We try to help your body learn to move itself better. When you're born, certain innate abilities - eating, then crawling, then squatting, and walking - are perfected, and then - ironically - lost as new demands are created. Many North American adults, for example, can't sit into a full squat with their heels on the floor; they've lost that ability because they spend most of the day sitting.
We also try to help you think better. Our Ignite program combines cognitive processing tasks - like reading, memory, focus, and attention - with exercise to maximize your brain's potential. As with squatting, we tend to repeat the same thought patterns over and over, and there by limit our brain's "flexibility" to think outside these patterns. In short, we can't keep our heels on the ground when we're solving puzzles.
Our overarching mission is to create a better life for our members. That means treatment that spans the spectrum from corrective (rehabilitation) to enrichment. If you're not moving forward, you're moving backward.
Andi Fraser's new photography course is our enrichment group for April. Take all of the photography books, lessons, catalogues, and throw them away: what is it you NEED to know to take great pictures? That's what Andi teaches. Take better portraits, action shots, and landscapes this summer...and for the rest of your life. Learn, in four hours, how to make ART. Take better shots than your friends. Gain the essence of years of experience and education for $59.
Cam Wilson's Beginner Running Group follows the same premise: everyone 'could' run, but most don't because it's painful. Starting a running career sucks - your knees hurt, you get shin splints, and you suffer from buyers' remorse almost before you've run your first mile, because you paid so much for the shoes and clothing...and you hate it. Worse, you'll have to run for months and years before you get much fitness benefit. Why not start a bit slower, learn a nice stride, and ENJOY the process? Running is an education unto itself, and if the learning curve is kept shallow, you can love it forever.
Jarret Barsanti's next round of Obstacle Course Race training is built to help people who want a unique challenge. Tough Mudder, Spartan Race, METCON Blue...they're fun, they're novel, and they're TOUGH. They should be tough, but that doesn't mean you have to go into them blind. Learn how to handle the course well, achieve a solid level of fitness, and then enjoy the journey 100x more.
Charity Henson is teaching Barbell Bettys I in May. The 'Bettys' are one of the most popular groups AT Catalyst. Long before "strong is the new skinny" and motivational memes lit up the social media world, the Bettys were celebrating strength training for its own sake. Women don't need high heels: they need hamstrings. Squats, not Spanx (TM.) This is where a woman learns to be strong.
Charity's also teaching OnRamp in May. Learn all of the basics of human movement, and get ready for higher-intensity CrossFit groups.
Greg Pettypiece has a Clean and Jerk clinic on Sunday. There are only 20 spots available, and they'll be sold to Catalyst members first. You are NEVER SO GOOD that you can't get better.
That's the beauty of CrossFit (and life) : you will never run out of things to learn. They don't all have to involve chalk. Find joy in discovery this spring!
When you deal in force, you measure weight and time a lot.
We tell a lot of stories, it's true. But we're selling science here - unbiased, nonempathetic, measurable. Objective. A litre of your sweat is the same as a litre of my sweat. We believe that consistency is kindness: that, by holding you to the same line as everyone else, we can promise you'll only be beaten in a fair fight.
If you squat 300lbs to competition depth - crease of the hip, crest of the knee, and all that - then you've done it. You've done 300. What does it take to squat more than you?
If I squat 450lbs, but only halfway to your depth, have I done better? 550lbs? Six-fitty? No, because I haven't done a squat. The line was clear, and I fell short.
If the line is unclear, then I'll squat as low as - well, pretty good - and beat you. I'll call it 'squatting to ninety,' and it won't be fair, but it will count. I'll win. Maybe you can pile a bit more on, and squat a little higher, and trump me, in turn. So I'll go to five plates a side, walk out of the rack, curtsy...and who are you to call me wrong?
At Catalyst, we call that cheating. At other gyms, they call that Thursday.
Without that consistency, we can't measure 'yes' or 'no.' It's all just 'kinda.' As some visiting lifters have found, our pass/fail is black/white. Fifty Shades of Gray may be on our bookshelves, our pillows, or our minds, but it ain't on our platforms.
We also hold our Open Gym time to a standard just as rigid. At 7:00:00, 12:00:00, and 19:00:00, the gym is closed to members and open for CrossFit groups. Relaxing the standard for one of our 250 members doesn't help her out - it screws everyone else:
"You have to be done by noon, unless you're Amber. Then the rule is 12:07."
"Jim gets to stay until 3 minutes after, because he's - y'know - slow."
"Mandy's shirt looks new. Let's give her an extra few minutes and tell her to just stay out of the way."
We've tried it both ways. Consistent and fair is better. The squats get higher, the 'late' gets later, and everyone gets angry if we make exceptions. Let's keep it low and tight.
When I was a kid, we had a farm full of old apple trees. Most were producing only tough, dry, thick-skinned 'baking' apples, but they looked nice, and our sheep loved them. They were white with flowers in the spring, and their scent of fermentation was sweet as they rotted in late summer.
One spring, a teacher-friend showed up with his chainsaw and 'pruned' the trees back to their trunks. I was devastated. My kid-skin wasn't as thick as the low-grade apples, and I barely held it in. I've spent thirty years trying to replace those trees. To wit, this will be a long post; don't indulge me unless armed with caffeine.
While searching through an old email account on the weekend, I found a message to a client named Mario from 2001. That was over a decade ago, and I'd already been working with clients for five years when Mario was new. Mario attended on Saturday mornings - drove all the way from Sudbury to train with me - and I'd work him out and give him meticulous homework. Working on weekends was fine; I was young and single.
About two years later, I was late for a client appointment. First time ever. I overslept. When I finally arrived - 15 minutes late - I lied about the reason. He probably didn't believe me, but he let me off the hook. I was late twice more (both times to open the gym) in the next twelve years. I remember them both.
On one stormy morning, I drove straight off the road, and was rescued hours later by my brother-in-law on a snowmobile. The gym opened late that day - at 10am. I wasn't scared of being stranded in the storm; but there were other rides where I was terrified, and not because of road conditions. I was scared because I couldn't make payroll, or rent, or maybe both. Three times, we went without a cheque. We once lived for over a year in overdraft without surfacing for a single day.
Others shouldered some of this risk with me. They were nuts, too, or scared. You already know their stories. Mike, especially, jumped in with both feet when Catalyst was still in its infancy.
When, in 2009, I decided that a good coach didn't make a good business owner, I began investing 8 precious dollars per month in audiobooks. I listened to business texts on my drive, one hour every day, and wrote down what I learned so that I wouldn't miss a lesson. Those virtual notes became dontbuyads.com - 400 posts linking together the theories that now form the infrastructure of Catalyst.
Nothing - no growth, no change - comes without risk. When you own a business, there's no time off for good behaviour; no seniority; no firm footing. Mostly, I backed into risk with my knuckles clenched tightly, of necessity instead of adventure. I opened a second gym; after Mike joined, I committed to three other fulltime staff salaries, totalling $120,000, before finding Ty. MANY other risks, once gut-wrenching and now forgotten, filled those gaps.
In 2011, we were approached to deliver a seminar on Ignite in Boston; the deadline pushed us to finish our first book, Enrichment Through Exercise. Just before we left, the would-be host of the seminar killed himself. His wife, Tania Thomas, wanted the seminar to continue in his memory, and Catalyst - me and you - contributed to our first scholarship fund for his kids.
Months later, members of the Catalyst family sponsored Ted and I for a trip to California; he, to compete at the CrossFit Games; me, to tag along and absorb it all. I am shy about accepting charity, but the thought that it would likely be my only chance to attend outweighed my reluctance.
At the end of 2011, I saw fleeting mention of an application process for writers for CrossFit Media. I applied and was eventually accepted (notes on my file, for consideration, included, "Hard worker, a bit too wordy.") I met my deadlines by writing on weekends, and when the Regional Media Director had to back away from the job, I was the only one left to fill the vaccuum.
In January 2012, a new frontier opened. Clay Weldon, brother-in-law of Chris Spealler, read some posts from DontBuyAds and asked for some help advising clients on his new site, 321GoProject.com. I jumped at the chance to write for a larger audience. When he proposed working with a client who was seeking a mentor, I was eager; Clay graciously allowed me to 'try out' as business coach by spending ten hours on Skype with me, working to improve his own business. I recall, clearly, the thought: "It would be pretty amazing if I could do this for three hours every week...." Three months later, Clay quit his job to work at 321Go fulltime. Last week, I spent 18 hours mentoring 321Go clients.
On the CrossFit Media side, with the help of Kate Rose, I submitted regular articles; flew to Toronto; saw my first Regional event since the old Sectionals format. I hoped to return in 2013. Meanwhile, we took another risk, signing Melanie Rose - Kate's little sister - to work both at Catalyst and at a new company, Spark Rehabilitation.
At Clay's encouragement, I wrote and published my second book, Two-Brain Business, which has surprisingly (to me) sold hundreds of copies to other gym owners.
Summer of 2012 brought an invitation to write and manage the Canadian section of the new CrossFit Community page, a well-meant attempt to bring stories of CrossFitters together from around the world. An invitation to gather with the rest of CrossFit Media in December was huge news, and at the same time, I warily accepted an invitation to compete (again) at a powerlifting meet inside a US prison.
In San Francisco, I met Greg Glassman and Tony Budding and everyone you see on the videos. I did short workouts with them. I took pictures with them. Even though under their employ, I was still a bit of a starry-eyed fan. They marveled that I still didn't have a cell phone, even while travelling. The prison seemed more stark than usual after a weekend downtown in San Francisco, but I enjoyed the meet, and wrote a long essay about finding CrossFit inside for the first time.
Clay and I wanted to do a seminar; Ty and I wanted to do another Ignite Certification; serendipitously, CrossFit Proper - an amazing Box, opened by Christian Batillier when he was only 17 - was eager to host both. We booked flights and sold seats to both. Right before I was due to leave, I was working at home on a Wednesday. Tyler sent me an email that said, "Greg Glassman called. Here's his phone number."
I try not to use the f-word in emails to staff. I failed this time.
Greg answered his own phone. He liked my essay on the prison meet, and wanted to talk. I offered to meet him in Corona; he was busy, but we settled on Seattle. Ty and I spent a very successful weekend in Southern California with Clay, and after 48 hours at home, I returned West.
Less than 24 hours after arriving in Seattle, I headed home with a winning lottery ticket.
When you're twelve, and you're writing bad poetry about apple trees, you imagine that someday you'll write a book, maybe. You don't think you'll be shaking hands with a genius in the Four Seasons parking garage with the Harbor in the background. It still seems a bit surreal, but Greg Glassman and I made a deal, and like all of the best deals in my life - with Watson, my first Head Coach; with Tom Young, my homebuilder; with Robin, my date for senior prom - it was done on a handshake, with details to be filled in later.
On Monday morning, I promoted Melanie to GM, and told her to fire me by Friday. Ty got his due; he's now co-owner of IgniteGym, Inc. Charity and Jarrett will have new opportunities, because I'm out of Personal Training after today.
I've been doing this since 1996, before many of our current clients were born. It's not easy to stop. Some clients will be VERY hard to hand over to Melanie's eager hands; not because I don't think they'll have a superior experience, but because I'll just miss them. However, after failing to find 15 minutes to speak to a favourite a few weeks ago - 15 minutes! and I didn't have it - and 30 minutes to train another favourite this week - not one session! - it's the right thing to do. My new position will require a LOT of travel, and I won't ask Family members to rearrange their schedules every week to accommodate me.
I'll train in front of you less, and train with you more. I'll join the groups and be an athlete. I'll still be IN the gym, but no longer OF the gym. Please bring Mel coffee when you see her.The transition has been seamless - it's already happened, and Mel is so good that few noticed a change at all. One branch was pruned, but the others are heavy with fruit.
Part of my new job with CrossFit Creative will be to learn to write. For real. I'm not good enough, yet, to say 'thanks' in a way that's close to adequate. I'll work on it. I love you all. See you around.
Every week, I spend over four thousand minutes at Catalyst. Most of them, I really like.
Ask me to name my favourite six of those many, and I know the answer right away. It's not my best mile time. It's not my Fran time, or my fastest 100 burpees.
Six minutes was the time required to pass presents for 83 kids across the mats, fire-brigade style. Six minutes, nonstop. Some of our fastest athletes could have completed 'Fran' twice in that time.
In an interview with Marty Cej, Greg Glassman, founder of CrossFit and 'Coach' to millions, was asked why he didn't sell HIS share of the company. After all, his ex-wife was 'cashing out'; surely, the opportunity must have occurred to him, too. His answer was typical of Coach: a profound concept made simple.
"This is my life's work," he said. "What would I do with fifty million? Could I build schools in Africa? Create a giant community of people who would come together every year and cheer each other on? I can do more without the money." I'm paraphrasing, but Coach was talking about leverage.
We talk, and draw, and write about leverage all the time. Leverage makes the long-femured inclined toward deadlifting, and frustrated on the bench press. The right leverage, applied with force, can move a very heavy bar. We saw that over and over again at the Supermeet.
"None of us is as good as all of us." - Ray Kroc
None of us alone could have provided gifts for 83 kids. None of us alone could have fed the multitudes of hungry CrossFitters last night. But with Carolle and Kath pushing, just a little, we used the strong lever of the Catalyst Family to change things for many families. Our own included, and maybe yours.
What's more important than money? You are. You have proven for the thousandth time that DOING something is better than HAVING something. When we move together, we can lift some pretty heavy stuff. Thank you.
Periodization refers to the long-term planning of training to create an optimal ('peak') performance.
The two most common types of
periodization in Western culture are linear periodization and
conjugate periodization. Proponents of a conjugate model argue that
it produces athletes who are always ready to compete, by integrating
exercises for General Physical Preparedness (GPP) and Sport Specific
Preparedness (SPP) throughout the entire program.
Louie Simmons, who is a long-time
professional powerlifter produced some of the strongest power lifters
the world has seen through adoption of a conjugate method. Simmons
states that there are three pathways that form the backbone of
conjugate periodization: Max Effort, Repetition and Dynamic Effort.
When these pathways are grouped together, conjugate periodization allows
individuals to develop maximal strength, speed, and power. Simmons' original program advocated three rest days and four days of work per
week, year round. Simmons' programming is commonly referred to as 'The Westside Method,' after Westside Barbell, which is Simmons' gym.
In Westside, athletes are required to perform two
Max Effort (ME) days per week; one of those days is used to reach a 1RMon an upper body lift, while the latter is used to attain a 1RM on a
lower body lift. The goal of this weekly session is to achieve
strength by maximum recruitment of muscle fibers. The athletes of
Westside Barbell use a different ME lift every week to avoid Central
Nervous System fatigue and regression.
The Westside method also incorporates
two more days each week. Referred to as Dynamic Effort (DE) days, these are
designed to train speed strength and explosiveness. Similar to the
ME pathway, there are two days designated for DE exercises, one for
upper body and the other for lower body, which are slightly changed
every one to three weeks to avoid muscular accommodation. While ME exercises are chosen to improve maximal recruitment of muscle fibre, DE exercises are used to improve the efficiency with which those fibres are recruited. These are two of the three components of Rate of Force Development (RFD,) a large determinant of success in sports where bodyweight-to-power ratio is important.
The third pathway advocated by Simmons (repetition) is present on both ME days and DE days. Repetition exercises, in Westside, are movements that are similar to the competitive lifts. These always performed after the ME or DE lifts with
the ultimate goal of improving specific strength. Exercises that improve GPP, like sled drags, are done at the end of the session. The work capacity of a powerlifter is vastly different than a CrossFitter. We need maximal strength to help our GPP (around which CrossFit is built); they need GPP to help them recover between maximal lifts.
Conjugate Method and CrossFit
Why do we need to know
about the conjugate method? The two approaches to training are quite
similar in that there is no off-season: the athlete is always
prepared to compete. However, as Chris Mason states, if a
CrossFitter were to adopt the Westside Conjugate Method wholly,
he/she would be giving up his/her generalist abilities.
CrossFitters sometimes mesh the two methods
of training to reap the benefits. Essentially, Chris Mason has
replaced DE days with CrossFit METCON since they support ME
training, while maintaining general conditioning. Similarly, Mason’s
method incorporates repetition exercises after ME exercises to assist
in strength development.
The conjugate
method popularized by Louis Simmons is effective at developing
maximum strength, speed and explosive power. However, as I discussed
above, if a CrossFitter wants to remain a
generalist, the athlete include both CrossFit-level work capacity with their strength sessions..
We're CrossFit Coaches. We don't say, "3 x 8 reps of squats." We explain anterior pelvic tilt. We draw a picture of a posterior chain on the whiteboard. Sometimes, when we're very lucky, we get to draw a picture of levers and explain rotational torque and the 'moment arm' of the femur.
Then we demonstrate. Here's where your shoulders are in relation to your knees. See how my heels stay on the floor? Here's how I make a little shelf for the barbell on my back. Here's the way my shins look. Now, you go.
Then we give you a turn. We say, sit back. Try it with your hands sliding along a wall in front of you. Try it sitting to a ball. Try it looking up. Try it looking forward. Try it with this plastic pipe. Now try it with this barbell....
The squat is hard to beat. As exercises go, it's king. When it comes to fitness over a lifetime, what's the BEST thing a person can do to help themselves?
Plant a garden. That's my opinion, anyway. Squats are a close second, and if you can squat while weeding, you're going to have a happy retirement.
A vegetable garden isn't possible for everyone. What can we do, then, to provide the level of attention to food that we do to exercise? We can bring in a farmer.
Starting this week, you can order freezers full of meat - grass fed, free range, unpunctured, unmolested, happy beef - right from the gym. You buy it in percentages of cow - 25%, or 50% - so it's more than you can chew at once. Just like CrossFit.
It's more than you usually pay in one go, but MUCH cheaper than you'd pay for the same amount over the winter. Just like CrossFit.
In the spring, we'll make it easy for our members to sign up for a CSA service: fresh, gorgeous, local vegetables delivered to the Park every week. It's like having the farmers' market come to you. You really can't buy happiness, but you can subscribe to it through a CSA. Just like CrossFit.
By mid-November, we'll have a nutrition expert working in-house to give the Catalyst Family specific help with their eating. He'll say, this is how you cook a carrot. This is when you eat your pineapple. This is why you should have red meat. Just like CrossFit.
Telling people to read labels is a good start. Giving them books on paleo and primal is very helpful. Showing them a carrot, delivering fresh meat, letting them scrape the dirt off themselves...that's CrossFit. Making it accessible, fun and full of fist-bumping awesomeness? That's Catalyst.
Another CrossFit Coach gave me a distinctive 'no' feeling today. He doesn't want visitors, he says. I do. I want everyone.
I want YOU. Can't keep your heels on the ground when you're squatting? Come see us. Knees hurt all the time? I can help. Scared? I was, too. Just want to fade into anonymity, sit at the back of the bus, hide behind a veteran? I've been there.
Bring me the beginner, the fearful, the immobile. If you're travelling through, I want you to stop and visit. If you've been wandering for awhile, I'd like you to stop and look.
Be warned: it's a trick. Once you've done Catalyst, you can't go back. There's no return. We're funny like that.
Will I try to sell you something? OH yeah. At first, I'll try to talk you into eating more protein. After awhile, I'll try to peer-pressure you into Pearl Jam; constantly extol the virtues of Chuck Taylors for deadlifting; and tell you to go get a skipping rope from AgainFaster. I might recommend a book, too, in my sleazy-used-car-salesman way. I can't help myself.
Knowledge - and confidence - aren't innate. I'm just an excited introvert who can't keep the bubbles down. The difference between a high-bar squat and a low-bar squat aren't discussed in most gyms; we don't expect you to know the difference until it becomes relevant to you, personally (spoiler alert: it will.)
We are not set up to push the further division of humanity through competition. We are set up to further humanity through mutual challenge. In September, I'll try to pull 100 people up 720 vertical feet of Midwest rock; that will be my test as a coach. I'll be competing for the first time since 2008, turning the reins over to Tyler and Mel, providing the opportunity to see Coach sweat and suffer along with every other newbie and veteran on that hill. Here's my secret, though: when you show up, I win. I won't get a trophy, but I'll give you a little green card that you can wear like a medal, or a badge. "I can do Catalyst," you'll say. And you'll be right. You CAN do it. One leg, two legs, eye patch...we'll give you a nickname, smack you on the shoulders, and put you in the game. Others have done it for me. My encouragement is just the fulfillment of their benevolence. Someday, you'll invite your friends to come, because you'll want to give THEM the gifts you've received from CrossFit.
And this is how we climb the mountain.
Over the next few weeks, you're going to hear a lot about "special offers!" and "we'll waive the signup fees!"
It's going to be tempting, I know, to make your decision about a gym based on money. But hear me out.
The fitness world is a confusing one. No given 'program' works for everyone, and doesn't work for anyone forever. On the flipside, it seems like anything will work for someone. The donut diet? It's out there. It works...if you're a hypoglycemic amphetamine abuser. There are maps aplenty. But maps just draw a line in the dirt, don't they? They're not great at keeping you on course after the journey begins. And every map, eventually, becomes outdated.....
The most important thing is that you start. Start with anything. Give it three months. If it doesn't fit, do something else. But keep starting. Don't wait for the perfect time, perfect place, perfect price...those are all red herrings.
Here's what we offer:
Tough workouts. They're fast, but they're hard. It sounds counterintuitive, but it feels like a game. A learning curve with no end. You'll never lose interest, I promise you that. A simple eating plan. If it wasn't available to great-grandma, you don't eat it. Simple. Coaches who love to coach. The 'Family.' Maybe you know one person here; maybe you don't know anyone. After a day, you'll know three people. After a week, you'll know ten. And after a month, they'll be calling you by a nickname. It's a great place to be.
Leading your caravan by the light of the wrong star may keep you headed East, O Wise One, but is that enough? Is it okay with you to be another anonymous face in a sea of melancholy? Would you rather learn to enjoy exercise - thrive on it, plan your day around it - or how to distract yourself long enough to put in your time while the dishwasher's finishing the rinse cycle?
It took us a long time to put our methods together. But if you have a friend at Catalyst, I'll guarantee that they love it. Ask them.
What's your first step? Talk to us. We'll set aside an hour, you'll come and sit, and we'll put a plan together. No charge, and no sales pitch. Call 256-1344 to book a free consultation, or click here.
Want to try CrossFit, but don't know how to do a clean, or a kip, or a handstand? You will. Her name is Whitney, and she's the Keeper of those secrets. OnRamp is our introduction to CrossFit, and it's for you.
Want to learn how to lift weights safely, effectively, with grace? Try Barbell Bettys or Fraternity Barbell, for the ladies and (cough) gentlemen, respectively.
We're coaches. It's our life work. Most of our clients do Personal Training first, but that's your choice. Heck, you're free to just drop in to a CrossFit group and try it. Pick any group, and we'll show you around. Just let us know you're coming, that's all.
This year is yours. 2011 can be a leap-off point for you, whether you've never exercised or have kept the same schedule for years. Train with us in privacy, or get very public. Stay in the dark, or make your mark. We'd love to meet you.
Sorry, Tom Petty, but you were wrong: Sonny Liston did not go down swingin'. Frustrated after trying, for six rounds, and failing to catch Cassius Clay, he threw in the towel. He didn't rise from his chair. He didn't answer the bell. He bowed his head instead.
Clay went on, of course, to become Muhammad Ali, and travel much further down the road. I don't know what happened to Liston: did he rise and stalk back to the dressing room? Did he stay there until the lights had gone out, alone with his own echoes? True fans know, I'm sure. But for the rest of us, the Sonny Liston Story ended with his butt in his seat.
Liston couldn't take any more punches. I, however, can.
One month ago, I left the bus running; climbed down the steps, beneath the driver's seat, and dove beneath. I committed myself to perfect practice. In our CrossFit box - The Park - you can pay monthly to come every day. Or you can buy a punch card - 4, 8, or 16 CrossFit sessions - and just check 'em off as you show up. I bought a 16-punch card. For the first time, I was paying to be coached.
On the other side of the whistle, things change. Though the competition is still only me against me, my heart rate rises beyond the Life Fitness Treadmill "Fat Burning Zone" (patented) long before the coach starts his countdown. Anxiety is my 'cardio' now.
What am I - a 'personal trainer' with a degree, fourteen years in the industry, lifting competitions under my belt - doing with a coach? How the heck can I still benefit from turning up to these groups? I'll tell you.
Picture: me, gasping hard enough to suck the dust off the floor below. Sweat coating the face of a black leather medicine ball. Triceps experiencing fear. "Coop! Get your elbows under that ball!" - punch.
Picture: third round, out of five. Me, tasting the olive oil from lunch. Hands on my knees. 'It's too hard,' whispers the amygdala, playing Defense. "Hands on the bar, Cooper! Just get the first one!" - punch.
Picture: hook grip on a 28mm bar. Me, hamstrings tight. A coach over my shoulder. Individual attention. A magnifying glass on my triple-extension. 5 more pounds, down and up. - punch.
Picture: me, off the pace. 6 pullups behind Eddie. He's not dropping from the bar. Me neither. - punch.
These days, I'm listening to Keith Richards' autobiography, Life. Sometimes, I have to skip back a few seconds to catch what he's just said, but six hours in, it's been well worth the time. Listening to his thick voice in the 5am darkness on my drive to work, I absorb it all. This morning, he was talking about touring through Texas, where rock 'n roll was truly born, and discovering amazing bands in every tiny town through which their station wagon rolled. "They were bloody amazing," he says. "Some were better than us. They were never going to make it. And most didn't want to. That's what made them so great."
I'm not going to win CrossFit Games 2011. Of equal certainty: I will never stop trying to be great.
Personal Training This newsletter has information on tons of great groups and events, but we're at our best when we're personal trainers. Want to talk about it? No pressure, and no charge. Let's hang out for a half hour: just find a time by clicking here.
Happy Canada Day, Chris!
Despite the addition of the HST July 1st, there's a LOT to look forward to this month! The annual CrossFit Games in California will be huge, and the addition of a 1-mile run to the RotaryFest Parade gives us an opportunity to have a party! Do the run, then loop back to our downtown Gym (498 Queen) for a lemonade! Watch the parade in air-conditioned comfort, or head downstairs to get up close.
Hockey groups start at the Park next week - it's an annual rite of passage for future stars of the frozen game. Look for groups of kids in the late morning - collect autographs while you're at it. Ty also offers his first CrossFit Football camp, beginning the first week of July, and Mike's Duathlon Group builds athletes out of mere joggers with less time and effort involved than ever before! Happy Canada Day - soak it all up!
The search for the World's Fittest Man and Woman starts July 16th! Follow us on Twitter for details (or click here to go to the Games site!)
The inauguralROTARYFEST "Miracle Mile"
Presented by RBC Royal Bank
Saturday, July 17, 2010
10:45 a.m. just before the ROTARYFEST 88th Annual Community Day Parade
Click HERE to register! After-party at our downtown location during the parade!
Summer Hockey Dryland Group
Every year at this time, we trade calls with
OHL teams and local coaches. Sometimes, we call them for some background on a player; sometimes, they call us to reinforce their team's goals. We talk about testing and the team's goals for the player, and then we send the Coach the test results and our proposed program for the summer. Almost always, they're excited about what they see, and let us run with our own program.
In September, we get a differnt kind of phone call: "What are you guys DOING with these players?" Sometimes, we get a genuine "Wow." from them. It's common for our athletes to finish best overall in the fitness testing among rookies, and often they're top on the entire team.
What's the difference? Science, mostly. We have a huge research advantage, because our Trainers and coaches do this year-round. It's not the exercises as much as the application: knowing that a series of 400m sprints will help much more than a 5k run, for instance, is what sets our Coaches apart, and gives our players a massive head start at tryout time.
For the second year in a row, the group will include two coached sessions per week, a two-month gym membership to the Park gym, online tracking and homework assignments, a food plan, and pre- and post-testing. We communicate with coaches at all levels all summer to keep them updated.
Tuesday, Thursdays:
9am - Bantam
10:30am - Midget/Junior
1pm - Females only
Fee: $329 (plus GST or HST) for the summer. Register here before July 1 to save the HST!
Summer Football Camp Certified by CrossFit Football, coach Tyler Belanger draws on his extensive playing and coaching experience to bring the most complete conditioning and strength training for Football to Northern Ontario! Players of all ages will get trained in age-appropriate strength, power, agility, and speed exercises. Includes a two-month membership to Catalyst Gym, food plan, two coached sessions per week, and more! Register here before July 1 to save the HST!
$329 (plus GST or HST). Mondays and Wednesdays at 10-11:30am, starting July 5!
New Catalyst Kids Groups!
Our philosophy for our wildly popular Kids and Teens programs has struck a nerve with parents: teach them to do basic things better, and they'll excel (and love exercise, too!) Last month, we added a group for 8-10-year olds, and watched as more kids joined each week!
Level 1: Kids learn basic bodyweight movements. We focus on calisthenics, running, jumping, throwing, pushing and pulling. Very fun and achievement-oriented. For kids aged 11-16. Level 2: Kids and Teens incorporate some basic gymnastics, weightlifting with appropriate loads, sprinting, anaerobic capacity work, and more individual challenges. Pre-Teens: learn basic bodyweight movements with traditional games thrown into the mix. Emphasis is solidly on fun!
New groups start July 6, 7, and 8!
Tuesday at 7pm- Level I Teens (11-16) - Register here
Wednesday at 7pm - Level 2 Teens (11-16) - Register here
Thursday at 7pm - Pre-Teens (8-10) - Register here
....we're always telling folks to register early, but it's critical with the kids' groups. Last session, 32 kids tried for 20 spots! Get in there!
Duathlon Group
Do your first, or train for your best!
Folks keep asking HOW our athletes are accomplishing first-time running events...or getting faster by running LESS? On average, our athletes run about 60% LESS than traditional training plans...but get up to speed faster, with less pain or injury! It's science, baby!
6 weeks (Tuesdays and Thursdays) July 6-August 12 Individualized training plans for all distances. $179 includes coaching on bike, run, and transition!
Everyone I know tells me not to use this space for political commentary, but this is one issue I can't avoid. The governments claim: that the HST isn't a new tax; merely a more efficient way of applying the double-tax burden we face in Ontario. Somehow, this increased efficiency (though it will clearly require more accounting than before to separate the two taxes, since businesses will now file both together) is supposed to create jobs.
If a government's job is to create and enforce an environment in which it can operate almost unnoticed (like a good referee, or hall monitor) then the addition of a new tax is a massive failure. And let's be clear: the HST adds 8% taxation to fitness pursuants (who paid no PST before.) It's simply a mathematical manipulation to add taxes to industries previously held as beneficial to the populace. In one small, privately-run corner of the healthcare industry lies the Fitness Business, a potential new source of revenue for the Province. Think the new taxation of fitness is a mere oversight? Consider that, at other gyms where their business model depends on selling long-term contracts, new members have been required to pay HST since April 1!
The social ramifications are obvious: though there's a clear linear, causative relationship between exercise and avoidance of our healthcare system, the government has no interest in the long-term vitality of the Province or its citizens; in taking preventive care to avoid costly illnesses later; in planning for anything but long-term public reliance on taxation. This is closeted thinking. And it's the reason yo'ull be paying 8% more for our services on July 1st. Happy Canada Day; exercise some democratic rights here.
July 1st is one of my favourite holidays: it's warm, it's a celebration of accomplishment; it's a reminder that, as a group, we can achieve anything. The anti-HST movement is really going strong in BC; Ontario residents just need to be motivated to action. And taxing exercise (and rec hockey, and soccer) might just do it. As Ray Kroc said, "None of us is as good as all of us." Let's celebrate the people who are really in charge here: ourselves.
Personal Training This
newsletter has information on tons of great groups and events, but
we're at our best when we're personal trainers. Want to talk about
it? No pressure, and no charge. Let's hang out for a half hour: just
find a time by clicking here.
You
may be wondering, "why is the newsletter so early this month?" Well,
as I started putting it together, I was overwhelmed by the new stuff
happening in late May and early June. New running groups? Awesome.
Midnight 5k, with a band and 'social time' afterward, on June 4? Wild.
Hockey, football, and the new Catalyst Kids program? Amazing. The
Summer Bettys and Summer Frat? Get me in on that! It's a great time to
be around here: the big doors are open, we're training in natural
sunlight and air, and we're seeing a lot of firsts: pullups,
double-unders, tire flips, and even 5k runs. It's amazing. Thanks,
Spring!
20
years ago, hockey players golfed in the summertime. They played
baseball. They didn't train. Those times are gone: if you're over age
12, you have to train hard to be ready for the season. Build a solid
and broad athletic background, and you'll excel on the ice! We've got
the best Trainers in Ontario with the science and grit to get you as
far as you want to go!
Tuesday and Thursday mornings in age-specific groups. Gym membership, food plan, twice-per-week coaching, online program delivery....and sweat.
Our Bantam and Midget/Junior Summer Groups start June 28 - sign up here.
Summer Running Groups
Beginner:
1) Emphasis on technique, foot strike and posture: Video analysis used on a regular basis
2) Learn to enjoy running pain free at any distance
3) Eliminate your weak link in Crossfit WODs (summer is too nice to be on a rower or treadmill!)
4) Nutritional guidance provided
5) Learn to set up your own long term program
Advanced:
1) Learn to mesh running, Crossfit and Power/Olympic lifting to optimize athleticism
2) Achieve lofty goals faster and smash previously unbeatable PR's
3) Better results, but a fraction of the miles 4) Become a more efficient runner - more speed, less effort!
The overwhelming growth of our extremely popular Kids and Teens programs
has prompted - uh, demanded - that we add another night, and another
group. The new structure of the Teens groups will be a multi-level
approach: Level
1: Kids learn basic bodyweight movements. We focus on calisthenics,
running, jumping, throwing, pushing and pulling. Very fun and
achievement-oriented. For kids aged 11-16. Level
2: Kids and Teens incorporate some basic gymnastics, weightlifting with
appropriate loads, sprinting, anaerobic capacity work, and more
individual challenges. We're
also adding a younger group on Thursday nights for 8-10-year-olds!
Coach Whitney will finally get to realize her dream of coaching kids! Tuesday at 7pm- Level I Teens (11-16) - Register here Wednesday at 7pm - Level 2 Teens (11-16) - Register here Thursday at 7pm - Pre-Teens (8-10) - Register here ....we're
always telling folks to register early, but it's critical with the
kids' groups. Last session, 32 kids tried for 20 spots! Get in there!
Barbell Bettys and Fraternity Barbell: the Summer Program What I did on my summer vacation: 1. Followed a personalized program 2. Worked out on my own schedule 3. Still made a few CrossFit WODs per week 4. My very first ____________! 5. A huge personal best at __________!
Starting
June 7, you'll embark on a different style of training group: you'll be
monitored and coached biweekly by Ty. You'll have a program for your
specific goals. You'll train, mostly on your own, toward a goal YOU
choose. You'll compete at the end. You'll earn prizes! Members - $80 for 12 weeks (biweekly coaching.) Non-members - $150 for 12 weeks (includes a 2-month membership to Catalyst Gym and biweekly coaching!) Sign up for Barbell Bettys Summer Program by clicking here! Sign up for the Summer Fraternity Barbell program by clicking here!
Baseline Week CrossFit
uses 'yardstick' workouts to track progress. Instead of vague
correlates like body weight, BMI, or "inches," we measure
performance. Get faster at "Michael," and you know you're more fit than
last time; get stronger, and your CrossFit Total goes up.
Once
per year, we put six of our favourites together in a week-long gut
check. We test ourselves every day, and fight all week for personal
bests. We find our Baseline.
Monday: "Angie"
Tuesday: "Grace"
Wednesday: "Michael"
Thursday: "Kelly"
Friday: "Fran"
Saturday: Midnight 5k! Sign up here for the run only. The 5k run is a benefit fundraiser for our Relay for Life team, the Green Army
(Captain:Kristen Hoffman.) $20 entry for the 5k run. We did this last
year for our 24-Hour Emergency fundraiser, and it was a RIOT.
All
the other Baseline Week challenges are part of our normal CrossFit
schedule (just show up to your regular CrossFit group.) Don't worry:
our coaches will how you how!
June 4 - Midnight 5kThis ain't your normal run. But cancer ain't your normal test, muchaho. And we sure ain't your 'normal' gym.Arrive
at 11:30. Get jacked up with the Family. Run 5k. Walk,
stumble...doesn't matter. Then enjoy our live band and some quality
social time! Sign up online here - the $20 entry fee is 100% donated
to our Relay For Life Team (see above.) It's the best run you'll ever
do.
Summer Football Camp On
May 21, Ty and Whit will be training with some NFL pros in Toronto.
It's CrossFit Football, baby! And they'll be bringing back a whole new
ballgame. This July, Ty will be introducing our newest toy - the
Husky - to SMFA players, High School players, Steelers, and Sabercats
alike at his Football Camp. Strength training, conditioning like
you've never seen before, football-specific drills, and a 2-month gym
membership. 60 days of all-around awesomeness. Pre-register here. Watch for more details on the site soon!
Y'know what's really funny? Most "fitness centres" die out over
the summer. People would rather be outside than in a boring labyrinth
of machines and mirrors. Why not train in a natural environment with
fun, sporting workouts? It's easier to eat well in the summer. It's easier to train well - if you're in the right environment.
"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.
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.
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.
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.)
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.
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.
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.
TheZone Live Lectureebook. 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 writeuphere.
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:
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.
Awesome Crossfit Tees. There are a LOT of choices here. Try the STOREat CROSSFIT.COM first, but there are some pretty amazing choices available at some of the affiliate sites, as well as these two:LifeAsRxandAffiliateShirts. (we also have anew onefor 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 beatPaleoKits. Bonus: all proceeds go to Steve's Club, a nonprofit affiliate to help introduce kids to CrossFit.
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?
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.
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 OnRampgroup 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 asCatalyst 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 us256-1344.) We'll continue to prioritize solid coaching for ALL levels in the new year. Thanks for learning along with us. Merry Christmas!
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.
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.
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!
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.
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 forCatalyst Games 2009are at full boil!
First off, theCrossFit OnRamp program. If you're thinking of startingCrossFit, 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 newRunning Groupstarts 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 videowas 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-shirthere!) 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 torun 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.
TheCatalyst Games 2009is 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, theParkhad 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!
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 2009Site. 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 newOnRamp programstarts 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 Kidsstarts 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.
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 hereto 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 siteis 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.
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 his24-hour EmergencyCrossFit 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 bySarah 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, clickherefor info.
July 18, the coaches (Mike, Tyler, Chris, Whitney, and Kris) will be headed to Moss Park Armoury for theCrossFit 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 videohad 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: theCatalyst 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.
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 our2009 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!
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.
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!
OurCatalyst Traineronline 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.comis 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 ourEarly Dryland Strength and Conditioning Campstarting May 21. FullGymmembership, 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
OurIntroduction To CrossFit Groupis 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. P90Xarticle 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. Ourlatest article on Hockey Training got some great comments from high-level coaches. Our Good Friday post wastranslated into Spanishby CrossFit Peru - man, Spanish makes EVERYTHING sound better!How to Make Your Kid A Better Athletehit home with quite a few parents (as evident in our Catalyst Kids Groups.)
Video: OurBumper Plate Explanationwas a big hit (especially Tyler's second bailout on the 250lbs clean- classic!) Rich Leblanc's hilariousFight Gone Bad slideshow- with comments - just went up today, but will likely be passed around quite a bit!
Finally, look for an article inCrossFit Journalwithin 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.
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.
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:
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!
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!
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.
"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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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Prepaid Package of 10 sessions - $500 (save $50!)
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*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!
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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:
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.
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!
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!
This may shock you, but your weight on the scale isn't really that important.
Ready for more? Neither is your BMI.
Scale weight and BMI are correlates of fitness - but neither can predict how long you're likely to live, how you'll die, or your quality of life in the meantime.
Research showing that increased mortality rates are associated with a lot of belly fat are okay, but they don't tell the whole story. Yes, people with more belly fat tend to have more heart attacks. But does the belly fat cause the problem, or is it just a clue toward the lifestyle of its bearer? If your waist-to-hip ratio is too small, does it GUARANTEE a stroke?
Consider this: elite athletes like boxers and gymnasts and bodybuilders would have a high BMI. If Evander Holyfield had gone to a Weight Watchers meeting when he was at his World Heavyweight Championship peak, wearing sweats and a poncho, they'd tell him he was obese.
At the other end of the scale, bodybuilders and other extreme dieters have a very low percentage of body fat, at least in competition. But sneak backstage at a major show, and you'll be shocked: oxygen tanks, dialysis machines, defibrillators.... Regular people can also be small without being any healthier. Picture the mall entranceway in the spring: skinny women in size '0' jeans smoking. At least you've got them beat.
Who is truly fit? Who is likely to survive longest? Who has their body working in unison hormonally, aerobically, neurologically, immunologically, digestively, and muscularly?
Here comes surprise #3: we've never known. There's never been a good test, backed by research and peer review, to determine overall fitness.
Until now. Introducing the CAT Score.
In a nutshell (you can read the whole file by downloading it below,) we've chosen 10 Elements of fitness, based on common scientific acceptance. For each Element, we've chosen a test, based on the following criteria:
Longevity – they’ve been around awhile
Peer-review – they’ve been used and critiqued
and argued extensively
Scientific – they’re replicable
Validity – they provide precisely the type of
information we require
Simplicity – they can be done with minimal
equipment
Rigor – while they can be performed by a
novice, their level of accuracy improves in the hands of a professional.
Relevance – each Element must be challenging
even to one specialized in that particular Element.
Objectivity - different people at the same levels would receive the same score.
From there, we've used the original scoring scale of each test, but assigned a numerical value (1 to 10) where there may not have been one before. On some tests, the original authors may have used a different numerical scale, or no numerical scale (using 'Excellent,' 'Very Good,' etc.) In those cases, we've simply assigned a numerical value to the same ratios on the same scale.
Each Element of fitness is rated equally. While it's tough to get a good score in the Strength category, a 9 out of 10 doesn't necessarily equate to a high overall score. If there's one thing to remember most of all, it's this: we're looking for a high level of overall fitness, including all aspects and forsaking none.
This project didn't happen overnight. As you'll read in the ebook below, this is the culmination of nearly 3 years of research, math, and testing.
Where are we going with this? Well, as you may have read in local media, Catalyst Fitness has received NOHFC funding over the last two years to develop an online training and measuring system. The CAT score is one side of that very big coin. The other side is currently with the engineers, but the beta version has been chugging along for six months, and it's really cool. It can't be unveiled yet, but here's a hint: you do your workout, then you log your score. It takes about 6 seconds. Watching your CAT Score, you notice your Stamina Element rises, and that adds a point to your total. You're progressing! You're now a 74 out of 100. You check your friends' scores - only 5 more points until you can say you're more fit than Tim! Awesome! Tomorrow is a running day, and you KNOW you're faster over 2km than last time - another chance for a point up on ol' Tim. Think you're going to make the workout tomorrow? We think so.
We encourage Catalyst clients, Catalyst Gym members, other personal trainers, and the public at large to try the tests. They're most accurate when done with a Catalyst Trainer (we've been doing trials for weeks now,) but they can be done on your own. All the information is in the ebook. Download away.
"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.
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!
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.
Summer Hockey Dryland Group 
Summer Football Camp
New Catalyst Kids Groups!
Duathlon Group
SUMMER HOCKEY DRYLAND CAMP
Summer Running Groups
Barbell Bettys and Fraternity Barbell: the Summer Program
Summer Football Camp
