty Belanger and Mitch Fryia, as well as powerlifting training in a 4-day split AND some METCON work for homework.  Good times!

DECEMBER EVENTS:

November 30 - December OnRamp group begins, coached by Whitney Pagnucco!  21 straight days at 7am for 30 minutes.  A better life.  CrossFit draws the line between your couch and athleticism; OnRamp is the perfect starting spot.

December 12: King Of The Cage.  Catalyst athletes Jeff Elliott, Adrian Vilaca, Ray Gowlett, and Dalton MacFarlane will enter the octogon to fight against Michigan's best in a MMA throwdown for the ages.  We've got a block of 45 tickets sold, but we can always add more!

December 19 : SUPERMEET.  Take the best of Powerlifting and Olympic Lifting, add a favourite CrossFit event, and compress two days' worth of heavy work into three hours.  Double the monthly chalk order, and stock up on Second Skin.  You'll have three hours to complete a Total (sum of your best lifts in each) in: Snatch, Clean and Jerk, Press (standing, no leg,) Squat, Deadlift, and Weighted Pullup.  Take as many attempts at each as you like; prioritize your strengths as you see fit.

December 26 - Boxing Day Fun Run and Fitness Walk - Catalyst will be joining the Sault Stryders for a fun, non-timed, non-competitive event.  9am at the Water Tower.

December 28 - January 1: TEEN SPEED and POWER camps at the Park!  Get more explosive!  Move faster!  Jump higher!  Pull harder!  Throw farther!  A five-week, VERY intense group with Mike Watson, BHK CSCS in an environment built for athletes.  Groups are split between boys and girls, and ages 10-13 and 14-18. 

At this, the start of our fifth year as Catalyst Fitness, we'd like to reflect for a moment.  As we mentioned in our essay, The Original Eight, CrossFit has grown from 8 volunteers, who arrived and participated uncoached in March 2008, to a huge family of athletes.  None of us may have described themselves as 'athletes' when we started, but as soon as you survive one workout, you can lay claim to that title.  The CrossFit community worldwide has also exploded (we were lucky enough to feature some writing by some of its best and brightest, starting with this post).  We're ecstatic about that.  But our core - our reason for being here - is coaching.  We believe in the Japanese concept of Kaizen - continual self-improvement in all areas. Our personal trainers have personal trainers.  We compete, we compare, we continually seek a higher level.  Crossfit is our passion, but coaching is our career. Luckily, the two are siblings.

In January, we'll continue to increase our coaching influence with a few new evening groups - a formal Barbell Club for the guys, finally, and a better system for booking clients, reserving space in groups, and paying for sessions online.  More corporate groups - coworkers who band together and book private CrossFit times - are appearing on the horizon (if this is something you're interested in, call us 256-1344.)  We'll continue to prioritize solid coaching for ALL levels in the new year.  Thanks for learning along with us. Merry Christmas!

1,2,3,4,5

Coaching CrossFit Total today, wringing the last of my voice from my exhausted throat, I was asked about my first 300lbs deadlift.  It's been a looooooong time since that happened, but the story will be familiar to many of you:

100lbs: after months of doing floor presses and curls with textbooks in my room, door closed, while I was supposed to be studying, by parents relent and finally bought me a set of weights for Christmas.  They were golden and beautiful and filled with concrete.  They came complete with a chart of "weight lifts" by Joe Weider (or was it York?) which I followed faithfully for approximately 9 days.  Included in the chart: cleans, squats, floor press, snatch, sumo high pull, and deadlifts.  Realizing the futility of working only with these limiting exercises, I switch to the REAL moneymakers: biceps curls and pec flyes.  I can actually remember calling the barbell the "curl bar."

200lbs: foggy, but definitely while in Illinois, doing Men's Health workouts verbatim.   While trying to "add 12 pounds of ripped muscle by tonight!" I pile some tiny weights on a deadlift bar in the "fitness centre" and try not to attract any attention.  Biggest concern: setting the bar down too quickly and making the plates clang! together.

300lbs: after closing hours, lights off, in the fitness equipment store where I worked.  Tennis shoes and steel plate on indoor/outdoor carpeting by the light of the computer monitor.  I was reading a lot of Fred Hatfield at the time (Dr. Squat) and had decided to try powerlifting as a way to bulk up.  Without a gym membership, I secretly use the bars, plates, and cages at night, being careful to replace them just so every time.  More than once, I have to repaint the TuffStuff cages from bailing on my squat attempts.  On the upside, I've since purchased more cages than I sold there.

400lbs: at Northern Lights Health and Fitness on Gore Street.  Doing a linear periodization program by the percentages, I grind out the ugliest deadlift I've seen before or since.  Yelling in my ear is Kieran Foley, the only other soul in the gym at 6am.  He probably doesn't remember.  Having hit my all-time goal, I decide never to deadlift again.  The next day, I decide to deadlift every day for the rest of my life.

435lbs: First meet at Kinross prison.  On the way through the border (this was pre-9/11,) the guard asks where we're headed.  In the front of the truck, the Morgan brothers respond, "powerlifting meet with the inmates."  Looking at me: "Where's HE going?"  Mike Morgan: "He's the bait."

500lbs: Wolverine Open APF Meet in Grand Haven, MI.  I'm already disqualified for bombing out on the bench press, but the meet organizer figures there's no harm in letting me deadlift anyway. I shake all the way up, but the bar keeps moving and I keep squeezing.  Somewhere, there's a picture of me giving that bar the finger afterward, but it's all black.  The referees call me for hitching.  No lift.

510lbs, meet legal: Outdoor meet, back at Kinross Prison.  Missing most of his teeth, the scorekeeper rushes me into a decision.  "What's your best?" he says.  "500lbs two weeks ago, but I got called for hitching.  I'm thinking about 480 or 485 next."  He writes down 510.  I do it.  The sky turns white midway through the lift.  

There's been more since, but that's another story.  Or two.

Catalyst GO! Newsletter - November 2009

Four years ago, Mike and I were squatting in a cage on Queen Street.  (He's the one with the thick black hair.)  This was pre-Catalyst. 

We're older.  Our hair is greyer.  Our squats are deeper and unassisted.  From the look of it, my posterior chain is much more flexible (and our bars are much more rigid, thank goodness.  No wonder I had trouble hitting depth in competition!)We're also a lot busier than those misguided days of our youth:Catalyst Teens expands to two nights/week, beginning next Tuesday and Wednesday.  An amazing group that's left me hoarse every single week so far.  And that's not easy.  All the clapping has started to wear down my pullups calluses. OnRamp starts its November group on the 9th.  If you're thinking of starting CrossFit, you've gotta do OnRamp.  Invest 21 days, and you'll know virtually everything you need to succeed at CrossFit.  It's so effective that I regret we didn't insist that all new CrossFitters do OnRamp right from Day #1.  Can you blame us for being so excited?  Here's the thing: the OnRamp Program tends to fill up WAY in advance.  As I write this, 4 of 7 spots are filled for November''s Group, thanks to a huge waiting list from October!  Get your name on the list: 256-1344. The difference this has made to our CrossFit programming has been tremendous: graduates start their first CrossFit group already knowing how to do more than the basics.  They know what to expect, how to move well, and they're excited to rip it up with the old veterans! FranFest is November 21!  A tournament-style competition for the most famous of all the CrossFit workouts, Fran.  Teams of two will Fran head-to-head as we narrow the field from 20+ pairs to 8, and finally to the Fran Championships.  8am start.  An amazing event for spectators too, we've already had confirmation from two local media outlets.Santana's Indoor Cycling Group will start their second session of the fall on November 17.  Most are now leaving their bikes inside (boo!) but burning up our main area every Tuesday night.  (Hey, in 4 years, you'll never find a worse joke.  Feel free to check.)More and more members are starting their own groups with co-workers and friends.  We're doing private CrossFit groups for several businesses at both Catalyst locations - Park and Queen - several days per week.November 21 is the Santa Claus Parade!  As usual, the absolute best place to watch is Catalyst at our Queen Street location! Bring your kids inside for a hot chocolate, hang with other members of the Catalyst family over coffee (provided by Forever Fit!) and enjoy the parade in your T-shirt.  (Most families bring snowsuits to watch the parade outside, and then return inside for awhile afterward.) Starting in November, we'll be operating an Olympic Weightlifting Club at the Park!  We started the Club because interest is high in OLY lifting due to CrossFit; because we have some excellent coaches available; and because we want to get Sebastien Wetzel into the Special Olympics.  We haven't named the Club yet, but we'll be offering coaching to our members as soon as possible. One of the big highlights from October for me was our Essays Project.  We're featuring three essays each from some of the top writers in the CrossFit universe.  It's been remarkably easy to reach these folks (just friend them, like us, on facebook) and they've all been really cool about letting us reprint their articles.  They've even chosen one each!  Another great highlight: having so many other CrossFit boxes link to our No Scale article.  One of the most popular of all time on our site.

Our community is amazing.  Two members of the Park crew have their own blogs now.  Our tracking software has taken on a life of its own: Leanne issued her own Paleo challenge for November.  CASS has their own website now (awesome!) and they'll be the second local high school to use the tracking software soon.

No Scale

I'm yelling as loudly as I can, but no one in the room can hear me.  I'm bellowing numbers in descending order: "11!"  The crowd roars.  "10!"  They start jumping up and down. "9!"  They're looking at my hands in the air now, as the room heaves with excitement.  In front of me, she's standing, hands on hips, trying to pull air down from the ceiling.  I'm talking right into the back of her head.  But she's gone.  Gone to that "other" place.  It's a domain reserved solely for the athlete at the paper-cut-sharp edge of the envelope.  She's found it.  Fourty-three seconds later, she'll collapse into the mob of her fans, shaking all over.  Many of them have teared up.

Yeah, but how much does she weigh? 

He slid, a thousand miles an hour, under his Harley-Davidson.  "You'll never walk unaided," they said.  "You'll never work again," they said.  "How are your bed sores this morning?" they said.  This summer, he ran his first 5km race.  At midnight.  With his son, for his 18th birthday.  

Yeah, but what's his bench?

It's safe to bet that she's never won any single sport in her whole life.  She's experienced that hell-on-earth when, on the playground, the teams are chosen, and she was one of the last two to be picked.  "Please, pick me.  Please, anything but last again. I can do better than that other kid.  I'll try really hard.  Please, please, pleeeeeease."  So last week, when she finished the 500m row portion of the workout in first place and headed to the rower, the crowd was reserved.  When she finished the box jumps in first place, they were clapping.  But when she dropped the skipping rope first, they exploded. Thirty adults and teens, on their feet, cheering. I told them my voice was cracking from all the yelling, but that was a lie.  

Yeah, but how many friends does she have on facebook?

Setting the table, her sister commented on how muscular her arms looked.  "Holy crap, girl!  What have you been DOING?!?"  She told them about CrossFit.  About kipping and almost doing pullups.  About Barbell Bettys and knee socks and how Fran felt after a night shift and how much she could split jerk.  Predictably came the response: "You're crazy.  I could NEVER do that stuff."  She just smiled and shrugged, quietly knowing that Confident is the new Size 4; that yes, they could do this stuff, but she alone had the guts to pull that particular trigger.

Yeah, but how many calories could she possibly burn in 20 minutes?

I'm already hanging from the bar before the referees start to argue.  "He's gotta go back!" says the man in charge.  My personal judges, possibly the nicest coaches this side of the 49th Parallel, tug me down from the rack and escort me through the plates, back to the bar.  It wasn't a happy reunion.  I had to redo 3 squat cleans at 165lbs.  And I still had a quarter mile to run, 5 more big cleans and jerks, and 24 more pullups.  I was staring down the barrel of a very long day.  

The crowd was rowdy.  It was only 9am, and many had already yelled themselves hoarse.  But I couldn't hear anything: nothing but a small voice, chanting "Go-Daddy-Go!  Go-Daddy-Go!"  So I went.

Yeah, but he weighs under 200lbs now!  He's little!

No scale in the world can measure this stuff.  

CrossFit and Pole Dancing

One of the brand new CrossFit converts at the Park is Alecia Hemphill.  Alecia was brought in by Brent Rose - new to the Park crew himself, but a  CrossFitter for over a year at the Y.  Alecia showed up with a friendly smile and a surprising talent: pullups.  She's great at them!  Last Friday, we found out why.  This is her story, in her own words:

Most people when they hear “Pole Dancing”, they automatically think of scantily clad women at strip clubs. But there is a new fitness craze sweeping the world called Pole Dancing for Fitness or Pole Fitness. I got started pole dancing by taking an introductory class at Achieve Fitness for Women about a year ago and I was hooked as soon as I took my first swing around the pole. It was so much fun and such a great workout that I purchased my first pole about a month after I took the class, so I could workout at home. I have been teaching myself ever since that class and I recently went to Las Vegas to take classes with Fawnia Dietrich (one of the women who started pole dancing for fitness) and to watch Felix Cane (Miss Pole World 2009) perform in Cirque du Soleil's Zumanity. There is so much to pole dancing that people do not realize. It takes a lot of core strength and upper body strength to be able to hold yourself on the pole. I decided to start Crossfit to help build my upper body and it is amazing the way it fits with pole dancing. My goal is to start competing in pole competitions next year and hopefully qualify for Miss Pole World in 2011. I am also planning to start teaching Pole Dancing for fitness very soon, just waiting on my new portable dance pole, so I can introduce more people to the world of Pole.

That's a great story.  But until you've tried it, the athleticism required doesn't completely hit home.  Alecia makes it look easy.  It's not.  As Craig and I (and the Friday lunchtime crew) found out, failure is rampant.  Also, hilarious.  First, Alecia shows a few basic moves that she's taught herself in the last year.  Then Craig and I try to just hang onto the bar.  Enjoy.

Catalyst GO! Newsletter - October 2009

If it seems like the Newsletter's early this month, you're right. We'd like to give everyone an equal chance to register for some groups that are selling out fast - way quicker than ever before. That, and preparations for Catalyst Games 2009 are at full boil!

First off, the CrossFit OnRamp program. If you're thinking of starting CrossFit, you've gotta do OnRamp. Invest 21 days, and you'll know virtually everything you need to succeed at CrossFit. It's so effective that I regret we didn't insist that all new CrossFitters do OnRamp right from Day #1. Can you blame us for being so excited? Here's the thing: the OnRamp Program tends to fill up WAY in advance. As I write this, 5 of 7 spots are filled for October's Group, thanks to a huge waiting list from September! Get your name on the list: 256-1344.

Mike's new Running Group starts October 3. This is definitely not the same old running clinic you're used to. Mike starts from the ground up, laying the foundations that will take you to any level you want to achieve as a runner. If you're running for fitness (dare we say fun?) this will keep your runs pain-free and enjoyable. If you're looking to improve your speed and power, POSE running is the best way to do it. POSE has been around for awhile, but Mike has become an excellent coach at teaching its application. From personal experience, after two Personal Training sessions with Mike to improve my running, I cut :30 or more from my 800m repeats, even if there are several in a row.

Instead of just meeting up to run with a loose group, Mike will show you HOW to run, WHERE to run, WHEN to run, and HOW OFTEN. Mike will have you run hard, run easy.....and, slowly, you'll figure out the WHY on your own. No one loves running when they start out; everyone loves it after they've been doing it awhile.

Tyler's going to have his hands full with Barbell Bettys. We made a quick blog post about the group, and within 24 hours it was full with a waiting list. So we opened a second group, which filled in another 24 hours. Still, if you'd like to get on the waiting list (or just get the shirt,) call 256-1344.

Santana's Bike Group will be welcoming some new faces (some of these folks, too, have been on a waiting list for months, and we thank them for being so patient.) Tuesday nights at 6pm, starting October 6. Bring a silent (magnetic or fluid) bike trainer, or use one of ours. We can write lots of stuff about this crew, but if you really want the salient details, stop by any cafe on Queen Street around lunchtime and listen to conversations. Eventually, it seems, they all come around to Santana's bike group.

This video was probably the most popular post of September on the Gym site. If you're having trouble describing your passion for CrossFit to your friends, THIS is the video to show them. One of the best we've seen to date.

Since we started Catalyst in 2005 (bonus! see the original T-shirt here!) our goal has always been to provide the best coaching possible. Folks are generally amazed that our 12- and 15-hour days are so packed, but there's a LOT of information, good and bad, out there to digest and translate. But an interesting trend is happening: more and more, members and clients are seeking personal training on very specific things. For example, where a new Personal Training client may once have sought instruction on something more general, like "weight loss" or "strength," we're now seeing people book sessions just to improve their form at deadlifts, or learn to do a real pullup. This doesn't mean we're becoming more elitist, or catering only to the more advanced. In fact, the opposite: we've raised the game of people who train here. Of course, they still want their pants to fit. They still want to wear a bathing suit. But they're more concerned with overall fitness. They want to run with their kids. They want to be inspired. They want to participate in a community that will pull them up. Starting out with "weight loss?" Great. Just don't expect to end there.

The Catalyst Games 2009 is September 26. With over 40 athletes registered, this is going to be a terrific spectator event! This year, we'll have live play-by-play announcements to keep spectators apprised of standings. Our new scoreboard clock will keep you on the edge of your seat. The photo-happy will find a thousand amazing shots (and have a chance to win a free month's membership) and media will find some of the most inspiring stories of the year.

Finally, the Park had a small change of schedule. Because our coaches are overbooked, the gym will close on Wednesdays to members at 5pm and reopen ONLY for the 7pm CrossFit Group (punch card necessary, please.) All part of our renewed focus on success for our clients through coaching. Thanks for the ride so far - please keep your seat buckled securely. The Fall is going to be one wild ride!

-Chris

Catalyst Go! Newsletter - September 2009

Our newsletter is 10 days early this month. There's a LOT going on in September!

September 26 is Catalyst Games 2009! We've been hosting MiniClinics, posting profiles of competitors, giving hints about the secret competitions..... and talking about training, prizes, and charities at the Catalyst Games 2009 Site. There are still 3 MiniClinics left: Running, Powerlifting, and Gymnastics (including Whitney's Kipping for Chicks Clinic!) $20 each is an absolute steal for the information gained!

If you haven't noticed, we're changing the way we introduce people to the CrossFit program. Instead of a 90-minute 'BootCamp' format, we'll now use a more progressive approach. Our new OnRamp program starts September 7, spans 21 days, and will take anyone from zero to hero. You'll learn how to exercise properly; how to make big gains; how to push yourself; how to eat for weight loss or performance; how to excel at CrossFit. This ain't your daddy's fitness!

Catalyst Kids starts September 12. This is an amazing program that will help kids achieve well-rounded athleticism, but also a love for exercise and play. It will help teach them how to do all kinds of things better. It's currently being studied for its long-term effects on improving learning, functionality, and attention outside of fitness. Its philosophy of applied simplicity and growing challenge is being implemented in mathematics classes in the States, as well as various sports all over the world. New - a Catalyst Teens Group too!

Personal Training - September figures to be our busiest month ever. With short workouts, (usually 30 minutes now,) a much wider variety of exercises than the norm, and free homework and food plans, it's easier for folks to achieve a very high level of fitness. Yes, people are working hard. Yes, people are doing things they never thought possible. The outcome is worth it. People throw the term 'addicted' around, but we prefer to think of it as embracing a different lifestyle. Frankly, 13 years in, I can't believe that most "personal trainers" still stick with the 1970s technology: machines, low-calorie diets, and bodybuilding splits ("legs day," "chest day", etc.) If you could do BETTER in less time, and ENJOY the process more, why wouldn't you? The only reason I can come up with is FEAR of change.

When a person becomes 'competent' at something, they're scared to change. They don't want to go back to being bad at something - which means no exposure to anything new. You'll perhaps recognize this phenomenon from your workplace, or the market at large. Doing the same old thing and hoping for a different result is foolhardy. Still, people become competent at one small thing, and then spend all their time protecting their "kingdom of competence" instead of exploring other things. It's rampant in the fitness world, but it also occurs in investment banking, healthcare, education..... folks learn something and then entrench, and you're not going to change their minds.

I've personally been fortunate enough to be bad at nearly everything...at first. But because I expect a long learning curve, I eventually succeed, and win mostly because others give up along the way. Not only is this true for learning Olympic Lifts and running, but also business, fatherhood, lawn care.... Luckily, I've loved all of those things right from the start, and it's been easy to stick with them.

September message: don't be scared to be bad at stuff. Try it, fail, and then get better.

-Chris

Catalyst GO! Newsletter - August 2009

100-Mile Challenge Starts August 1!

To participate: Your goal is to eat foods that are produced - from the ground up - within a 100-mile radius of Sault Ste. Marie.  That includes all meat, vegetables, grains, drinks, oils, and anything used in the preparation of your meal.  Since we have a late growing season this year, we'll award points based on meals that are close to 100% local, instead of insisting on some ridiculous and nearly-impossible challenge.  Click here to read more.

Watching the '100-Mile Challenge' on the Food Network, I thought, "our folks could crush these whiners."  After our Zone Challenge in June, I know that our members are resourceful, sharing, and incredibly well-read; we'll do better in Algoma than they did in the Okanagan!

In July, Catalyst Coaches Chris, Mike, Tyler and Whitney competed in the CrossFit Ontario Challenge in Toronto.  Whitney placed an astounding second in Ontario, and was only 1 point out of first!  Final results are here. 

The new Catalyst Games 2009 site is active.  Information for Catalyst Games 2009 (September 26!  Get training!) is found there, including competitor classes, registration forms, pictures from 2008, details on preparation....just not the events.  The first two of three events will be released September 19; the last event won't be known until the day of the Games. 

We're down to our last 4 weeks of our tough "Introduction to CrossFit" class on Saturday mornings!  Starting in September, our new OnRamp program will ease CrossFit newbies into the full CrossFit program over 21 days.  Workouts are quick, focusing on mastery of technique, but will take you from absolute beginner to full-fledged CrossFit practitioner in a gradual ramp-up.  The group is only 30 minutes per day, beats the heck out of any Boot Camp out there on the 'fun' scale, and will have improve your fitness level dramatically while you learn.  Think about it: by October 1, you'll be able to walk the walk with those crazy CrossFit fire-breathers you've seen online!
In a rush to get into CrossFit?  Call 256-1344 to take the 'crash course' before it ends!  Saturday mornings at 7:30!

Beginning in September, we'll change the way we approach coaching Groups.  Yes, we'll still have Santana's  Indoor Cycling Group, but its approach will be different.  Yes, you'll still be able to access our very popular Beginners' Running Groups.  But we'll also offer 2- and 4-day workshops for more experienced clients, like Power Running (increasing your speed and power using the very latest science,) Powerlifting for Football, Olympic Lifting, and others.  These are very intensive sessions, packed with excellent information and expert coaching.  We're really excited about them!

Almost four years in, we're still growing rapidly.  We're learning as we go.  We pass information along as quickly as we can check its validity, disseminate it, apply it, and rewrite it.  Thanks for paying attention.

-Chris

Catalyst GO! Newsletter - July 2009

Summer Hockey Dryland Strength and Conditioning Camp

8 Weeks - July 6 Through August 28

Monday and Thursday Mornings

Two Groups: Midget-Junior and Bantam-Under

$329 (plus gst.)

This is the camp you've always needed!  Get signed up quickly - groups are very close to being filled!  Click here for more info!

It's gotta be June - the gym is full of hockey and football players, CrossFit is packed, and the sleds are out in full force!  Evening CrossFit groups are rockin' parties, and the Strongman equipment is full of good old chalk.  Love it!  The beauty of the Gym continues: every one here is an individual with their own background, their own stories, and their own character.  No need to impress with a fancy "fitness wardrobe" here.  People will know the *real* you VERY quickly.  

Watson is showing HIS true colours July 3 and 4th with his 24-hour Emergency CrossFit marathon.  He'll do 12 CrossFit WODs in 24 hours to raise funds for his buddy, Mark, recently diagnosed with Stage IV melanoma.  Mike didn't tell Mark what he was up to; when Mark saw a post on facebook, he completely broke down.  CrossFit ain't easy, but it sure ain't cancer, either.  You want to help? Show up and train with Mike.  He'll post his WODs of choice and timeline soon. He'll start Friday, July 3 at noon, and end at noon on Saturday the 4th.  Friday night, we'll show "Every Second Counts" - the CrossFit movie - $10 gets you in, and it's all donated to Mark's fund.  $10 to do each WOD with Mike, or use your CrossFit punch card and we'll donate the equivalent value to his fund.  Some are also placing small wagers on their own performance during these workouts......do whatever you feel you have to.  One of the WODs will be '100 Grand,' which was created by Sarah Grand, our own local cancer hero. There's a large contingent carrying Sarah's flag at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon this year - if you'd like to join them, click here for info.

July 18, the coaches (Mike, Tyler, Chris, Whitney, and Kris) will be headed to Moss Park Armoury for the CrossFit Ontario Challenge.  This will be a TOUGH weekend.  To see the competitors they'll be facing, click here.  We won't know the WODs in advance, but there are three of them, and they're all within 6 hours.  Time to Zone up!

We were exceptionally fortunate to be featured in Fytness Fanatik magazine this month! Click the picture for subscription info!

Our impromptu Zone 30-day challenge went exceptionally well.  Without more than 3 days' notice, over 50 people took up the Zone Challenge for 30 days.  They blogged their experiences on our Tracking Site.  Great information, recipes, and anecdotes were shared, and we ALL furthered our knowledge of performance, weight loss, and insulin control.  Thanks all!

This video had people talking for days and days afterward.  The old myth that it's somehow 'unsafe' for kids to lift weights can officially be declared dead.  Kids 'lift weights' all the time - themselves - and routinely sustain loads up to 3x their own bodyweight when they run, jump onto and off things, fall down, and play.  Are we advocating bodybuilding for 6-year-olds?  Hell no.  We're advocating good coaching with an emphasis on spatial awareness, balance, coordination, and fun.  

Coming up in September: the Catalyst Games.  Our biggest event of the year!  We'll be accepting 60 competitors in 2009.  The events (3) won't be announced until the week before the Games.  This year's categories (Mens' and Womens' division in each):

Open

Fire/Police/Military

Fitness Professional

High School

September will also see us launch our new CrossFit OnRamp program.  We'll keep doing our one-day Introduction to CrossFit group through the summer, but in September, we'll be offering a total-immersion, gradual rampup over 12 days.  Perfect for the beginner, it's a pretty amazing process that we're really excited about.  

Enjoy the summer.  Go outside.  Try new stuff.  Get better at the old stuff.  We're happy to help.

Catalyst GO! Newsletter - June 2009

Our 'new' Gym is 1 year old!  Lovingly referred to as 'the Park' by most CrossFit enthusiasts, we've seen some big changes, some huge growth, and a LOT of craziness.  Thanks to everyone for making it worthwhile.

May was another month of expectations exceeded, records shattered, new levels reached, and old limits left behind.  BASELINE week was the highlight; over 50 people doing CrossFit every single day, cranking our PRs and making us use up a LOT of chalk on the record board!  Shockingly (perhaps not,) folks were still hitting Fran on Friday as hard as they'd attacked Michael on Monday.  Some had personal bests at every single WOD.   Think, for a moment, about the level of fitness necessary to accomplish that feat: not only can you FINISH the week, but actually show improvement over previous levels while under extreme fatigue.  Unbelievable.

May also saw a few clients reap the benefits of CrossFit-crossover into their sport.  We saw personal bests in the Marathon distance from veteran Marathoners who thought they'd passed their prime; we saw faster 5km runs from runners who believed they were on a gradual downhill slope into obscurity.  Amazing.  We saw the womens' deadlift record pass the 300lbs mark.  We saw higher box jumps, bigger presses, and one giant chain take a lap or two around the parking lot. We saw 30 soldiers from the Canadian Forces do "Louder Than 11" before the sun rose.  We had 32 high school students do 'Fight Gone Bad' in a very intense environment.  And we had our very first Client Party at the Park gym!

And now, for something completely different..... RAID THE ROPES!  We're going to mash up CrossFit with Treetops Adventures (Goulais.)  On June 27th, we'll have a brief introduction, an aerial WOD on the ropes, do some ziplining, and then have some free 'play time.'  Please bring the kids (ages 9 and up,) but sign everyone up early!  There's limited space available, and this is one you DON"T want to miss. $32 for a truly unforgettable WOD!

Before 'Raid The Ropes,' though, is our inaugural NCC Strongman Challenge.  On June 6, we'll return to our roots: the parking lot behind our 'first' Catalyst facility on Queen Street.  The Challenge is open to everyone; participants in our free Tuesday night Strongman Group will feel right at home on the 3 events: seated Truck Pull, Medley, and Log Press.  Sign up the day of the event, or by calling 256-1344.

You're invited to a free 'garage door' showing of Every Second Counts, the CrossFit Movie.  Bring a lawn chair and your beverage of choice!  This is a great keyhole into the lives of those preparing for the CrossFit Games; it's hard, it's very intense, and it's a bit graphic, so reserve a sitter!  We'll post a date as soon as our copy arrives, but it will be a weekend in June.

IF YOU HAVEN'T yet signed up for our 2009 Hockey Camps, better make that call. To maintain our high quality level, we cap our groups at a low number.  Call 253-0011 to get in!

THE REALLY, REALLY BIG NEWS:  FOREVER FIT is opening at our Downtown Gym!  June 1!

I know what you're thinking: THAT doesn't look like the empty room downtown!  Kris has done a lot of work to improve it, and there's more to come (don't want to spoil the surprise yet, but it's BIG, BIG news for the Downtown area!)  Click the coupon below to print off a full-size image and save $$$ on your supplements in June!

July is closing in fast, and with it comes the annual Coach Migration: Chris moves back downtown during the day time, Ty starts mornings at the Park, and Mike coaches hockey players by the dozen at the Park too.  On July 18, Chris, Kris, Mike, Tyler and Whitney will compete in the Ontario CrossFit Challenge in Oakville, ON, against 100 of the top CrossFitters in Ontario.  Watch the site every Friday for their updates and athlete bios!

How Henry Ford Wrecked Your Gym

When Henry Ford invented the automobile, it nearly bankrupted him.  More than once.  It's a popular story, a testament to perseverance and belief in oneself.  It's quoted by business gurus and fans of Americana.  It's retold to aspiring entrepreneurs and turned into near-poetry by the self-help industry. 

Henry Ford's second invention, though, was what saved him: the assembly line.  By automating the most expensive part of producing cars, Ford minimized the human element.  Not only could a well-designed machine do a repetitive task more quickly, but it was easier to train a human being, prone to error, how to run a machine than how to build a car door.  Break the car up into its components, and assemble it all only at the end. The door would be built exactly the same way, every time, with no way for the human operator to screw it up.  There was no longer a need for craftsmen; anyone could be trained to pull the lever, press the button, swing the arm.  Experts were too expensive anyway.

Arthur Jones patented the 'Nautilus' machine.  He didn't invent the concept of single-muscle isolation or training; he didn't build the first machines; he didn't spend any time studying biomechanics.  He copied designs of various machinery that he'd seen on a trip to Eastern Europe, labeled the with his brand, painted them all Mediocre Brown,and invited bodybuilders to endorse them.  Some did.  Pulleys and cables were novel in North America, and novelty sells.  

Jones advocated - insisted upon - his HIT template: one set of each machine to total muscular failure, and move on to the next. Break the body up into its smaller componentry.  Train each 'muscle group' once a week, and no more.  No room for the damn humans to screw it up.  And for awhile, it even works: bodybuilders who were used to doing gymnastics, free weights, jumps and sprints made some progress, at least initially.  A change is as good as a rest, as they say.  Never mind that most bodybuilders have since attributed their initial gains on Jones' machines to overtraining or just plain ol' novelty.  The machines were quick, and it was easier to teach a human to adjust a seat than do a good back squat.

Common between Arthur Jones and Henry Ford is not just the use of machinery.  The machinery was just the vehicle.  The real commonality?  Their business model.

Start with a plain old sheet of steel.  Create a rough door shape on the Press.  Use an Inserter to add the windows.  The Joiner presses the two halves of the door together.  Drills screw in the interior.  Humans wipe off the dust and machine oil.  Send it on down the line.  Hum something by Johnny Cash. Grab the next one.  Before this quick, efficient model of automation, a car door would take nearly a full day alone; require several tradesmen of varying skill levels; and always bear the probability of human error.  Not anymore.  Modern car factories are robotic wonderlands; humans dot the landscape, clad in equipment to protect them from their mechanical masters, but they don't build the cars.  They squire for the machines, pay their union dues, and plan their weekends.

The old #1 Nautilus gyms are gone.  They imploded when their rampant growth outpaced their ability to retain members in the long run.  Lots of folks signed up; few stayed longer than a few months.  Building new facilities on up-front membership sales, Nautilus eventually ran out of new territory, and succumbed to their massive debts.  The #1 Nautilus gyms were bought up, in pieces, by other growing chains, and the patents were sold, copied, and modified just enough to avoid lawsuits.  The name 'Nautilus' is owned by a manufacturing company.

The business model remains: charge a large fee up front for unlimited membership.  Make it attractive with promises of a very small monthly rate.  Use the proceeds from the initial membership fees to build the next fitness centre.  Rinse, repeat.  Choose equipment not based on benefit, but on easy trainability.  Certify 'trainers' to teach people to use the machines.  Lather them up, wipe them down.  Send 'em on down the line.  Drum some inoffensive, upbeat techno music on your thigh.  

Does the model work?  Well, Gold's Gym was the first to pick up the same idea.  They filed for bankruptcy in the early 1980s.  Bally's softened the tone a bit, coloured the machines differently (Mediocre Grey to avoid patent infringement) and filed for bankruptcy protection twice.  24 Hour Fitness, current sponsor of The Biggest Loser, narrowly avoided the same fate by inventing the now-popular cancellation policy: pay to join, pay to quit. Now they're owned by a private equity firm - investment bankers. In Ontario, Premiere Curzon just went down, to be bought up by another fast-rising chain.  Wave after wave after wave.....  Want to know which chain fitness centre is next?  Look to the one opening new facilities at a rapid rate.  Chances are, they're using your membership as collateral, and your own gym's mortage sits in a bank's itchy palms.  

Is the car, or the exerciser, better?  If you don't count the money, is it better to be a Dodge Neon - built the same way every time, consistently good for 100,000km or less, frequently recalled - or a hand-built Italian sportscar?  Yes, the sportscar requires more time, more human contact, more experts involved.  It requires more patience.  It requires precision and experience.  It's built to work as a single unit, not a pile of replaceable parts.  

Individuality trumps automation.  Unless you're a car door.

Catalyst GO! Newsletter - May 2009

Before I write anything else, thanks first to everyone who came to our memorial WOD for MCpl Scott Vernelli.  A great turnout, and over $200 raised for the Soldier On Fund.  

Our "Fight On Friday" event was unbelievable.  32 competitors, a gym full of spectators, and over 300 entries in the 'Best Photo' Contest on Easter Monday.  This is the photo that won: Evil Mike.  LOTS of votes for this one!  

Our next event is a week-long blitz of the most popular CrossFit WODs.  All your 'favourites': Angie, Fran, Michael, Grace, Kelly.  On Saturday, a Deadlift-only Virtualmeet.  Saturday night, a client/member mixer at the Gym.  If you can hang all week without a rest, you KNOW you're fit.  May 11-16.  We call it BASELINE WEEK.

We bid a sad farewell to Kai Tuomi (Washington Nationals draftee) as he headed back to AAA tryouts in the States.  Here's what Kai had to say about his Catalyst experience.  We welcomed Spring with our first Truck Pull of the year in before the weather turned back to freezing.  An odd month, April, but one of our best ever.

THE BIG NEWS: We're launching three new websites May 1! 

 CatalystHockey.com features training information for hockey players at every level, a free Workout Of The Day, and exercise demos.  If you're training for hockey, you NEED to be reading this stuff.  Nothing will replace the quality of training you'll get from a Catalyst Elite Trainer, but if you're too far away to get into our 1-on-1 facility or into our Summer 2009 Dryland Groups, this is the site for you.  3 OHL teams have told their local players to do our program instead of their OWN program this summer!

Our Catalyst Trainer online tracking software is finally ready for client use.  Track all your workouts, see your personal bests, and let your coach track what you're up to all week.  See your buddies' workouts (if they'll let you!) and actually see your fitness progress in a graphical format.  Catalyst clients can email chris@catalystgym.com to get on it.  You can read more about it here.  This is a $40,000 project, over 2 years in development; we're glad to see it finally come to fruition!

CatalystFootball.com is the football player's dream.  Stop thinking about how to plan every football workout (and more importantly, get OFF the pec deck!) and just rip.  Like CatalystHockey.com, you'll get plenty of training articles for both in-season and offseason, free Workouts Of The Day, and lots of video and pictorial resources.  Get on there!  It's 100% free!

With OHL and Junior players returning home, and Midget players getting the itch, we're rolling out our Early Dryland Strength and Conditioning Camp starting May 21.  Full Gym membership, food plan, training plan, and Group workouts included.  For the price, it's an absolute steal, and athletes in the Early Group also save on the Summer Group.  

PERSONAL TRAINING CORNER:

April is not typically identified as a busy month in the Fitness Industry.  However, it's been one of our busiest ever, proof that the Catalyst model of mastering the basics, combining them in fun, sport-like workouts, and executing at high intensity works extremely well.  People are talking.  People are facebooking.  People are following on Twitter (@catalystfitness).  

Hockey players are home, too, and already hitting it hard.  People are becoming more interested in improving their fitness than just in fat loss, but they're aware that the new body will come with the new lifestyle.  We're experts in lifestyle immersion, and that means long-term change (and, sometimes, miracles.)

CROSSFIT NEWS

Our Introduction To CrossFit Group is now in very high demand.  We cap the group at 6 members, but have had to open up second groups to accommodate everyone on some weekends!  Best of all, the group remains virtually free; you get your $60 investment back in punch cards so that you can totally immerse yourself in CrossFit before deciding if it's for you.  

Our Saturday Morning 9am Group is huge and fun (usually 11-12 participants) and Mike's lunch - hour groups are becoming legendary.  His morning emails strike fear into the hearts of townsfolk everywhere.  If you're not on his email update list, request to be: catalystfitness@yahoo.ca.

Tyler got to train at CrossFit Rogue Fitness (Ohio) last weekend; he had fun despite the 5k run in 89 Degrees!

FROM THE GYM

Football season is obviously approaching; the tire is taking a lot of abuse, and it's great to see so many big, strong guys interested in improving technique in the Clean, Jerk, Powerlifting, and plyometrics.  As one said, the reason  most football players don't know how to do this stuff is because there's NOWHERE ELSE to do it in the Sault, and hasn't been in over a decade.  That really hit home.  Sticking to the Pec Deck and Leg Press in the offseason has put football and hockey players at a huge disadvantage over their competition in other cities; hopefully we can finally lay those days to rest.

We were lucky enough to have Marnie Holley come in and do a Kettlebell Clinic (thanks, Marnie!) on April 25th.  The event sold out almost as soon as it was announced, and it was easily worth the $50.  Some very inspiring athletes at the Gym right now.  You want to get more fit?  Immerse yourself in real fitness culture!

PUBLICATIONS, ARTICLES, VIDEO, ETC.

Our CrossFit vs. P90X article continues to be one of the most popular of all time.  Tyler and Chris made PLUSA (the world's most popular powerlifting magazine) for their participation in the Kinross Correctional Invitational in December.  Our latest article on Hockey Training got some great comments from high-level coaches.  Our Good Friday post was translated into Spanish by CrossFit Peru - man, Spanish makes EVERYTHING sound better!  How to Make Your Kid A Better Athlete hit home with quite a few parents (as evident in our Catalyst Kids Groups.)

Video: Our Bumper Plate Explanation was a big hit (especially Tyler's second bailout on the 250lbs clean- classic!) Rich Leblanc's hilarious Fight Gone Bad slideshow - with comments - just went up today, but will likely be passed around quite a bit! 

Finally, look for an article in CrossFit Journal within the next two weeks on our research into Exercise Adherence.  Thanks to the Editorial team at CFJ, it'll be impressive!

That's it for May.  Stay tuned: new stuff happens FASTER than we can post it, it seems.  Thanks for reading, thanks for being with Catalyst.  Come to our Mixer on the 16th.  Bring YOUR stories.

State Of The Industry

A picture is worth a thousand words, right?

These are from Planet Fitness.  How many alarms could Chris ring up in 10 minutes?

Also Planet Fitness.  I love the cartoon on the top sign.

...a classic.  Happy Sunday!  Join Kubis at 9am for Sunday Morning Salvation.

How To Make Your Kid A Better Athlete

 

Yes, you'll love them either way.  Kids don't HAVE to be athletes to be cool.  They don't have to be on a team; they don't have to make Rep; they don't have to be Captain.

But sports, games, and general play ARE good for kids.  Kids who regularly engage in active play are less likely to indulge in self-abusive behaviour later on; they demonstrate stronger social skills; they demonstrate a greater capacity in their schoolwork; they have better lifelong health.  In fact, a 1990 study, funded by Nike, found that girls who play sport at a young age are 80% less likely to be in an abusive marriage - even if they don't play sports beyond age 8!

Still, the subject of training children to exercise properly is a taboo subject.  Much of the fear comes from the idea of overloading growth plates and, ultimately, affecting the child's potential for growth.  This potential exists, make no mistake.  However, in avoiding all resistance training for kids, we're throwing the athletic baby out with the bath water.

Imagine you're a kid standing on a snowbank or hay wagon or sand pile, and mom rings the dinner bell.  Tonight: hot dogs and noodles - your favourite!  Quick, jump down!  

At the point of contact, you're absorbing roughly two and half times your own bodyweight in force.  Did that split-second decision take two inches off your height as an adult?  No way.  It's repetitive stress at high force that's dangerous.  Gymnasts don't get very tall, it's true.  But kids who do tumbling, martial arts, jump, run, fall, and throw stuff aren't affected.  To the contrary.

What's the BEST way to ensure that your child has every advantage when playing sports?  How can we keep them safe from joint and soft tissue injury on the field?  How can we keep them from burning out early, and giving up?

1. Early exposure to a wide variety of broad, all-inclusive physical activities.  Don't specialize.  Wayne Gretzky was offered a scholarship to pitch at a US University before he was signed to play Pro hockey; most people don't know that.  Gretzky didn't attend power skating and 'summer ice' programs.  Instead, he put down his skates when the playoffs ended, and picked up his glove.

2. Do things that require balance and positional awareness.  Tumbling is awesome for kids; so is Karate.  Both teach kids to be aware of, and in control of, their extremities while moving at high speed.  Balance is almost completely developed by age 12; if you don't have a good sense of balance by then, good luck developing it later.

3. Get lots of novelty, and make sure it's fun.  Focusing on one sport or activity too early means boredom, burnout, pressure, and overuse injuries.  Different sports require different movements around the same joints, which improves overall physical development and helps avoid injury down the road.  It also prevents 'putting all your eggs in one basket,' which reduces stress on both the child AND the parent.  You want to know why Billy's dad is so irate at the referee during Midget hockey?  Because his kid only has one shot at a scholarship, and he's cooling his heels in the penalty box instead of scoring goals.  However, if Billy was headed to the ball diamond in April, Daddy may water down his response a little.

4. Emphasize basic exercises, like squatting, pushups, pullups, somersaults, jumps....  Chances are, your 4-year-old squats better than you do.  That's because the deep squat is a natural human movement that adults UNLEARN.  Thanks, desk-based society!  While waiting for bedtime on Sunday, my daughter asked me to 'make up a Crossfit!'  I said, "5 situps, 10 pushups, 15 squats.  3,2,1..go!'  She rattled off 5 situps, 10 pushups, and fifty-one squats.  Bang.  This, after kicking her old man's butt at Catalyst Kids the day before, and then going to the Gymnastics Club that afternoon.  

5.  Use 3,2,1...Go!  Make it a game.  Do it with them.  3,2,1...GO! translates into instant focus (this also works on cleaning their room and getting ready to meet the school bus, as an aside.)  CrossFitting adults already know this one: 3,2,1 GO! means instant clarity, with eyes on only one goal: finishing.

6. Feed them.  Give them meat, vegetables, seeds, and fruit.  

7. Be experimental.  Try new stuff.  Be bad at it.  Doesn't matter!  If you can teach them to try new things without fear of ridicule, they're going to be miles ahead of their peers in the long run.

Bringing a kid to a gym isn't going to hurt them.  Bringing them to a chromed-up, selectorized "Fitness Club" isn't a great idea.  Instead, bring them to a place where they'll learn the basics, DO the basics with you, have fun, and see you sweat.  Yes, they're our future leaders, but right now, they're following YOU.

More information:

CrossFit Kids and Neural Learning

CrossFit Kids

Sault Gymnastics Club

Our Kids' Program

What Goes On At Crossfit Basics?

f you've been on this site more than once, you'll likely have noticed all out 'Tweets' (below, side) about Crossfit Basics, on Saturday Mornings.  Mostly, they're about how quickly the group is filling.  Last week, for instance, the group was overfilled by Wednesday; on Friday, we added a second group, and it filled in about 3 hours.

What's with the mad rush to try Crossfit Basics?  I'll try to break it down.

First, it's a great introduction to Crossfit.  If you've never heard of Crossfit, here's a glimpse at one reporter's first experience:

...you can also read lots more about it here.

Second, even if you never, ever plan on attending another Crossfit class, the Crossfit Basics course is a terrific introduction to human movement.  You'll learn how to do basic, fundamental things better: squat down and stand up, pick up a heavy object from the floor easily without risk of injury, lift things overhead, pull yourself up....  all good stuff.  Important stuff.  Stuff you may already be doing, but could be doing better.  

Third, you'll get to learn and experiment with exercises you've maybe only dreamed of doing: cleans, jerks, pullups..... You'll get to drop weights from overhead (in fact, we'll expect if of you.)  You'll try new stuff along with other beginners from across the fitness spectrum.  You'll practice together, share frustration and laughs, and then triumph.

Fourth: your first Fran.  A real, live CrossFit WOD, Fran is typically completed in under 7 minutes.  Want to know how a 7-minute workout (or less!) can possibly be tough?  Try it once, using only a 2lbs pipe, and you'll know.  But you'll do it.  You'll have done CrossFit.  You can brag.

Finally, the price is virtually nothing.  Yes, you have to pay $60 to reserve your sport, but you'll get $52 back in CrossFit punch cards, so that you can immerse yourself in CrossFit afterward.  You may thank us, or you may liken us to drug dealers giving you that first little taste of cocaine.....

Starting this week, you'll get a nice little certificate and your picture on our site!  Who could ask for more?

Call 256-1344 to sign up.  Hurry - we only take 7 people MAX per week!

Catalyst GO! Newsletter - April 2009

April Challenge - FIGHT ON FRIDAY

APRIL 10 - 9AM - "FIGHT GONE BAD" TOURNAMENT

One of Crossfit's most nefarious WODs, "Fight Gone Bad" was so named by BJ Penn after finishing this 17-minute agonyfest. 3 rounds of 1 minute each: push press, sumo high pull, box jump, wall ball, and rower. Most points (reps and calories burned) wins. 30 competitors max, split over 6 flights. 2 flights will be scaled to 50% weight and lower box jump height; 1 flight reserved for coaches and trainers. Thought Murph looked fun? This one's a barn-burner.

News:

March saw a lot of cool new stuff at the Gym: our new Plyo boxes, build and painted by Clint (featuring Pukie!), our new rice bucket, about a million new pounds of bumper plate, and a dozen new Crossfitters! With the snow melting, we'll soon be throwing open the doors and taking it to the streets. Where can I buy a 'Farmers' Walk Crossing' sign?

In May, we'll be celebrating BaseLine Week! All the greatest CrossFit standard WODs will take place within one week - Fran, Angie, Michael... and culminate with a Deadlift Virtualmeet on the 15th. See yourself improve at CrossFit; watch your CAT SCORE go up; hit it hard with the group!

Groups:

April 17 - Soo Minor Football Preseason Training Camp. This group has been wildly successful every year. Coach Tyler Belanger really brings the messages of strength, fun, and safety home to the kids. 4 weeks' training and FREE 1-month gym membership for the first time!

April 25 - Basic Kettlebell course with Marnie Holley. Basic exercises (and their variations) such as the swing, clean, snatch, press, windmill, and Turkish get-up will be

taught, along with some easier challenges. Expand your workouts! Call 256-1344 to register - only 5 spots left out of 15 at time of writing!

Introduction to Crossfit Group - Saturday Mornings at 7:30am. Learn all the fundamental movements of human activity: squatting, standing, pressing, pulling, lifting a load to the waist, and lifting a load from floor to overhead. Learn a perfect squat, get started on your road to pullups, and get basic instruction in the clean, jerk, and deadlift! $60 includes 90 minutes' expert instruction, 'Fran,' and a 4-punch Crossfit card (net cost: $0!) to get you started. Location: Industrial Park Gym.

Crossfit Schedule and Rates:

RATES:

DROP-IN RATE: $16

4 SESSIONS: $52

8 SESSIONS: $80

16 SESSIONS: $128

SCHEDULE

Queen St. Gym: MWF at 7am, Noon, and 7pm

Industrial Park Gym: 7am,9am,Noon,6pm, and 7pm

Sunday Morning Salvation - FREE for gym members; every Sunday morning at 9am. Work to perfect one lift or exercise each week.

Commentary:

Sebastien's article in CrossFit Journal was so well-received that we were requested to submit another article on our 2006-2007 study on exercise adherence. Stay tuned for that one.

Plyometrics Done Properly was timely for this time of year: appropriate for hockey players in the final stages of the season, not great for football players gearing up for summer ball (at least, not yet. Do strength training first!)

Groin Pulls In Hockey addresses a hot topic in the hockey world right now: too much machine-based training is causing NEW injuries! Weightlifting improves strength, power, speed, and agility, yes; but not on a machine.

Of course, if you missed it, Murph was awesome! 23 competitors; spectators with lots of kids and families; and a ton of pictures and video! The day after the event, I asked for pictures to be submitted for a prize. Within 4 hours, I had 180 pictures and 10 minutes of video. This was the winner:

Hockey season is clearly ending; OHL players are home and back in the gym. It's great to see the Juniors again after 6 months away with their respective teams. The North Stars are still going strong (good luck next week, boys!) and the Bantams are pretty well done. They're already pounding away for next year!

Our Personal Trainers are continuing to educate themselves far above and beyond the rest. After last month's coaching in the Olympic lifts, we're hammering the Kettlebells in April. It's extremely helpful for clients to have Trainers with a broad knowledge base, who aren't afraid to try new things (and fail until they get them right.

Also for parents: the Canadian Child Fitness Tax Credit. Click the link for information. You've earned it; claim it!

Catalyst Kids - eligible for the tax credit! - starts March 28! Get signed up now - spots are very close to full!

As always, more information is available by calling our Personal Training Centre at 253-0011 or our membership-based Gym at 256-1344.

Cops On Crossfit

"There is no better fitness programme for fire fighters or law enforcement."
M. Bender, 10 time winner of the "Toughest cop alive" competition

More and more, the physical needs of Police Officers are being recognized in scientific research.  While physical contact is now infrequent, Officers are realizing that their training old-style training programs - usually jogging, bench pressing, and bodybuilding-style splits, where the body is broken up into muscle groups, not trained as a unit - aren't working.  Biceps curls alone do nothing to move an irate drunk into the backseat.  

CrossFit is the principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide.

Our program delivers a fitness that is, by design, broad, general, and inclusive. Our specialty is not specializing. Combat, survival, many sports, and life reward this kind of fitness and, on average, punish the specialist.

The CrossFit program is designed for universal scalability making it the perfect application for any committed individual regardless of experience. We’ve used our same routines for elderly individuals with heart disease and cage fighters one month out from televised bouts. We scale load and intensity; we don’t change programs.

The needs of Olympic athletes and our grandparents differ by degree not kind. Our terrorist hunters, skiers, mountain bike riders and housewives have found their best fitness from the same regimen.

"Trainers and civilians needs are more akin to the firefighter, cop and soldier than they are to the elite athlete. The reason being, you don't know what gameday will look like, you don't know when it will occur and you don't know what the stressor will be, you just don't know." – Coach Greg Glassman

CLICK BELOW TO DOWNLOAD 'POLICE TRAINING' FROM THE CrossFit Journal.

Download Policetng_Mar03 

Read the results from last weekend's SWAT Roundup in Florida:  Crossfit Affliction

A Bull In A Bear Market

"Jackie"

1000 meter row
45 pound Thruster, 50 reps

30 pull-ups

This is Mike Skinner.  39, great wife, 2 kids.  Broker for ManuLife.

That's 475lbs on the bar.  Down and up.  Wow.

Every day, we get to see 'everyday people' doing the extraordinary.  That, to us, is what this game is all about.  This week has been a remarkable one: Mike and Ty had 15 people try heavy deadlifts on Monday.  On Tuesday evening, a huge group from Algoma Insurance was yelling and cheering for each other in a late-night workout.  You want staff bonding?  Give them common experience!  All week, our Crossfit groups have lit up our phones and message boards, reporting and comparing their times for Helen, and commiserating over Barbara.  More than once, someone has done the workout, been unsatisfied, and come back to do it AGAIN later in the day to try and do better!  Obviously, the workout was exciting, engaging, and the exerciser has completely bought into our philosophy!  The point: is your workout, or your coach, or personal trainer, getting you this excited to exercise?

Catalyst GO! Newsletter - March 2009

This issue of the Catalyst GO! Newsletter is sponsored by Spreadshirt! Click to save on Catalyst Gear!

Happy Murph Month!

March 14 - 9am - Murph Challenge. Get signed up today! 3 'Open' Classes - Male, Female, and Pro. Personal Trainers from other gyms welcome in the 'Pro' category! No entry fee!

What's Murph? Simple. A mile run. Then, in any order, 100 pullups, 200 pushups, 300 squats. And another mile run. Outdoors. For time. Partition the pullups, pushups, and squats as you like. ANYONE can finish this event, and the more competitive will go for a personal best time.

News:

Our Family Fun Day event at SSMGC was a riot - 71 kids and parents bouncing around, trying equipment and having fun! I know the kids enjoyed it ("Dad, can we get a foam pit at our house?") but it was also fun to see a couple of adults jump in, and we saw Joe's first muscle-up on the Speith Anderson rings!

Save $$$ with our new Personal Training Packages!

Our Rates:

$55/session (1 hour session with an Elite Personal Trainer; includes homework and food plan)

Prepaid Package of 10 sessions - $500 (save $50!)

Prepaid Package of 20 sessions - $900 (save $200!)

$40/session (half hour session with an Elite Personal Trainer; includes homework)

Prepaid Package of 10 half-hour sessions - $350 (save $50!)

Prepaid Package of 20 half-hour sessions -$600 (save $200!)

Train with your buddy or spouse!

$70/hour session (1 hour session with an Elite Personal Trainer; includes homework for the pair)

Prepaid Package of 10 sessions - $650 (save $50!)

Prepaid Package of 20 sessions - $1300 (save $100!)

*add 5% gst to all prices, please.

Make a commitment to yourself - save money! Keep yourself healthy and working hard - save money! Keep yourself out of the overcrowded healthcare system - save money! Be happy and pain-free - save money!

Get the best help available. Get a Catalyst Elite Trainer, and watch your life take off!

Groups:

March 5 - Baseball PreSeason Training Camp. We're very lucky to have Kai Tuomi (Washington Nationals draft pick) helping with this group. Tyler Belanger (Graceland) is the lead Trainer, and we have signups from out-of-town already. Learn exercises specific to your position, get closer to a scholarship, and get a 2-month membership to Catalyst Gym to go with your workout plan and food guide!

Introduction to Crossfit Group - Saturday Mornings at 7:30am. Learn all the fundamental movements of human activity: squatting, standing, pressing, pulling, lifting a load to the waist, and lifting a load from floor to overhead. Learn a perfect squat, get started on your road to pullups, and get basic instruction in the clean, jerk, and deadlift! $60 includes 90 minutes' expert instruction, 'Fran,' and a 4-punch Crossfit card (net cost: $0!) to get you started. Location: Industrial Park Gym.

Crossfit Schedule and Rates:

RATES:

DROP-IN RATE: $16

4 SESSIONS: $52

8 SESSIONS: $80

16 SESSIONS: $128

SCHEDULE

Queen St. Gym: MWF at 7am, Noon, and 7pm

Industrial Park Gym: 7am,9am,Noon,6pm, and 7pm

Sunday Morning Salvation - FREE for gym members; every Sunday morning at 9am. Work to perfect one lift or exercise each week.

Commentary:

Sebastien Wetzel is to be featured in the Crossfit Journal. Sebastien competed in our January Virtualmeet (he's hoping to compete in the Special Olympics someday) and caught the attention of the Crossfit Journal staff. As part of his ABA training for autism, Sebastien uses our Personal Trainers and Crossfit to practice linking tasks together, learn complex movements, and focus on task-related goals.

This has been a very popular month for article requests; following a brief write-up on the Zone Diet, we were asked to publish an overview of Insulin.  As soon as we had that up, the queries started flying for an article comparing Crossfit to P90X, the infomercial-based exercise program.  Our Invest In Yourself article series kicked off in February (one new one to come every month,) and as always, ourGym Site had people talking.  Chris spoke at St. Mary's College about football offseason training on the 18th, and was given a very flattering introduction by Coach Marty Smith.  Coming up soon: watch for the long-anticipated rollout of our online Trainer software; check the site for details on a new personal training program that we'll be the first in Canada to offer; and look for our Workplace Safe Lifting and Ergonomics seminars.  All are pretty exciting, and all represent the major strides that our little Sault Ste. Marie company is making in the fitness world!

Chris did 3 interviews last week, and we'll have text transcriptions of all three on our site soon. The Childhood Obesity interview, especially, will be of interest to parents.

Also for parents: the Canadian Child Fitness Tax Credit. Click the link for information. You've earned it; claim it!

Catalyst Kids - eligible for the tax credit! - starts March 28! Get signed up now - spots are filling up!

As always, more information is available by calling our Personal Training Centre at 253-0011 or our membership-based Gym at 256-1344.

$70/hour session (1 hour session with an Elite Personal Trainer; includes homework for the pair)

Prepaid Package of 10 sessions - $650 (save $50!)

Prepaid Package of 20 sessions - $1300 (save $100!)

*add 5% gst to all prices, please.

Make a commitment to yourself - save money! Keep yourself healthy and working hard - save money! Keep yourself out of the overcrowded healthcare system - save money! Be happy and pain-free - save money!

Get the best help available. Get a Catalyst Elite Trainer, and watch your life take off!

Crossfit Vs. P90X

What's the difference?  Well, a lot. Some say, not much.  They have a lot in common, and they're closer to one another than, say, the average gym-goers 'routine' of machines and cardio.

First off, neither of these methodologies are unique.  Both draw from a wide variety of more original sources.  In Crossfit's case, it's gymnastics, weightlifting, sprinting, powerlifting, and kettlebells; in the case of P90X, it's Yoga, bodybuilding, and martial arts.  All good stuff.  

It could be argued that Ross Training (www.rosstraining.com) was the original, but really, this stuff has been around for centuries.  Gym Jones is a tougher version still, but is closer to Crossfit than P90X.

Similarities:The beauties of both P90X and Crossfit: they incorporate whole-body movement.  They expose the user to new horizons (like Yoga and Martial Arts.)  They both decry the current trend in fitness toward machines, opting for primarily bodyweight exercise.  They rely as much on the exercises as they do on the coaching (critical for a good experience in either P90X or Crossfit, and a major difference from the GloboGym model.)

Differences: P90X mixes bodybuilding techniques (Day 1: chest and back) with other disciplines, like Yoga and Martial Arts, to maximize    .  It should also be noted that P90X is largely geared to improving physique, while Crossfit is targeting overall fitness improvement.

Crossfit, meanwhile, uses compound movements from gymnastics, martial arts, weightlifting, and powerlifting, as well as sprinting and running, to maximize the hormonal response to exercise.  Workouts are scalable from a rank beginner to a very elite athlete.  Workouts are constantly changing, involve big movements that demand focus and constant attention to form.  It's easier to 'grow up' with Crossfit, because mastery of many exercises requires years of practice, though the basics can be learned over a weekend, or picked up along the way.  

Crossfit, being open-concept, is constantly getting better.  Certifications are now available in both basic coaching practices, intermediate skills, and very advanced practices.  Members (hundreds of thousands worldwide) bring individual expertise to the table and that adds to everyone's experience.  For example, we saw the need for a easy-to-use tracking system, and we built it, spending tens of thousands in research and development, only to offer it back to the Crossfit community for free.

Food: P90X - operates in 3 phases.  The first is low-carbohydrate; the second is balanced (but low fat,) and the third is high-carbohydrate, low-fat.  This is a good reflection of the current opinion of mainstream public thinking, but isn't exactly up to speed with more advanced training practices.  In fact, with even less-cutting-edge media (Men's Health, Oxygen) taking up the battle cry of moderate carb, moderate protein, and lots of healthy fats, I was surprised to see a low-fat diet in such a progressive exercise prescription.

Crossfit advocates the Zone diet to most practitioners, and a growing percentage use the Paleo Diet.  There's no 'official' line on nutrition, or prescribed diet, but the Crossfit community is incredibly helpful on this point.  There's a Crossfit nutritional certification now.  The basic premise is to optimally prepare yourself at the hormonal level to deal with both the tough workouts and the physical demands of life.  The workouts themselves demand that you're eating properly: you don't want to tackle 'Fran' on an empty stomach, or experience a blood sugar crash during 'Murph.'

Differences in practice: With P90X, trainees watch a video every day that takes them through a workout.  It feels a bit like an infomercial (also the program's primary marketing strategy,) but if that does it for you, then great.

Crossfit posts a daily workout (the WOD, or Workout Of The Day) on its website (www.crossfit.com) every morning.  It usually posts a picture of a Crossfitter or group doing something wild, a couple of articles, and interesting links to Crossfit affiliates.  Then you have the discussion board, where Crossfitters around the world post their daily results.  Most people also read the affiliate blog for more articles of interest from international affiliates.  Of note: every single Crossfit affiliate (there are more than a thousand now,) has their own blog.  Some do the prescribed WOD, some not.  Every one posts articles and video, most every day.  Many of the WODs are named so that practitioners can gauge progress (for instance, your 'Fran' time may decrease, indicating an improved work capacity.)

Philosophical Differences: Crossfit chooses to change its focus daily without forewarning its practitioners.  This, they argue, helps Crossfitters put out their maximal effort every day, because they don't know what's coming next.  It's tougher to save energy for training days at which you're more likely to excel, and thereby increase skill in only one area.  Our own research - an independent two-year study on exercise adherence - confirms this notion.

Crossfit is also a lot more fun.  Knowing that tomorrow is 'Yoga Day' doesn't do much to excite an exerciser on the third time through the DVDs.  How many P90X folks are up at midnight on the P90X website, chatting to others about 'Chest and Triceps' day tomorrow?  Few.  At Crossfit.com?  Thousands are hitting 'refresh' to see the WOD before they go to sleep.

However, each are great at moving people toward the stated goals of the program.  Crossfit's goal is to improve work capacity (fitness) on a broad scale; P90X is built to help people lose body fat.  Where physique improvement comes as a byproduct of improved fitness with Crossfit, P90X targets that goal singly.

Scientific Differences: P90X relies heavily on the research behind 'muscle confusion' - the concept of every-changing demands on muscle tissue.  By minimizing adaptation to exercise, you  get more from it; we agree.  We love change.  

Crossfit cites research, reviews research, and publishes its own scientific Journal every month.  Its discussion boards are a constant spot for debate on dozens of topics daily.  Workouts are based around scientific evidence, and though founder Greg Glassman may argue with some high-level coaches, he's definitely among the elite and can speak to other scientists on their level.

Catalyst's own study on exercise adherence in 2006 showed that intense, constantly-varied workouts can produce the best adherence rate (you'll like it better, so you'll do it more.)  That's what led us to Crossfit in the first place.

Community Differences: Crossfit's biggest strength, arguably, is its community.  It's an open-source group, where anyone is free to post anything related to the WOD.  There are over a thousand affiliate gyms, each with dozens or hundreds of Crossfitters, and hundreds of thousands doing Crossfit on their own in basements, garages, parks, and streets.

Price differences: Crossfit, at its core level, is 100% free.  Skill acquisition, coaching, and gym access is not.  Some may practice Crossfit for 30 years without instruction beyond the expert coaching offered in the Crossfit Journal ($20/year) or for free on the main site and affiliate site.  

P90X - 3 easy payments of $39.95.  Note: the definition of 'easy' depends on your income, I guess.

Verdict: We like P90X.  We like exposing people to different methodologies.  We like the variety and balance.  We think people can do worse; it's probably better than 95% of the programs out there.

But we like Crossfit better.  We chose Crossfit because it matched our own philosophy and research.  Crossfit feels like a sport.  Most Crossfitters eventually become as lean and toned (and more muscular) than P90Xers, but it comes as a side effect to a much-improved level of fitness, not as an end in itself.  We also like the incorporation of true strength training, which is hard to instruct on a DVD, and lends itself to all kinds of liability that no one outside of the open-source community can afford.  If you were to train with P90X founder  Erwin Sean Caravana, maybe there would be more skill-based lifts; we can't know for sure. Details about Caravana are hard to find; is he a Trainer, or just the business brains?  Or Cleans and squats with heavy weight, though, force a metabolic change that you just can't duplicate with biceps curls, lunges, and shrugs.  P90X also feels a bit too 'sound stagey' to us - lines, even in the 'making of' videos, seem rehearsed.  It's well done, but watch a Crossfit video compared to a P90X infomercial, and note the realism: you can't fake THAT.

 

Further Reading: No Ceiling, Is CrossFit For Runners?

Insulin

Here's a great read from Crossfit Again Faster (a terrific blog): Disturbing Counsel.

Insulin is your internal UPS. When you eat, and your blood glucose level rises above 90 mg/dl, the pancreas kicks out insulin to start moving blood sugar and other nutrients around. Without insulin, you couldn't digest food; you could literally eat all you want, and none of it would reach the muscle cell, and you'd starve to death. Insulin, obviously, is a critical hormone.

Unfortunately, insulin is an equal-opportunity dump truck. It doesn't care what gets dumped where; it just looks for a big 'VACANCY' sign and fills accordingly.

When blood sugar's rising too fast or too high, the pancreas overreacts a bit. Insulin pours into the bloodstream, pushing blood sugar and amino acids,etc. anywhere possible. Unfortunately, this results in a blood sugar crash, because insulin doesn't know when to stop. So a few hours later, you're tired and hungry again. Long-term, your muscles become resistant to these insulin waves. That's diabetes, friend: the resistance of muscle to insulin.

How can you moderate the insulin response? Well, dull the sharp spike in blood glucose with proteins and healthy fats. Your blood sugar level won't rise as quickly, and the pancreas will release insulin in a controlled, orderly fashion. You can also cut back your total intake of carbohydrates (which are just complex or simple sugar molecules.)

This all sounds like a bunch of chemistry so far, so let's talk about how insulin levels affect YOU.

What's your typical breakfast? Cereal? Well, with enough milk, your blood sugar levels shouldn't rise too quickly. Not bad, but consider the type of cereal you're eating. If it's too sugary or processed, blood sugar levels will still rise too quickly; you'll secrete too much insulin, leaving you sleepy and hungry. Think that only kids' cereals are this way?

Here's a good story: Corn Flakes were invented by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg (yep, THAT Kellogg) to reduce sexual desire and cure the 'epidemic' of masturbation by lulling the eater into a lazy, unmotivated state. Graham Crackers were invented by Rev. Sylvester Graham to do the same. They weren't aware of the mechanism, but knew that carbohydrates would lull the eater into sedation. Kellogg, by the way, had a lot of other great ideas, including inflicting genital pain on kids to discourage overactive sexuality later.

One of the main reasons that diets don't work (at least, not for long!) is because they usually don't address the hormones behind the storage of fat and the insulin spikes associated with processed food. While most diets now recognize the value of 5-6 small meals per day, few acknowledge the goal behind frequent meals: controlled insulin levels. Instead, they choose to restrict carbohydrates, or proteins, or fat, or total calories. Take Weight Watchers, for instance: if you ate 6 small meals per day, and some of those meals were solely carbohydrate, your blood sugar spikes would make you store carbohydrate as fat. Likewise, on a strict Atkins diet, insulin levels are too low, and the protein isn't effectively used as energy. You CAN use protein for energy (gluconeogenesis,) but it's an inefficient process, especially without insulin to help.

Why the obesity epidemic? Why the skyrocketing rates of Type II diabetes? Look at our dinner plates. At least 2/3 is carbohydrate. A pasta dinner is ALL carbohydrate. What chance does your pancreas have to control insulin output? None. Look at the FDA: they're not only responsible for regulating intake of foods, but also selling crops. And which crop gets all the government funding support? Corn, full of fructose and a major insulin overstimulant. Corn is in everything: pop, bread, virtually any food containing fructose...even protein bars. What diet does the government recommend for avoiding heart disease? Low-fat (read: high carbohydrate.) What do doctors recommend for Type II diabetes - a totally reversible condition? Drugs. Not exercise (to raise insulin sensitivity in the muscle) or a balanced diet, but medication.

Clearly, no one is going to control insulin for you. It's up to you. This is why most Crossfitters follow the Zone diet (www.zonediet.com) - balanced protein and carbohydrate intake, moderate healthy fat intake. It's both beautiful in its simplicity and challenging enough to hold your attention. No, it's not controversial. It's even kinda boring. But it works.

If you don't want to listen to Dr. Sears, or buy his book, try this: eat protein at every meal. Eat denser carbohydrate sources at the same amounts as the lean proteins, or vegetables at double the volume of lean proteins. Eat a bit of fat at every meal. Here's a good starting point: eat a piece of lean chicken breast about the size of your palm. Eat a little pile of rice, about the same size. Eat a few almonds. If you feel sleepy an hour later, cut back on the carbs a bit next time, and try it again. Better yet, trade the rice for about twice the amount of salad.

Raise your insulin sensitivity with exercise: intervals, weights, and aerobic. Burn that diabetes candle at both ends. But keep it in check. You'll live longer, be smarter, and enjoy life more.

Shirt Sale - Get Ready For The Murph Challenge!

Murph Challenge is March 14!  Get your Team Green Gear and represent!

Personal Training Rates, March 1 '09

Save $$$ with our new Personal Training Packages!

 

Our Rates:

$55/session (1 hour session with an Elite Personal Trainer; includes homework and food plan)

Prepaid Package of 10 sessions - $500 (save $50!)

Prepaid Package of 20 sessions - $900 (save $100!)

 

$40/session (half hour session with an Elite Personal Trainer; includes homework)

Prepaid Package of 10 half-hour sessions - $350 (save $50!)

Prepaid Package of 20 half-hour sessions -$600 (save $100!)

 

Train with your buddy or spouse!

$70/hour session (1 hour session with an Elite Personal Trainer; includes homework for the pair)

Prepaid Package of 10 sessions - $650 (save $50!)

Prepaid Package of 20 sessions - $1300 (save $100!)

 

*add 5% gst to all prices, please.

 

Make a commitment to yourself - save money!  Keep yourself healthy and working hard - save money!  Keep yourself out of the overcrowded healthcare system - save money!  Be happy and pain-free - save money!

 

Get the best help available.  Get a Catalyst Elite Trainer, and watch your life take off!

3 More Weeks of Free Crossfit Boot Camp!

Hurry!  Free Weekend Crossfit Boot Camp ends March 1!

Free Boot Camp is a 90-minute introduction to Crossfit.  You'll learn basic techniques in the Squat, Deadlift, Press, Push Press, Jerk, Clean, and Pull-up exercises (yes, you CAN do pull-ups if you're taught properly!)  

Instructed by head coach Chris Cooper, the Free Boot Camp explains Crossfit methodology, puts you on a solid footing to start the Crossfit program, and gives you some insight into why Crossfit is a rapidly-expanding favourite of so many folks in the Sault.  It's fun, it's simple, and you'll get to do "Fran" - a Crossfit standard - at the end.  

Wanna sign up and give it a shot?  256-1344.  Get in under the wire!

Beginning in March, the Free Boot Camp will be replaced by the Crossfit Essentials Course, which will run from 8-9am on Saturday mornings.  The course will be spread out over two consecutive Saturdays, will go further in depth, and will cost $60 (plus gst.)  Those who complete both Saturday sessions will receive a Crossfit punch card for 4 Crossfit sessions, meaning that the net cost of the Essentials Course is still zero.  

Why the change?  Well, we're committing our best coaches to ensuring that you get a productive and safe Crossfit experience.  We're asking you to commit to finishing the Essentials Course, and try Crossfit for a few sessions.  You'll love it; we promise.  

Below is a sample of what you can expect at a Crossfit Essentials Course:

Teaching The Clean from Leonid S. on Vimeo.

Invest In Yourself

 

Last night, I opened an envelope from my financial advisor.  If you've received one of these, you know the next part already.  My loudness almost woke up my kids.  

Unlike our anatomy, our savings and investments should improve with time.  I don't know much about that, but I spend a LOT of time with human bodies, and there's one thing that's true of all of us: we're on a downward slope.  Rage, rage as much as you want, but you're not going to be as strong when you're 70 as you are now (unless you're weak now.  Maybe you are.  If so, keep reading anyway.)

The investment you're making through exercise and good dietary practices are slowing that decline dramatically, though.  Consider the largest problems faced by our elderly: Type II Diabetes (not only avoidable, but reversible), heart disease (largely avoidable,) and bone/muscle injury due to lack of use or misuse (completely avoidable.)  

 

You've read the headlines: health care is declining faster than the TSX.  Your savings are back at 2003 levels.  Do you REALLY believe that we'll have the same health care system 10 years from now?  How about 20?  What if you injured your back at work TODAY: what kind of advice would you get at the hospital?  A referral to a physiotherapist, or a prescription for OxyContin?  Advice to take time off work, get bed rest, and take drugs?  My point: would the advice help you avoid the problem in the future?

 

Chances are, you're going to have to work longer than you'd planned.  Maybe 5 extra years.  Are you going to be able to handle 5 more years?  Will you emerge healthy enough to enjoy retirement, or will you be so far into the twilight that you'll have to scrape to finish?

Sure, you may live long enough to still have a long retirement.  Or you may live long enough to suffer through long illness.  Maybe you'll be too ill to travel.  Maybe your final years will be spent in hospital.  Maybe, instead of fulfilling your dream of giving birth to triplets at age 72, you'll require your own medical care.

 

Exercise is cumulative.  One bout is fun, but won't help long-term.  You need to compound the interest yourself.  You need to be investing, every day, time.  You need to be paying ATTENTION.  Time is now the most valuable asset you have: invest it wisely.

By the way, learning new stuff is also great.  Study as much as you work out.

February RUNNING GROUP!

It's been a long winter. Mike's ready to melt some sidewalk with his new RUNNING GROUP!

Unlike our other running groups, this group doesn't have a distance-based goal. Instead, the goal is to shake off the cobwebs, rage against the last dark days of winter, and jolt out of the slumbering winter.

Fast runs; intense, fun workouts; new challenges! Let's roll!

February 16 - 7pm - Mondays for 6 Weeks

$89 (plus gst)

Runs leave from Catalyst on Queen Street.

Register: 253-0011.

Go! Newsletter - February 2009

Download Cafenaturacoupon

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!

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:

1. Longevity – they’ve been around awhile
2. Peer-review – they’ve been used and critiqued and argued extensively
3. Scientific – they’re replicable
4. Validity – they provide precisely the type of information we require
5. Simplicity – they can be done with minimal equipment
6. Rigor – while they can be performed by a novice, their level of accuracy improves in the hands of a professional.
7. Relevance – each Element must be challenging even to one specialized in that particular Element.
8. 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.

Download 10componentsebook 

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....

If you've visited a big gym lately, you'll notice that you have more choice of exercise machinery than ever before.  You can isolate a given muscle in virtually any plane, you can adjust your seat without thinking about it, you can pop a pin to increase or decrease the weight.

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.

There are a ton of postural problems that derive directly from our 'seated society' - bad backs, early-onset osteoporosis and arthritis, poor muscular coordination, muscle tightness, and - while we're at it - fatness.  Chairs make you fat.  Yes, they do.

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.

    

Want to hear the entire Rippetoe interview?  Click here.

Catalyst GO! Newsletter - January 2009

This month's edition of the GO! Newsletter is sponsored by Velorution. In case you missed it, Andre Riopel's interview was wild: great insight into Andre's philosophy on life, training, and the bike, and some acrobatic hijinks by the man himself!

CLICK Download VELORUTIONCOUPON TO DOWNLOAD THE COUPON!

Happy New Year! 2009 is going to be your best year ever: you'll be happier, healthier, and have more time to reflect on the abundance that we all enjoy in life.

Catalyst is doing our part. We're adding some pretty great groups in January: Catalyst Kids, a new Baseball Conditioning Group, another Corporate Workout Group (thanks, Janet!) and expanding our Flat-Out Boot Camp group and Cycling Group.

We're also rolling out our new online tracking system (in Beta as I write this, but the final version will be ready for the world in January!) Mike and I are working on a fitness rating and tracking system which will greatly streamline the experience clients have with their personal trainers. You'll have greater access to your own information, be able to watch your progress more accurately (and quicker!) and have more fun with the whole process. You'll see the results of your workouts more quickly, and notice positive changes all the time. Very exciting stuff.

We're also expanding our intake/assessment procedure in 2009. Right now, a new client has a battery of tests performed over an hour or so, including: aerobic capacity, anaerobic capacity, strength, dynamic flexibility, posture, and body composition. We do it for free. And we're adding even more to it. Standing on a scale and getting pinched just doesn't cut it anymore, not with all the research out there.

Our first Virtualmeet was a success, and so we're planning two more: a Push/Pull Meet January 23, and an Olympic lifting meet February 7. Push/Pull means max bench press and deadlift; Olympic lifting refers to Clean and Jerk and Snatch. Lots of fun, international judging, and PRs all over the place.

Another local high school is scheduled to visit January 9. They have great coaching, and some real firebreathers (I'm told,) but they'll have to go a long way to top CASS' visit!

Our online exercise demo library has been revived after our system crash. Over the holidays, Mike, Tiff, Ty and I will be updating the videos to give better step-by-step instructions (and bring our haircuts up to date.)

Highlights from December that you may have missed: Jim Liguori's interview. Andre Riopel's enlightening chat. Mike Watson's insight into training for downhill skiers, and our feature on one of our favourite exercises: The Squat.

Yes, 2009 is going to be your best year ever. What's going to make it so? Doing the same thing, and hoping for the best? Wishing that something good would happen TO you? Bad news: ain't gonna happen. You're not going to win the lottery. You're not going to accidentally improve. Improvement takes effort and knowledge. You're going to need help. Hope we see you in 2009.

Outliers - What We Can Learn From Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell is a terrific writer (one of my favourites.)  He wrote Blink.  He wrote The Tipping Point.  And now he's writing about Outliers - those special individuals who rise above the rest, and what makes them special.  The surprise?  They're not born to it.  Their specific influences, environment, culture, and - most importantly - practice are what make them great.

Gladwell starts the excellent book talking our language - hockey.  Want to know the most popular birth month among our most elite players in Junior A and NHL hockey?  January.  The second-most popular?  February.  Third?  March.  Why is it that players born earlier in the year are more likely to advance to the higher ranks of hockey?

Gladwell proposes it's the age cutoff date for most Canadian hockey leagues: January 1.  A child born on January 2, 2009, will be nearly a year older than his counterpart born December 30, 2009, but will still play in the same league, on the same team.

By age 8, when players start attracting the attention of all-star and rep squads, that age difference will still be obvious in most of the categories that matter: size, strength, speed, agility, and dexterity.  The older players are more likely to be noticed, even at that young age.  Their subsequent recruitment onto rep teams and travelling squads means greater exposure to good coaching, more practice time, and more time honing competitive skills.  Players who started out lucky thanks to their birthdate become much more skilled due to the extra coaching and practice time.  And the cycle perpetuates itself.

This is not to say that a player born in November or December has no chance, only that they have a lot of ground to make up at critical points in their playing career.  

This is where Gladwell's postulation that 10,000 hours of practice is required to become master of anything comes into account. He's no longer talking about hockey players by this point, instead focusing on classical musicians and Mozart and computer programmers, but his points still apply.  A player born in January will playing/practicing only 3 hours per week will still have 175 more hours playing than his December-born buddy.  That's a lot of coaching, and a lot of experience.  It's a big head start.

Can that 10,000 hours of practice be made up?  Yes.  Consider that much of the 10,000 hours is self-guided, and more playful in nature than disciplined acquirement of skill.  Play is critical, don't get me wrong, but how does an hour of quality coaching compare to an hour of just 'shooting around?'  2 to 1?  3 to 1?  50 to 1?

How much time can quality off-ice training make up?  What if we could negate the strength and speed advantage through science and elite coaching?  

And what if you were born in January?  How much more an advantage could you gain if you applied advanced conditioning methods to your training?  Worth thinking about.

Kinross Correctional Meet Wrap-Up

On December 13, we went to prison.  Our sentence: 8 hours in the hole.

Every year, Kinross Correctional holds its Invitational Powerlifting Meet.  True, we're the only outsiders who show up.  True, it's open to every inmate at the facility (over 1600 now.)  But you'll never find a more exclusive meet.  Even at the 2005 APF National Championships, no one fingered a shotgun while they asked me what the hell I was doing there; that happened the first time I visited Kinross Correctional, in 2003.

This time, it was Tyler's turn: first meet, first time in a prison.  There's plenty of reason for anxiety between the two, but he didn't show any of the pre-game jitters that I'm sure I did on MY first time 'inside.'

Things ran a little differently for us this time.  In the past, we were allowed to take our food inside, and we'd camp out in the rec director's office, running in and out for food and water all day.  When the prisoners left for 'count' at 10:15, we'd sit and relax, eat, and nap for two hours.  Between the bench press and deadlift rounds, we could drink coffee from our thermos and compare bite marks from our bench shirts.  Not this time.

No, this time we were asked (in that special way of asking that you'll only appreciate after being in a prison) to leave our food in the officer's lunch room, which was across the Yard, and reachable only with a guard's accompaniment.  I don't think the full magnitude of that problem was appreciated by any of us at the time.  We were all too fired up to get going.

The inmates were already inside the prison gym and warming up when we arrived.  Due to the delays at the check-in counter, we were about 15 minutes late, and I was worried we'd have to rush our warmups.  Luckily (thought I at the time,) the meet directors (also inmates) were slow to get things ready.  We were casually weighed in, had our rack heights taken, and then allowed to meander through the Pit for nearly a half hour before the first group of lifters got rolling.  Again, we didn't appreciate the problems that would arise from the slow start right away.

On the positive, the meet had over 60 lifters, which is up from only around 40 last year.  The Club is growing inside the prison.  That's great, because to take part in the Meet, prisoners have had to be clear of gangs, drugs, and other infractions for a year beforehand.  More lifters means more social progress INSIDE the facility.  It also means a long weight before the second group, the heavyweights, got going.

Classes were decided not by bodyweight, but by opening attempts on the Squat.  Hence, there were 198lbs lifters in both the first and second group of lifters, making it hard to tell against whom I was competing.  Ty weighed in at 201lbs, putting him just out of reach of the 198s, and in with the 220lbs class.  Mike was 268lbs, but there were few others in his class, and as he was only interested in Bench Pressing and Deadlifting, his squat attempt didn't matter much to him (he just took a token 135lbs squat to make it through to the second round.)

We warmed up in the Pit.  The pit used to have two cages and one squat rack, but for some reason, one of the cages was gone, so we split time in the squat rack with a few inmates.  A squat rack is fine, but you have to take several steps back to clear the 'safety' pins, which aren't low enough to accommodate a powerlifting squat.  I warmed up to around 365lbs, and then hung out to await my turn on the platform.

At around 9:15, our flight was finally called.  There had already been a few issues with disqualified lifts due to extra people on the platform, but the judges were being fairly lenient with depth calls (I thought) and everything looked good.  Tyler was to take his first attempt right after me, so Mike and Keith stuck near us to calm us down.  When I did my first meet in the Pen, my first squat attempt was red-lighted because my feet left the ground when I locked out my squat.  I was so jacked up, I actually jumped with the weight!  Luckily, Ty's a lot calmer in competition than I was back then.

I sat back with 415, heard Mike call, "UP!" and drove up.  It was a very easy attempt.  I was tempted to go straight to 455, but wasn't confident enough, so called for 435 on my second attempt.  That way, I wouldn't make the same mistake I always made, which was taking jumps in weight that were too big, and getting stuck with my opener as my only good lift. 

Ty took 415 VERY low, drove up, and got three whites.  A judge stood up and mentioned to Mike that Ty had 'bounced' a little in the hole (he'd dropped, stopped and risen a bit, then dropped lower.)  This was obviously due to the fact that the weight was too light for Ty's squat suit, but we figured more weight would straighten out the problem.  Ty called 445 for his second lift.

After a half hour wait - squat suit on, little circulation in the legs, and no movement to stay warm - I got to lift again.  435 was even easier; I tried to drive up more quickly.  I called for 455, trying to stay conservative and build a PR total instead of hitting a personal best squat.  Ty hit depth easily on 445, but the same little bounce cost him the lift (2 reds, 1 white.)  Hey, he'd been warned, but that's still a crummy way to lose a solid lift.  He was a good inch below parallel, and drove it up like he was going to leave the ground.  The lift didn't count, but he still called for 485 on his third attempt because it 445 was so easy.

We should have looked at the clock.  It was 10:00am.  Prisoner count - when every inmate returns to his cell for a headcount - was at 10:15am.  There was a half hour wait before our next attempt, because our group was so big.  

And so, at 10:15, a bell rang.  The inmates left.  And we didn't figure out, until that moment, that there would be no third attempt.  We were stuck with whatever we'd done so far.  This wasn't such a big deal for me, but Ty was stuck with a 415lbs squat because his 445 was redlighted.

Mike was starving, and so was I; we hadn't had anything to eat since 5am.  Adrenaline was keeping me perky, but he was suffering.  Tyler had somehow managed to sneak two Clif bars in.  I didn't ask how, and the wrappers seemed to have maintained their integrity, so I think Mike ate one of those.

We trudged over to the lunch room.  Usually, we'd have two hours to eat and then sleep a bit; today, we were treated to some great stories by our host, Dave Mastaw.  The time flew by, and he did a great job of entertaining us while I ate my turkey, Ty and Keith had their homemade venison sausages courtesy of the prison cook, and Mike tried to sleep.  The lunch area was full of guards, so rest was impossible.  Then we were back to the Gym again.

We started warming up on bench.  Dave Mastaw had reamed the inmates responsible for running the meet, and so suddenly we were back to the old ways: quick changes between lifters, no chitchat on the platform, and quick flights.  We rushed the warmups a bit, with Keith running between lifters to help with shirts and spotting the bench.  Thank God he was there.  

I opened with 315lbs, and it came up quickly.  My shirt was fitting a bit high, and I felt like I was being strangled as I lowered the weight, but it was nice to lock it out so easily.  Tyler opened at 285, threw that up like it was full of helium, and called for 315 next.  I called for 325.  Mike opened at 460.  It also zipped up like it was nothing.  All three of us had a lift on the board.  Then came the long wait until the next lift, which was harder on the bench than on the squat.  For one, you have to keep your arms elevated, or they'll turn purple.  You have more gear, so you have to stay close to one spot.   There were some HUGE lifts on the bench - the favourite of the inmates - and it was fun to watch.  One guy opened with 400lbs in a T-shirt, and pressed it like it was 100lbs.  Wild.

Tyler cranked 305 easily on his second attempt, and called for 335lbs for his third.  I set up under the bar, got a great hand-out from an inmate named Speck who had narrowly beaten me in that class the year before, and lowered it well.  I touched a bit high on the chest, and when I started to press, I shifted my weight a bit to try to get my elbows over on the bar.  In my glasses, I saw the reflection of a red light flash on behind me, so I gave up on the weight.  I thought I'd save the energy for my third attempt.

Mike pressed an easy 500lbs (his first time at a bodyweight below 275lbs,) and it looked like cake.  So easy, in fact, that he asked for 550lbs for his third attempt - wow.

I missed my third attempt - 325 again - because I carried it too low on the chest.  Overcompensation - not enough time practicing with the shirt in the weeks beforehand.  Oh well.  I was happy with 315lbs.  Tyler got 335lbs off his chest, but couldn't lock it out.  Mike took 550lbs halfway, and then it drifted back toward his face and he lost it.

Deadlifting started right away.  Ty and I were excited (deadlifting is our 'money' lift) but I was already feeling drained from lack of food and a looooong week of early mornings, late nights, and little kids who didn't want to sleep.  I'd hit 520lbs in May, and 510 at the Catalyst Games in September; I was shooting for 505 to give me a 1255 total, which would have been a personal best total by 5lbs.  It doesn't sound like much, but after 3 months of Crossfit (very little, if any, bench press) and no squats in the several months preceding, I would have been very happy to have a PR total of any kind.

I opened at 475lbs; so did Ty.  Mike opened at 500lbs.  We all hit our lifts without problem, but I felt slow.  My back was tightening up, but Ty looked strong.  I called 505, he called 505, and Mike called 550lbs.  

By the time our second attempt rolled around, we were watching the clock very closely.  At 3:15, the inmates were to leave for the next Count, and the meet would be over, whether we'd had our third attempt or not.  We were among the heaviest lifts, meaning we were among the last to go in our group, and we were told minutes beforehand that we'd be moved to the top of the order for the third round so that we could get our third attempts in.

I set up for 505 well, but rounded early and stopped at my knees.  In hindsight, I may have given up early.  On the other hand, I'd had two sandwiches and some cold turkey since 5am (it was 3pm,) little sleep, and no coffee to jack up my nervous system.  I felt flat.  Not giving excuses, but instead setting up Tyler's lifts, because he was facing the exact same problems as the rest of us.  Ty pulled 505 fairly easily, tying his personal best.  He asked for 515lbs on his third attempt.  I repeated at 505, and Mike asked for 600lbs after pulling a solid 550lbs.

505 didn't leave the floor for me; I was done.  I was disappointed in my deadlift (usually my saving grace,) but not surprised.  I was finished.  Ty, though, cranked a huge PR 515lbs!  Mike just missed 600(probably for the same reasons,) showing just how great Ty's last pull was: imagine if he'd had the food and rest that we'd been promising him!

In the end, I totalled 1225, which wasn't bad.  Ty totalled 1245, and I think we've lit a fire that's going to burn for awhile.  Mike had a 500lbs press and a 550lbs deadlift to go with his 135lbs squat, which were pretty good for his new lower weight class (his records, by the way, are 780lbs squat in competition, 585lbs bench, and 680lbs deadlift.)  We did get to see a 685lbs pull by a guy in the 242lbs class, which is awesome, and a 700lbs attempt get to the knee.  Had an amazing time, as usual, and I was shocked to find out how much these guys remembered about me from last time (a year ago.)  They knew my lifts, knew my weight, and knew what to expect.  I was very happy to see the group growing, and I'm sure the meet will be efficient again next time (the usual organizer, Toler, was taking a well-deserved rest from organizing and competed again instead.)  

Thanks, Kinross.  Sorry we can't take any pics inside, or we'd spread the word far and wide.  Hope you're still there next year.

2-Week Student Memberships for Christmas!

Home for Christmas, or got a kid coming home? Get 'em a 2-week pass to Catalyst Gym! Just $20! Get them out of the house for awhile! Our holiday hours are excellent; let them train with their buddies, and use the break to improve on their strength, power, and speed instead of their Xbox reflexes!

Start your 2-week membership anytime between December 15 and January 2! 14 days can make a world of difference!

Catalyst GO! Newsletter - November 2008

This edition of the Catalyst Go! Newsletter is brought to you by The Athlete's Foot (thanks, Doug!) Recognizing that most athletes and exercise enthusiasts in town now read this newsletter, they're offering 15% off as a holiday gift! Click the link to download a printable coupon, take it into the store, and presto! you're saving money on stuff you need anyway, like shoes, running gear, and workout clothing. Download Catalyst coupon

Happy December! Hard to believe that our Queen Street gym is more than two years old....seems like only yesterday we were painting the walls, putting drywall compound on all the nicks and scrapes...wait a minute, that WAS yesterday! We've gotta calm those noon Crossfit groups down!

We're kidding about calming them down, but we ARE offering a beginner-level Crossfit group or two. Crossfit is very fun, and scalable to even the most rank newbie, but I'll concede that its very awesomeness can be intimidating. So if you've never tried it, or even if you've gone through the boot camp and are scared to take the next step, we're making it easy for you. Tiffany's 'Beginner Crossfit' group runs Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 7am. She'll have a custom WOD made up for entry-level Crossfitters, but don't worry - she can scale it up to challenge the veterans too! If folks like the workouts tailored to the 'beginner' level, we may just make this group a permanent fixture at our Queen St. gym.

Okay...the absolute most exciting part of this newsletter: Catalyst Kids starts in January! Yeah, we know it's taken forever to get the ball rolling (nearly a year,) but can you blame us for trying to find the perfect coach for your kid? How could we possibly offer this amazing program with a less-than-awesome coach? Well, we've finally found her. She's an elementary-school teacher, Gymnastics Coach, Crossfitter, has a degree in Kinesiology, and a ton of great ideas for active games.

The Santa Claus Parade hits Queen Street at 6pm December 6th. As always, Catalyst Fitness will open its doors to its clients for the parade. Watch from above, no need for a jacket! We'll have a bit of coffee and hot chocolate from Cafe Natura, maybe a little snack, and let the kids run around a bit. Warning: if you let them play on the climbing wall, they're going to get hooked and want to come back. Just sayin'.

Also on the 6th, Catalyst Athletic (99 Industrial Court B) - our membership-based facility - will host its first every virtualmeet. That's a full powerlifting meet, videotaped and judged by a panel of elite powerlifting judges from Finland, the US, and one other to be named later.

Interviews this month: Jennifer Entwhistle, local physiotherapist and runner, talks about resistance training and running in the offseason. Dom Deluca talks about creativity, coaching, and hockey in one of our most popular interviews of all time, and John Clement outlines things every high school athlete should know about getting a US scholarship.

Some other highlights of November: our Is Crossfit For Runners? article caught fire in the online world, and was featured on CrossfitNYC, Crossfit Toronto, Crossfit Austin, Crossfit Virtuosity, Crossfit Fort Benning, Crossfit South Brooklyn, Crossfit St. Louis, and others. Guess we're not the only ones having the conversation! We were also loud and proud at King Of The Kage, where Brent Fryia (our wrestling coach,) and Ray Gowlett (winner of Catalyst Games 2008 Open Division and all-around crazy dude) took their love to town. Well, not much love. But they DID beat some pretty good fighters.

Team Catalyst News: Whitney attended a WOD at Crossfit DC. This was her email to me later:Hey coop!! Let me tell you that we have it made! I just finished the group crazy work out it was fun. About 16 people in the group and picture this.. In a room only slightly bigger than the long hall at the queen location where the rings are !!!! We have so much space to work with. We are lucky! I ripped it up for sure and people took notice. I was the only one waiting in line with all the boys for the 65 lbs thrusters (girls were doing 35) and the only girl doing full kippinh pull ups! The coach "alex" loved having a strong woman in the group he said.

Tyler and Chris will be in Kinross Penitentiary for their annual "Non-Invitational" Powerlifting meet December 13. We'll be competing with 40-50 inmates in the Squat, Bench Press, and Deadlift. Winner goes home at the end of the day - well, that's what we're telling Tyler, anyway. Mike's headed to Crossfit Barrie over the break, hopefully. Tiffany's November Boot Camp turned into the Beginner Crossfit Group on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and everyone returned for more (uh, yeah, she's kinda popular.) Taylor will be home on the 16th - look for her at Crossfit! The CrossFit Dolls reunited!

Kubis will be starting his free Sunday Morning Salvation classes on Sunday, November 30.  Show up at 9am and improve your technique on a variety of lifts.  Choose to stay for the WOD or not.  The Sunday Salvation class is free for Crossfitters who have been through the Introductory Boot Camp (also free!)

Hope to see you this month! Merry Christmas!

Special Deal for Catalyst Clients!

The Athlete's Foot is a huge supporter of athletics in Sault Ste. Marie.  Doug Richardson and crew have helped us in the past with some terrific talks to our newly-minted runners about footwear, running gear, and stride.  NOW Doug's helping Catalyst clients save money - and right in time for the holidays.  

From Catalyst Fitness and The Athlete's Foot: thanks for being active.  Merry Christmas.

Download Catalyst coupon 

NEW Beginners' Crossfit Group!

Led by Tiffany 'Sparkles' Hayward!

7am Monday, Wednesday, Friday

Starts November 24!  

This is an introductory-level Crossfit group.  Workouts are hand-picked and tailored to the beginner level.  The emphasis is on fun, functionality, and learning Crossfit basics.

Tiffany's groups are wildly popular; she's an incredible coach!  These types of groups usually require a punch card, but we're offering a special deal to those who sign up for all 9 sessions in advance (3 weeks x 3 days/week)

$99! (plus gst)  No punch card required.

If you HAVE a punch card, you're welcome to use it!  This will be our morning Crossfit group at our Queen St. location for the month of December - don't miss a WOD!

How To Get Your Kid To Exercise

 First, how NOT to:

That stuff above all looks neat.  For about 3 minutes.  If you're a parent, you know exactly what I mean: this is the stuff that seems like a good idea at the time, but may as well come with a Yard Sale price tag already affixed, because that's the likely destination.
Yes, it's funny.  What's NOT funny is that this is really the direction the fitness industry is going.  Here's the idea: take a flawed model (treadmills and steppers and bench pressing = fitness) that doesn't really work for adults, and apply it to kids.  

Another great idea: kids' beer!

As a former treadmill salesperson, my eye for what makes a quality exercise experience and what's going to end up holding wet laundry is keen.  And a tennis game that requires you to stand on a stepper - well, it's just not cool enough.

What DOES make for successful exercise sessions with kids?

1. Quality Interaction.

• Either the kid has to be having fun with a parent, a coach, or a team.  Sorry, interaction with a TV set is really not what we're after here.  That sends this message: exercise sucks, but if you can distract yourself, you can suffer through it.  Boy, nothing sets you up for a healthy lifestyle like learning to keep it at arm's length!  I think my parents did the same thing with Castor Oil when I was small, and I sure love that stuff now!

2. Duh.  FUN!

• That means play.  There's gotta be a play aspect.  Maybe competition helps, and maybe it doesn't.  Maybe keeping records helps, and maybe not.  At any rate, if it ain't fun, it ain't happening.  If kids don't want to do it, you're not going to make them. 

3. Reward.

• You don't have to pay a kid to exercise.  But you DO have to create patterns of positive reinforcement.  When I play, I get this feeling.  When I set on the couch, I get that feeling.  How can you do that by telling someone to walk on a stepper for 30 minutes? 

4. Frequent Change.

• Who ISN'T a bit ADD now?  I sure am.  I'd rather be able to meet a new challenge every day than shoot 100 pucks into an empty net every day after school.  I'd rather play frisbee than go for a walk with my parents.  And I'd rather play capture the flag than do almost anything. 

5. Challenge.

•   We're going in the wrong direction.  Don't tell kids, "You can do it, it's so easy and mindless, just think of something else!" It will go down like medicine.  Tell a kid, "Hey, this is tough.  I think you can do it.  Do you?"  Will get a positive response 10 times out of 10.

We're not just after quantity of exercise, after all.  Quality matters.  '30 minutes a day' isn't a good guideline.  After all, we have workouts for adults that are only 4 minutes long (it's called Fran, look it up on YouTube.)  We don't do that every day, but sometimes, it's enough.

Finally, consider the goal of kids' exercise: to encourage them to lead a life in which fitness and health are integral components.  Who wants to see their child suffer the social stigma of being fat?  Who wants to see them have poor posture from too much couch time?  Who wants to outlive their kid?  Let's teach them positive habits, let them love it, and watch them go.

Here's your study guide: a free issue of Crossfit Kids Magazine.

Meeting Sarah Grand

Last week, I met Sarah Grand. Sarah just started Crossfit.

2 weeks ago, she did the Scotiabank Toronto Marathon.

Sarah's a vegan.

She had knee issues for the whole month leading up to the marathon.

She didn't eat at all that day; her last meal was 7pm the night before.

Oh, and she was on chemo the whole time.

Below is her story.

Last October after having moved to Ottawa, I decided to sign up for one of the Running Room's running clinics. I didn’t know very many people in Ottawa, and so I figured it would be a good way to meet people with similar interests. I started off with a 10km clinic and by January I was ready to try my hand at the half-marathon group.

I was a bit nervous, and wasn't quite sure how it would be training through the freezing cold winters in Ottawa. I had only done one 10km race, and the whole half marathon seemed to be a bit of a daunting task, but I was ready to give it a shot.

By March I had met several good friends in the clinic and started to look forward to our long Sunday runs even though most mornings it was freezing!

As the race approached, I battled with a few minor injuries, but kept on with the training. Getting out for the runs made me feel great inside and out!

On April 30th, just four weeks before the Ottawa ING Half Marathon (my goal race), I went out for some speed training on the track with my group. I had a horrible headache that particular night, and by the time we started the speed drills I felt myself getting a bit disoriented from the pain. Midway through the drills I got separated from my group and ended up running alone. By the end of the session my head hurt so much I thought I might pass out. I managed to get myself back to my car and immediately drove home. Once at home I started to panic a bit, and so I decided to call my boyfriend. As we were on the phone, suddenly he heard a loud THUMP and then nothing. Thankfully he had a key to my place and so he rushed over immediately and found me unconscious on my living room floor.

I was rushed to the hospital and given a cat scan. When the doctor came in I could tell from the look on her face that the news wasn't good. "Are your parents here dear?" she asked. I shook my head to indicate no. Well I have some bad news, and I need someone here with you before I can tell you she said. She called my boyfriend in instead and then delivered the news. It hit me hard and fast, but I was strangely calm. I had been diagnosed with a brain tumour and was going to need emergency surgery.

How could this happen I thought? I'm only 23, I'm so healthy, and I have my whole life ahead of me.

I met with the surgeon the next morning, and by that time my parents had arrived in town. I was going to need brain surgery and I was going to need it soon. The location of the tumour made it difficult to remove, so after some thought, the surgeon decided it was best if he did the surgery awake.

AWAKE??? Are you insane??? This is the stuff of horror movies. I begged and pleaded with him. But doctor, I have a race in 3 weeks and I’ve been training all winter for this! Do you think I’ll still be able to do it??? No he said, you won’t be running for several months if not longer. Clearly this race didn’t mean as much to him as it did to me.

Six day later, on May 7^th, 2008 I was rolled into the operating room. My surgery took close to 11 hours, and as planned, I was awake for the whole thing. I was able to talk, and move my hands and legs somewhat, but my head was bolted to the table to prevent it from moving.

Surprisingly, I had a pretty fun time in the OR. I had met some great nurses on the neurosurgery floor of the hospital and a few of them came down to visit me during surgery. We talked and laughed, listened to Mariah Carey on my iPod stereo and even took pictures! About 6 hours into the surgery I asked the anesthesiologist if I could call my Dad. He was stunned by the question, but excited at the same time. He went and got a phone and sure enough I called my Dad from the OR to give him an update on the surgery.

Closer to the end of the surgery some of the freezing started to wear off and the pain came rushing in like a tidal wave. The anesthesiologist rushed to give me some drugs through my IV, but since I had been awake for the surgery, I didn’t have any breathing tubes in. This posed a bit of a problem, and so for the last part of the surgery the anesthesiologist sat in front of me and acted as my breathing coach to make sure that I wouldn’t stop breathing.

The first few days after the surgery were pretty brutal. It felt as though someone had beaten me over the head with a sledgehammer. I was taking morphine every couple hours and I tried desperately to get comfortable enough to sleep without the right side of my head touching the pillow. My Mom tried to get me to eat a bit, but I couldn’t open my mouth wide enough to get a spoon in from all the swelling. Not only that, but the surgery had also affected my visual pathway and so I kept seeing strange flashing lights out of the corner of my right eye. I was told this was normal, but I couldn’t help but find it extremely distracting.

After a few days I started to feel better, and by the weekend I was allowed to go home. The doctors said that I should try and walk a little if possible and so the day after I got home my parents and I headed out for a walk. With each step I felt stronger. “I can do this” I thought. I will walk everyday and on the 24^th I will run the race.

Unfortunately my training plans came to an immediate halt when my surgeon advised me that there was to be NO RUNNING! My brain would take quite some time to heal and running could cause some potentially serious problems with all the swelling. I was devastated. This race meant the world to me, and I wanted nothing more than to complete it.

A few days later the pathology report was in and once again we headed back to the surgeon’s office. The news was bad….very bad. I had a stage 4 cancerous tumour (the most aggressive type of tumour) and the chances of regrowth were high. I was going to need to start rounds of chemotherapy and radiation immediately.

It’s as though the news kept getting worse! First, no race and now cancer. I wasn’t sure how much more I could handle.

I spent the afternoon feeling sorry for myself, but by the next morning my mood had changed. They don’t know me, I thought. They don’t know what I’m capable of. I don’t care what they think! I’m going to do this race and I’m going to beat this cancer!

Fourteen days after the surgery I started chemo and radiation. The chemo wasn’t so bad, but the first radiation treatment was terrible and I wasn’t sure how I would hold up. The radiation technician told me to expect to suffer from severe fatigue during the treatment, and that most patients take two to three naps per day during the treatment and for several months afterwards.

You won’t have the energy to go for a walk, let alone run she told me. I could tell by the look on her face that she felt sorry for me, and figured I was too naïve to know what I was up against. Even the strongest and healthiest people get knocked down from these treatments she lectured, but my motto was and still is “it’s not how many times you fall down in life that matters….it’s how many times you get back up.” And that’s exactly what I was going to do. Life might have temporarily knocked me down, but damnit, I was going to keep getting back up. It was going to take a hell of a lot more than a brain tumour to take me down!

So on the morning of the race, just 17 days after my surgery and already on chemo and radiation I laced up my running shoes and I showed up at the start line. I didn’t care what they said, if I couldn’t run it, I would walk it! And walk it I did. I walked all 21km’s as fast as my two little legs could carry me. When I hit 20km I took off my ball cap and exposed my semi bald head and then I ran like never before to that finish line. I ran for all the people who told me that I couldn’t do it, for all the people who said I would be too tired, too weak, too sick. I crossed that finish line with more emotion than I’ve ever felt in my whole life. I had done it, I had really done it. With a time of 2:43:58, I had come in first place in my age category for walkers.

A few days after the race, with a renewed sense of hope, I decided to undertake the mother of all races. I was going to train for the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in September.

I was going to do it through the heat of the summer, through the chemo and radiation and through the emotional ups and downs of my hormone therapy. I had to do it. I had to prove it to everyone that it could be done, and more importantly than that, I had to prove it to myself. If I could do this, I could do anything.

To me cancer seemed more like a mental battle than a physical one. The doctors were quick to tell me all the horrible things that might happen, but if you listen it’s just a self fulfilling prophecy in my opinion. I guess that’s why I relate to running so well, because it’s sort of the same thing. Sure, running a marathon is a physical test of endurance, but more than that it’s a mental hurdle. When you get tired and you’re hurting and you want to give up, you need to be strong enough mentally to push through and keep going. And that’s what I did, each and everyday of the summer with my mother by my side.

There were some days where I was exhausted, and others where I felt sick to my stomach. The chemo caused a lot of stomach upset for the runs, and by a few weeks in, I could no longer eat before going running. Any attempt at food often lead to a panicked frenzy as we tried to find the closest bathroom. Instead I started taking along an electrolyte drink similar to Gatorade, and that seemed to help.

Although my Mom had three marathons under her belt, it had been almost a decade since she had last run and I could tell she was overwhelmed. The distance was too far too soon, and her poor little legs weren’t used to the training. It was obvious that her whole body ached and as much as I loved her for coming out and doing it with me, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her when I saw her try to walk down the stairs after our long runs.

She was a great sport though, and the best teammate I could have ever asked for. It didn’t matter how much she was hurting, when it was time to run, she strapped on her shoes and out we went. We had more fun together running, sweating, complaining and limping than we’d ever had before.

By August I was feeling strong and ready to undertake this huge challenge that lay just six short weeks away. Then out of nowhere came the knee pain. It started as a dull ache, but after a week or two, it lead to a throbbing pain on the outside of my knee. I went to physiotherapy and it turned out that I had illiotibial friction syndrome. This is NOT what I needed!

I went religiously for my treatments, and started doing a lot more stretching. I had taken to using a heating pad, and also starting going for ART (active release technique) therapy. By September I felt a lot better, but my left knee would still give me problems on the longer runs.

Once again determined to do the race, I pushed through. I iced, I heated, I stretched, I rested, I did everything and anything. I was too close to give up now. I was going to do that race and if I had to crawl across the finish line then so be it, as long as I finished.

There had been a time when doing it fast meant everything to me, but after what I had endured over the summer, none of that mattered anymore. I didn’t care if I was faster than my teammates or if I could qualify for Boston, all I cared about was finishing. In the end, you’re only competing against yourself right? And the fact that I was even attempting it on radiation and chemo was more than most can say.

The day finally arrived. The morning started off cool, but the forecast called for a warm sunny afternoon. My Mom and I and 15,000 other runners gathered at the start line. At 7:30am the gun fired and we were off!

For the first 20km I felt great! My Mom and I were keeping a fast even pace and thankfully my knee wasn’t hurting. By 25km the sun started to really beat down on us and I cursed myself for not wearing a tank top! Once we hit 30km the fatigue set in. I hadn’t eaten before the race and the electrolytes just weren’t giving me enough calories or energy to keep going. We passed a few gel stations, but not having trained with them, I didn’t want to try them out for the first time on race day.

Once we hit 35km I thought for sure I would have to stop. I might still be able to finish, but it would have to be walking because there was no way I could keep running. I was exhausted and over heating and each step took every ounce of my energy. My butt was cramping and my feet were screaming out with pain.

Then we hit the cheering station and hundreds of people who saw the huge scar on my head began cheering out for me! Go Sarah! Go Sarah! You can do it! You’re awesome!!!! Don’t give up! It almost brought tears to my eyes, and it certainly did bring tears to my Mothers eyes. She looked at me and said, “You can do this Sarah, you’re almost there, don’t give up baby.” And so I closed my eyes and I ran. I thought of all the doctors and all the nurses who told me that I couldn’t do it, all the people who said my cancer would kill me. I was going to do it, I had to do it, for me, for them, for anyone who’s ever undergone cancer and knows what it’s like to lie awake at night filled with fear and anxiety about what the future holds. So I kept on and before long I could see the big signs 700m to go, 500m to go, 200m to go, 100m to go! I could see it now, I could see the finish! The fans were cheering, I was going to do it, WE were going to do it. I grabbed my Mom’s hand and we ran as fast as we could until we crossed that finish line.

I cannot even begin to explain the euphoria that overtook us as we crossed. We reached for each other and we hugged, and we cried, and we laughed and we cried and we hugged some more. We had done it. We had run 42.2km side by side. I couldn’t help it, so I looked at my watch, but the time didn’t really matter. It had taken us 4:44:32, and I couldn’t have been happier.

September 28^th, 2008 is a day I will never forget. I learned a lot of important lessons over the summer, but more than anything I learned that impossible is nothing. It doesn’t matter what the challenge is, whether it’s completing a marathon, asking someone out on a date, or beating cancer, if you want it bad enough, you can do it.

So remember. Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over….she became a butterfly.

-Sarah Grand

Farmer Tammy

That's 80lbs per hand, folks.  Nice!

Below: Anna Cappelli is the first woman to flip the 550lbs tire at Catalyst!