Catalyst Athletic and Crossfit

100 Reasons I'm Doing CrossFit Sectionals

1. Three words: "Go, daddy, go!"
2. Anxiety makes me a better athlete.
3. Fear makes me eat my broccoli.
4. "Feeding The Baby" - I'd probably just stand there and pantomime everything if I wasn't competing.
5. Gotta represent the "unnaturals" who didn't play sports their whole lives
6. Got an Army to feed!
7. Next year, Sectionals may require prequalification
8. This is year One of my 15-year training plan for the Masters division
9. Ray Gowlett: "It's like unwrapping your Christmas presents!"
10. The worst-case scenario (last place?) really isn't bad at all.
11. It's not a fashion show, and I support that.
12. It's my sport. 
13. I love my team. 
14. Carolle, who showed up for every single Team WOD every single Friday.
15. Competing at CrossFit = winning at life.
16. Two rounds of 7 hours' good conversation with my wife on the long drive.
17. My kids tend to try the stuff they see me doing.  Anyone else ever notice that?
18. I get to wear 3 of my favourite hats in the same day: cheerleader, coach, and athlete.
19. The next day, I'll wear my fourth favourite, when I write about it.
20. I get to watch Josh Deluco up close.  This kid's something special.
21. Get to hang with other Affiliate owners and friends!
22. I'll do anything for a cool t-shirt.
23. Feeling my lizard brain writhe during the last 10 seconds before the start.
24. Frequent exposure to physical stress makes me better at dealing with other stress.  It's a physiological fact.
25. If you knew me in high school, you'd never have guessed I'd be here.
26. CTV news, baby!
27. Participation is good for the sport.
28. 48 hours of post-Sectional glee.  Almost like a refractory period.
29. The incredible photography that shows up afterward!
30. Watching the CrossFit community flex its collective muscle.
31. Watching the CrossFit philosophy flex its solid muscle.
32. I just don't have the opportunity to be amazed that often anymore.
33. I know how hard it's been to get to my current level, and if there are 100 better, that's going to be incredible to watch.
34. If I keep meeting new people, I don't have to learn any new jokes.
35. This train only goes forward or backward.
36. Posting the WODs on my facebook wall got 21 responses...in the first 10 minutes.
37. I think this is the 'right' carrot to hang in front of people.
38. I'm going to learn like crazy.
39. I'll have more people to cheer for at CrossFit Games 2010 in Aromas (hey! I warmed up with that guy!)
40. Event #4 might just be a max deadlift.  You never know.
41. I'm never going to be this young again.
42. OPT.
43. It's all about the story.
44. I get to see if the wiring and the plumbing work well together.
45. I get to carry my blue foam roller through downtown Toronto.
46. I'll get to see Whit compete against other girls. Yikes.
47. "The walk" over in the morning with the Team. Nervous jokes are double-funny!
48. 'Recovery' swimming with my kids.
49. I'd like to get it done so I can get back and try 'Muscle Murph' - 50 muscle-ups, 100 clapping pushups, 150 x 95lbs front squat, with a mile before and after
50. Writing this list is really easy - that's reason enough!
51. Test, revise curriculum, repeat.
52. My form will be checked against the highest standard.
53. How else would I know?
54. I'm building an exercise habit, too.  You don't ever stop.
55. I've already got the calluses.
56. So I can convince 20 people to come next year. 
57. As long as I can keep Clint healthy, I'm not the oldest.
58. Some of the most athletic physiques in the country....and not a single mirror.
59. Best seats in the house are on the stage.  See # 4, "feeding the baby."
60. Gotta stop Josh from eating the jar of pickles before the pickle-eating contest.
61. I know the family's watching back home.
62. My sister's flying across the country to be there.
63. I'll share a chalk dish with some of the best lifters,writers,and businesspeople in the country.
64. More people wearing Chucks in one room than anywhere else north of Westside Barbell!
65. "This is a truth derived through competition, not debate." - Greg Glassman
66. Brent's outfits are best experienced in person.
67. Exercise theory funneled down to a fine point.  Either it's true, or you lose.
68. Only the bullfighter really knows what it's like in the arena.
69. Ray's "game face."
70. It's nice to be in an environment where "lockout" doesn't refer to striking auto workers.
71. The soundtrack is always excellent.
72. The sound of 20 bars slamming the ground in unison.
73. Solidarity.
74. Alecia smiling while she links pullup after pullup.
75. There will be deadlifts there.
76. A glimpse of the next level, waiting for my footprint soon.
77. CrossFit Huronia owes me a shirt.
78. This essay.
79. It will keep me humble for another year.
80. Proud, but humble.
81. The competition IS my reward.
82. Not too many years ago, I would have chickened out.
83. My wife does CrossFit now!
84. The other Sectionals events were AWESOME!
85. The three brand-new CrossFitters who signed up this week.
86. The Saturday Morning, 9am group is doing the same workouts!
87. 40 first-timer, never-evers finished Murph last weekend!
88. The anticipation is always worse than the action.
89. There just aren't many sunsets left to ride off into.
90. We're collectively nudging the human genome back in the right direction.
91. The species didn't go through this whole evolutionary process to be better at watching Oprah.
92. EVERY time we've called, the Catalyst Family has answered. Time to repay the favour.
93. Brad Rennison: boy wonder.  (You want me to try the 3k row for you? Sure!)
94. WWPDD? (What would Pam Didonato Do?)
95. Now, I can link muscle-ups and do HSPU on the parallettes.  I couldn't until I committed.
96. Some athletes are complaining about the workouts already, 8 hours after they've been posted.
97. I get to live like a professional athlete for the whole weekend (thanks, Ray!)
98. I have a reason to train hard, eat right, and sleep.  Also, complain.
99. I stole Philsy's rope, and I need an excuse.
100. I can.  Therefore, I must.

What We're Doing About It

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

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

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

We're talking about insurgency, too.

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

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

Except it doesn't work.

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

Not so much.

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

....or you can do something else.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Get Well Soon

"You can listen to me, or you can die."

Those were her doctor's words.  But now, hunched over her collapsed body in her tight hallway, her doctor was far away.  I made eye contact with one of the Paramedics: he knew the truth, too. 

"Your doctor told you to drink that?" he asked, drawing a curtain of professionalism over his incredulity.  He nodded toward her jug o' juice, the main part of her diet for the last two weeks.  To her, it was medical science: 1000 calories a day of Space Tang, a mathematical miracle.  To us, it was a Carbohydrate Cowboy with an itchy trigger finger.  Having a diabetic lose weight on a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet seemed to defy logic.  But, then again......doctor said!

They took her away in an ambulance.  Again.  To Big-E Emergency.  Again.  Protesting, again.  To be prescribed few calories, no fat, and rigid adherence.  Again.  Hey, it works for everyone else, right?

On the porch with her son and grandson, I couldn't hold my tongue.  Maybe my message of research and logic and overreliance on 1970s technology was lost in my shocking use of profanity.  Maybe, but I'd had enough.  After sprinting my fastest 400m ever to find my mother-in-law, sweating and fighting for consciousness on her low-pile carpet, I was ready to say my piece.

Patricia's doctor, you see, had never told her there was a third option.  There's always a third option.  In this case:  3) ...or you can do something else.

They'll call it improving impaired glucose sensitivity.  They'll call it improved glucagon/insulin balance.  They'll call it restabilization of fasting blood sugar.  We'll call it walking.  For now.  Later, we'll call it walking with a little more. 

They'll call it a low-carb diet.  We'll call it better balance of protein, carbohydrate, and healthy fats. 

It's clear, now, that it won't be possible to change the medical system from the inside.  You'll need to look outside the traditional 'medical' world for help: and that's scary, isn't it?  There's just as much bad information out there as good information.  But we're going to help, and we're going to do it in a big way.  More on that tomorrow.

Today, though, Patricia is still using a hospital bed.  After spending her first night in a hallway, alone, she was finally given a room. The next day, Grammy's shoes were stolen.  Yesterday, doctors gave her medications checklist a serious overhaul......and no one mentioned exercise.  Dietitians visited last week, and gave her a book about the DASH diet (low sodium) - an excellent idea to treat the symptoms of congestive heart failure, but not the causes.

Who's at fault?  The system.  The 'funnel' paradigm - intake, process, output - is a defensive model.  It's reactionary.  To make it worse, the funnel's overflowing.  Your best bet is to avoid the process.  We'll talk about that tomorrow, too.  "Get Well Soon" is can't just be a greeting-card cliche anymore; it's a social imperative.

Are Kipping Pullups Cheating?

This:                                                                                    is not this:

....absolutely true.  CrossFit is frequently the target of derision among those who haven't done a WOD.  Without a foothold from which to attack the science, they instead pick out minutae - like the kipping pullup - and ridicule, instead of question.

The goal of the kipping pullup? Perform more work.  Not "isolate the back" (as if such a thing were possible,) or "widen the lats" or "build thickness."  The kipping motion allows for greater wattage output in the same amount of time, and more consecutive work to be accomplished.

The most common counter-kipping position?  It's "cheating."  But by whose rule-sheet?  Is there a secret Hoyle Book of Calisthenic Exercise?  Is this guy really our best frame of reference; our greatest referee?

Kipping is different, yes; and often, different means scary.  That's our Lizard Brain talking.  

A kipping pullup and a bodybuilding pullup are different exercises. Neither are 'better' than the other without the context of the athlete's goal.  The goal of the kipping pullup is NOT to develop the 'bodybuilder' pullup; therefore, use of the kip does not detract from the usefulness of the exercise.

I'm still amazed, after 14 years in the industry, at the furious arguments online over what's "right" or "wrong" - as if there were such things.   Our goals, as part of the CrossFit community, are to increase work capacity across broad time and modal domains.  Do bodybuilder-style pullups have their place at our table?  Yes, insofar as they increase our ability to do more abduction in the frontal plane in less time.  They're an assistance exercise, like front squats and bench presses.  They're means to a greater end.

The path to glory can't be charted from a couch.  If you're exploring the New World, you've got to be on this side of the globe before you can comment on the natives.

Developing Youth Athletes

This is Jackie Chan.  Maybe you've heard of him (if you haven't, scroll to the bottom of this post.) 

Watching Jackie last week on a typical "Entertainment!"-type show, I was surprised to hear the interviewer ask him the key to turning kids into martial arts superstars.  No doubt the answer would surprise a lot of parents: Chan didn't emphasize discipline or practice or even a martial art.  His answer?

Badminton.

In The Dancing Wu Li Masters (Gary Zukav, 1979,) contributor and Tai Chi teacher Al Huang describes speaking at a conference and providing a very visual example of technique vs. brute strength.  Huang, a ping pong player of small stature (around 135lbs,) asked a 300lbs attendee to jump into his arms.  After much back-and-forth and assurance, Huang caught the man - more than twice his bodyweight - and held him up in front of the audience. 

Is amazing balance and coordination, then, a racial trademark?  Is it the domain of a culture rooted in the martial arts; is it borne of the necessities of combat against larger opponents?  Or is it the fruit of a different cultural value system, in which 'sport' and 'art' are not parallel lines, but part of the same continuum?

As Westerners, we've taken the approach of prioritization of time: a child leans toward doing artistic things, OR sporting things.  This is largely a function of our industrial-model system of education: sit here.  Listen. Repeat what you're told.  Now choose: do you want to go left, or right?  You can be a red circle, or a blue square.  If you like blue, you're a square.  If you like circles, you're red.  Simple.

The more prevalent philosophy in Eastern (and most European cultures) is one of variety.  Consider the USSR's system for preparing athletes throughout the 1950s, 60s, and 70s: teach children a huge variety of sport while young, including wrestling, gymnastics, and weightlifting.  Develop skills in all disciplines until physical maturity is reached.  At that point, begin specialization, but always continue to include "off" sports as part of the annual training plan.  Their weightlifters played soccer; their throwers wrestled.  And played badminton, ping pong, and did tumbling exercises. 

The reason: different systems develop at different rates.  For instance, most of your neuromuscular development happens at a young age; this is why kids who do gymnastics or dance before age twelve typically have better balance and coordination when they're older.  A child's kick reflex develops very young; their aerobic capacity develops later; and their hormonal systems develop later still. 

This week, we'll look closely at planning a young athlete's training - and practice, and play - to provide the best experience in terms of progression, growth, skill acquisition, and fun.  

Want a sneak peak ahead?  Want the long version?  Click Below:

Download Long-term athletic development

Thanks for your interest. Here's your Free Prize Inside!:

Your Lizard Brain: A User's Guide

I've just finished reading, "Linchpin" by Seth Godin.  It's a terrific book - as always - and I recommend you pick up a copy.  The main thrust of the book is something other than just the basic biology of your brain, but Godin spends a lot of time talking about why we self-sabotage, delay, procrastinate, and fail to live up to our own high expectations.  He's talking about our Lizard Brain.

In the very deepest recesses of your think-box hide your Amygdala, almond-shaped clusters of cells that formed the earliest parts of our advanced thinking as humans.  These are where it all started, and still form the "buck-stops-here" final decisions that override our conscious mind.  The cerebral cortex ("grey matter") is actually pretty new, compared to the amygdala; this 'Lizard Brain' (Godin's term) is what saw us through the earliest phases of humanity.

The priorities of the amygdala:

Fight

Flight (default setting)

Food

F - ( uh, procreation.)

...in short, survival at any cost.  Avoidance of risk is its specialty.

It's easier - far easier - to check email a dozen times this morning than to drive to CrossFit.  It's soothing to stay on facebook until it's too late to make it to the Group on time. It's easier to research cell phone plans online than to go to the store and have a conversation.  As Jerry Seinfeld joked, "Public speaking is the #1 fear of most people.  Death is #2.  People are more scared of public speaking than death.  That means that most people would rather be in the coffin than giving the eulogy."

The Lizard Brain hates confrontation.  It fears judgment - even if that fear is irrational.    It avoids eye contact.  It screens your calls.  It makes excuses.  It hides in the familiar. And it overrides your smarter brain, which creates a lot of anxiety.

Show up at CrossFit for the first time?  Nah, let's read the blog a few more times.

Call the girl?  Not today.  Tomorrow.  I have a deadline.

Hold my wife's hand in public?  My buddies might be there. 

Sign up for Murph?  I hate groups.  Plus it's not my 'cardio day.'

Get some running coaching? I hate running.  I'm so bad at it.  Plus, it's boring.

Call out a local politician in a public forum? No, it might reflect badly on my business.

Finish my school work?  Not when the skiing's so good!

Write the speech for PodCamp in advance? I'm better 'off the cuff.'

Join the new Barbell Bettys group? No, I don't know anyone there.

Start the WOD? Wait for a good song to come on / wait for Whit to finish her warmups / chalk up again.

Do the Polar Bear Swim?  No, it's pointless.  Just look at those laughing, screaming jerks!

BEATING THE LIZARD BRAIN

Steps:

1. Recognize what's happening.  If you've checked email more than once in the last 3 hours; if you've been on facebook all morning; if you're checking hits on your website more than once per day; if you're using a code-name on news forums.....the Lizard is in charge.

2. Acknowledge that you're reacting with a primitive portion of the brain.

3. Frequently expose the Lizard to challenge.  Do more public speaking.  Do stuff that makes you uncomfortable.  Go to karaoke.  Join a group as a stranger. Take a lesson.

4. Train the weakest links first.  Great at double-unders?  Run to warm up.  Awesome at deadlifting?  Train muscle-ups all week. 

5. Choose things that make you uncomfortable.  Exercise, books, public exposure.  Do them.

The longer you avoid, the deeper you dig.  Running a mile, twice, in sub-zero temperatures, is not comfortable.  It's not fun.  Snuggies are warm, and safe, and feel like a nice hug and look great on your new couch and don't get bored while you watch the Olympics all morning.  But that big, fuzzy parachute will become an anchor.  That's okay, says the Lizard Brain.  You just lean back, and let me do the talking...........

Sketchy

Via Allyson:

So, my friend says to me today, "I told my personal trainer about your 205 lift and they said that they would never, ever have me lift a weight like that, and that people shouldn't be lifting that heavy, unless they are training for Olympic lifting. In all my 8-9 years of being certified every year, I would never do that. Catalyst is sketchy and I don't trust them."

I just shrugged my shoulders, I didn't want to get into it with her.

(above, right: the picture that started it all?)

But after, I wondered how she has my friend train, and how the hell does she know that I am not training for the Olympics? This is also the trainer she told me smokes cigarettes with her after working out, so she is questionable anyways.

I wonder if Watson thinks that he is wrong for getting me started on dead lifts, or if you feel badly for having congratulating me on scoring that 205?
By the way, I lifted 220 yesterday....
Thanks for being sketchy, Chris.  

Above: more Catalyst family sketchiness.  First HSPUs for Lori and Palma!

I wrote about the pitfalls of competence last September.  Some folks, after receiving training in one area, spend the rest of their careers defending that one point.  Unfortunately, progress - in life, in work, in fitness - means frequent exposure to situations at which you aren't efficient.  Yes, it's uncomfortable.  That's the point.This is why we choose achievement first, and aesthetic second.  This is why our coaches have their own coaches.  This is why we put our daily workouts online - free - every single day.  This is why, instead of dangling the juicy worm, we show you the pointy hook.  Right off the bat.  Above: after running her first full mile, Carolle works her way up to 265 on the Deadlift Ladder.  Definitely sketchy.

We have to start from a position of honesty, because we're asking a lot of you.  Honesty means exposing weakness - our own, your own.  Things get REALLY honest around rep #52 of a 75-rep snatch workout.  If you don't trust your coach absolutely, it's over.  It's bedrock, or it's nothing.

"How much can you know about yourself if you've never been in a fight?" - Tyler Durden, Fight Club

We're building habits.  This is why we track performances.  This is why we make appointments.  This is why OnRamp is 21 days long.  This is why we make it fun.  Most members call it 'addiction.'  We call it lifestyle.Is there a good way, a better way, and a best way?  Yes, we think so.  Is there a 'right way' and a 'wrong way?' No.  However, a 'personal trainer' who smokes is pretty close to one of those.

Resolve To Be Imperfect

I don't have much faith in New Year's "Resolutions."  Too often, there's not much "resolve" involved, and resolve is a learned skill: if you practice, it gets stronger; let yourself off the hook, and it atrophies.

It's no secret that January is the biggest month in the fitness world, cash-wise.  January 1 is packaged as a physical "reset" - a chance to start from scratch, from absolute zero, from ground level.  It's far from perfect, though: your blood sugar levels are probably still scattered from the Immaculate Consumption of the holiday season.  The nights are long and cold.  You're full of SAD-induced self-doubt.  In short, you're an easy sell for a good membership coordinator.

If you're returning to exercise from a long bout without - even if it's been since childhood - your resolution should be this: start something.  Still be doing it February first.  That's it.  Stop looking for the perfect solution; it isn't out there.  There's no perfect program.  You can't out-exercise a bad diet.  Likewise, diet without exercise will do really bad things to you in the long term.  Dr. Phil isn't a solution (just look at Oprah.)  Gardening, shopping, and walking the dog are NOT enough.  The Canada food pyramid relies too heavily on grains - you're better to simply stick to the perimeter in the grocery store (you can call it the Canada Food Circle if you like.)

If you're already exercising, push harder.  Yes, your form may suffer a bit - but it won't go from 100% to 0%.  In fact, if your form is always perfect, I have serious doubts about your intensity.  Add a stopwatch.  Eliminate your rest intervals.  Mix heavy strength training with anaerobic work. 

Just jump.  The chute will open. Don't wait for someone to push you (right side.)

 If you're already doing CrossFit, stop 'parceling' your reps.  DON'T wait until you're ready to do 15 box jumps; do 1 box jump RIGHT NOW!  THEN decide on the second. And while you're deciding, think this: "It's not going to hurt more than the last one.  Could I live through that last one again?"  Yes, you can.  And when that stops working, think THIS: "If this were my LAST rep, would I be resting right now?" 

Best case, if you're doing your workouts with a good coach at your shoulder, are you doing your best to exceed their demands, or waiting for them to drag you down the path?  My happiest moments are when I ask for 5 more box jumps - and you hit seven.  

 Make a mess.  Get dirty.  Sweat.  Drop things.  Cheer out loud.  Come undone.  Forget about your war paint, and sharpen your spear instead.  

Start with something, and stick with it until something more intriguing comes along.  Grow laterally as well as vertically.  Place yourself in an environment of common effort.  Live up to that standard.  Come back with your shield, or ON your shield. 

Above all, it's gotta be now. There's no perfect time.  Go.

Virtuosity

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Technique V Intensity

 These things we do - these lifts, these jumps, these pulls, these games - they're hard.  

They're hard because we do them fast and heavy.  And they're also hard because they're technically demanding.

One big reason that GloboGyms succeed? They water down exercise to its lowest common denominator.  They remove the 'think about it' barrier.  It's idiot-proof.  It's Wonder Bread.  It's vanilla.  There's never a risk in choosing vanilla, because you always know what you're going to get.  

Not so with a clean and jerk.  Kids - little kids! - practice technique in these lifts for years before they ever touch a bar.  They lift broomsticks and PVC pipe and aluminum lookalikes.  Weightlifting is a sport, but it sits on the spectrum somewhere between gymnastics and martial arts and powerlifting.  It's graceful and technical and nuanced and beautiful.  And it requires coaching.

Under heavy load, it's hard to do a perfect clean.  Full, triple-extension pulling power is nearly impossible on the second rep, let alone the thirteenth.  And this is where the argument lies, both within the CrossFit community and without: at what point do you sacrifice technique for intensity?  And when do you 'shut it down' to execute better technically?

In a famous speech, Coach (Greg Glassman) makes a few great points about Technique v. Intensity.  The video is NOT workplace safe (f-bombs away!) but here are some highlights, edited for obscenity:

"The real risk lies in not learning the mechanics.  Now, real world, can we learn the mechanics without ***ing up?  No!"  He's talking about operating in the margins: the farther you go from mediocrity, from vanilla, the more risk you're taking, and the more you have to be willing to err.  That's a good thing.

"My best performers are moving through the workouts at what - I'd give them, like, a 92 on form."  That's still really good, but maybe not realistic for the average CrossFitter.  Heck, someday I'd LOVE to earn a 92 on form on a snatch, period.  However: "There's efficiency in good mechanics.  When we define 'strength' as the productive application of force, I -by necessity - introduce form and safety into the demands."  Aha. "I'm not just looking at contractile force; I want.....productive work.  I want functional movement accomplished."

 Some classic Glassman illustrations: "No one ever won the Indy 500 where, in the last 5 miles, they were only running on two cylinders."

"(she) was a real connoisseur of good form.  Never able to generate any intensity.  What's going to happen is that if you say, I will not take my intensity past where the form goes bad, you'll never generate any intensity."  

One more good one: "Do I want good technique, or high intensity?  Yes.  It's like asking, do you want me to meet you in the right place, or be on time?  Yes.  It's gotta be both."

One thought that's my own: it's one thing to have perfect execution in a perfect situation.  It's quite another to focus enough to perform the movement under fatigue, or distraction, or haste, or duress.  Practice in those situations is absolutely necessary.  A trailer of firewood tips as you're pulling it home?  Do you want to get it back on the trailer fast, or do you do one block at a time with a prescribed rest period between each?  You're loading sandbags to stem a flood in your basement: do you change shoes, chalk up, and put your belt on?  Your buddy calls you to help move his refrigerator: do you go looking for straps, and insist on a few reps with his little bar fridge first?  No. Outside the gym, the setup will never be perfect, the load never balanced, the curveball never right across the plate.  You MUST learn adaptation here; you must learn to deal with imperfection.

Adaptation

 There are two parts to the textbook adaptation equation: stimulus and response.  There's one factor missing.

Absent is Environment. The effect of anything new to you is affected - enhanced, dampened, even dismissed - by your worldview.  Consider trying to sell Obama's health care plan to a fiscal Conservative, or cutting back government services to a Communist; they're not going to go for it, ever, because their frame of reference is different.

When we do CAT Testing on new clients, there's typically one glaringly obvious weakness that shines through in each.  Obviously, they're inefficient at that particular fitness trait, and it's because they've adapted least to that particular stimulus.

Take this example: a human male with a lot of strength training background scores low on the Aerobic test.  He's least efficient at aerobic metabolism.  This means if we expose him to equal part cardiovascular activity, strength training, and METCON work, he'll adapt first to the cardio...because that's where he's least efficient.

Weight trainees (predominantly men) who have gained a little muscle under the bar become nervous about doing much aerobic activity, for fear they'll lose some muscle mass.  So they walk, very slowly, on treadmills to do "cardio."  Or they'll do nothing.  Unfortunately, this is a vicious cycle, and it's perpetuated by bodybuilding magazines who make their dough on supplement sales (Men's Health, Men's Fitness, FLEX, and the others: all owned by supplement companies, if you trace back far enough.)  Soon, guys who "work out" are scared to do ANY aerobic activity for fear of looking 'flat.'  

 When I started CrossFit, I quickly dropped 20lbs.  It was VERY hard to adjust, mentally, to weighing under 190lbs after years of competing at Powerlifting.  No, I wasn't fit; I was just strong and a bit bigger than I'd ever been.  Now that I'm a more efficient runner (thanks Mike!) I'm able to gain weight without worrying about getting slower.  I've adapted to the aerobic exercise.

When women start CrossFit, we advise them to lock their scales away for two months.  Typically, they're starting with little muscle mass, and they'll gain muscle and lose fat at close to the same rate.  They take awhile to adapt to strength training......but their clothes feel looser, they're much stronger and faster and fitter and closer to doing amazing things.

 When you try anything new, you'll have an easier time if you're more aware of your current state (the environment of Your Self.)  For instance, you're usually either gaining or losing weight, not staying the same, and it takes time to halt that process first before the train can start rolling in the other direction.  Critics of CrossFit ("I got too skinny!") are usually those who have dropped out after the first month; they've exposed their weaknesses, but don't allow time for adaptation.

The beauty of CrossFit is that adaptation in one area doesn't require regression in another.  It's NOT true that the act of rising to a "9 out of 10" as a runner means that you fall to a "2 out of 10" as a weightlifter.  Not at all.  These traits are NOT mutually exclusive until you reach a very elite level.  Being a generalist - specializing at NOT specializing - does not mean that your target is a 5 out of 10 in all areas; it means forcing a REAL adaptation.  

I'll leave you with this question: does rapid fat loss, as you'd see from a Rice Krispies (now with whole grains!,) The Biggest Loser, the South Beach Diet....force a long-term adaptation, or just a short period of physical stress?  And if the latter, what do you think the adaptation will be to that stress in the long term?  

The Original Eight

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Cumulative Effect

Above: the ghosts of workouts past.

In the second round, dropping into your thirteenth thruster, there's a 'blink' moment.  Somewhere between the bar crashing down into 'rack position' and your butt hitting that ball, there's a little glimpse of Angie.  Negotiating with that pullup bar during your final nine, you may flash back to lessons learned under Murph's hard bully pulpit.

The beauty of generalized fitness: overlap.  How is it, after three months without trying Fran once, you can score a 20-second personal best?  How can it be possible that, after six months Michael-free, you can have a 2:00 PR?  And how do you explain, please, the idea that two women have already had personal highs in the clean and jerk today.....without trying them in three weeks?

Something's going on here.   "I think mass hypnosis is unlikely and the fact that this program really works is the reason we're all here." Coach Greg Glassman

This week, we saw personal bests on Deadlift - from a guy who hadn't picked up a bar in three months.  We saw ridiculous times at FranFest that can't be entirely explained away by pullup proficiency.  We saw folks drop 3 minutes off their Elizabeth time without any extra practice on ring dips.

This thing we're after?  It's fitness.  The way we practice?  Large loads over long distances, as fast as possible.  The result?  Faster-stronger-better.  

Yes, we cuss Fran.  We call her names that we wouldn't let our mothers hear us say.  But she's a fair judge, isn't she?  Either you're better, or you're not.  You're faster, or you're guilty.  Fran isn't just a workout: she's a five-minute microscope into your value system.  After that first 21 pullups, you're fully exposed.  You might as well be naked out there.  If you skipped the strength WODs, you'll crumple.  If you cherry-pick the METCON work, you'll sag.  Miss a few WODs this week?  Yes, the coaches will chirp you a bit.  Miss a few next week?  Your buddies will ask you where you've been.  And a few more?  It will show.  Eventually, you'll want to participate in one of these workout/block parties, and the accumulation of skill - or not - will be obvious.  Uncovering weakness is no reason not to participate; rather, it's all the more reason to test yourself.  

Practice makes permanent.  The phrase is true, whether about developing skills or habits.

You're An Athlete

Here's the good news: You, Mr. 9-to-5, are an athlete.  No, you didn't plan for this to happen.  Lucky you!

And now, the bad news: You, Ms. "Night Shift," are an athlete.  Sorry.

Somewhere in those flipping calendar pages, you changed.  Physically, at least, you underwent an evolution that can only be triggered by challenge.  Mentally, you may not have changed.  At least, not yet.

First, the litmus test:

1. When you woke up this morning, and saw Fran, was your first reaction anxiety?

2. Have you changed your eating habits today to avoid that trek outside to the ditch, post-Fran?

3. Do you accept that, worst-case, you may have to sacrifice that virgin to the Fran volcano?

Doesn't matter if you answered "yes" to any of them, because the first question was a trick: if you woke up this morning and checked the WOD, you win!  Cue lights and bells!

And now for the painful part.  Barker's Beauties, tell 'em what they've won!

If your body accepts this new reality, but you haven't yet mentally embraced the notion of You 2.0, that creates discord.  And discord makes you dizzy.  Discord makes your fingers tremble and your guts knot.

If you're behaving like an athlete, but eating like a nonathlete - ditto sleeping, recovering - then your sport will suffer.  And you'll suffer, too: more than necessary.

Every WOD, you have to cross a line into athleticism.  The workout demands it, and you do it.  I've seen you do it.  But you don't have to cross back into "normal" afterward.  You don't have to pull that yellow cardigan back over your head when you get home.  Crossing and recrossing, entering and exiting that competitive domain, is painful.  Entry has a huge cost, and there's no one stamping your hand at the door.  Why do you insist on going out for the metaphorical smoke every half hour, and then paying to re-enter?

We're not asking for a lifestyle change.  You made THE BIG CHANGE weeks - months, years? - ago.  The hard part's done.  

We're not asking for you to ditch your friends.  We're asking you to evaluate your 'down time' activity: does it help?  Does it hurt?

We're not asking you to give up beer or donuts or Saturday Night.  We're just asking you to think, while you're sitting on the edge of the treadmill.  Ask, "If I'd known that 'Angie' was going to come up today, would I have eaten differently yesterday?  Would I have gone to bed at 10pm instead of watching 'The Office'?  Would I have balanced my breakfast better?"  Then take your own advice.

You're a competitive athlete.  You have a coach; you have teammates; you have fans and an arena and team colours and a competitive schedule.  Do your best.

10 Things We Believe

In two days, we'll be celebrating our four-year anniversary.  Catalyst was but a gleam in the eye of Coach Coop four years ago today.  While we learn stuff every year, and usually highlight only the scientific research relevant to our clientele, this has been an extraordinary year.  A year for the grassroots Catalyst community to really stand up and take over.  As such, the things we've learned together - coach and client, staff and member, friend and athlete - have been simple, but earth-shaking nonetheless.

Yesterday, Lisbeth Darsh (essayist, blogger, owner of CrossFit Watertown, editor of the CrossFit A-blog.....) issued an impromptu challenge to CrossFit Boxes: post an article just like hers.  This is our response.1. We should all treat food like a drug.2. Every meal: palm-sized protein, hand-sized vegetables, thumb-sized healthy fats.  3.  I'd rather have a 450 deadlift at 183lbs, with a sub-25:00 5km and a 230lbs clean, than a 500+lbs deadlift at 205.4. I need a personal trainer.  So do you.5. In the supermarket, buy all your stuff from the periphery.  Don't go down the aisles in the middle.6. A good coach is aware of his weaknesses and willing to address them.7. Novelty is the key to engagement.8. CrossFit is community of athletes participating in a common sport.9. It's all about the story.10. Kids should run, jump, tumble, climb, fall, carry, and throw.  Adults should be like kids.

One Year From Today

 

October 23, 2010.  You're in a small change room, rushing into your workout clothes.  You wore the same shorts yesterday, but don't give it a second thought; they'll be too busy to notice.  Your tribe has already gathered outside; you've got less than four minutes until Coach starts the warmup.  Already, you can hear the nervous giggling of the pre-workout banter.  You can hear the clack! of plastic pipe as it's set out for the warmup exercises.  The rip of tape; the slap of heavy plates being stacked; and then the throaty whirr of the rowers.

Coach's voice sounds a little gravelly; last night's group must have been fun.  Almost in a state of suspended animation, you check the blackboard for the eleventh time, knowing that the workout must be imprinted in your head long before the clock starts.  Once Coach starts that countdown, there's no more room for processing in that beating skull, only these: survive. drop the weight. hands on the bar. one at a time. go again. move!

There's no time, today, to remember that nervous person you used to be.  The one who drove down Industrial Court 'B' three times before walking in.  That dude, in jeans that didn't quite fit right, who had to suck in his gut for the whole first class; or that chick who thought that 'skinny' was the goal here.  Friendless, a stranger on the Moon, you somehow got through that first group.  Afterward, at the water cooler, you met Anna.  And Philsy, and PJ, and RichandNancy (one word) and Carolle and all the rest.  Soon, Leanne had talked you into her Paleo challenge (you recall thinking it had something to do with dinosaurs....) 

Gradually, those jeans loosened.  You started caring about your Fran time.  You signed up for Murph in March (oh, how that hurt, but how you loved ranting about it to your friends at work!)  You did BaseLine Week in May, every day at lunch with Clint, Brent, and Glen.  Someday, you said, you'd hang with those guys for real....

And then, when a member of the Catalyst family needed help, you were there.  You ran for them; you shouldered a small part of their burden, because you knew they'd be right beside you, too, if necessary.  You did stuff at 2am that you never thought you'd do...well, never ever. 

And when the Games rolled around, like they do every September, you answered.  You wrote down your name before you could chicken out.  You showed up, shivering nervously all over again, as ready as you'd ever be.  By 2pm, you had realized that you'd lunged or skipped or burpee'd across some line back there somewhere, and there was no turning around.  You'd become one of them: the Kool-Aid was long drunk.  The 'refresh' button on your browser was worn down.  You'd uttered the phrase, "too sick to go to work, but not too sick to do the WOD."  Coop had mentioned you a few times in blog posts.  You'd added other CrossFitters you've never actually met to your facebook friends list.

And now, today, at one minute to twelve, you're back at the Park.  You're no longer "exercising" or even "working out."  Now you're training.  You're using the WOD to prepare; no longer for that next belt loop, but just because it's there.  Because Deadlifts had the audacity to paste themselves to the chalkboard this morning, and damn it, you can taste 350.  That record board has been waiting for your initials for too long.  Coop wants a good picture?  Today's the day he'll get it, by God, and he can use it for his Christmas cards.  There's a newbie in the group, and you'll get them a glass of water when it's all over, but right now Coach is fiddling with the time clock and you've gotta get your heart rate under control and you need a piece of chalk and Donna's warming up with your max and the 7am Group hit really, really high numbers and can I handle this? and he's starting the countdown and it's too late to do anything but go and the bar's in my hands........

No Scale

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

Yeah, but how much does she weigh? 

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

Yeah, but what's his bench?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

No scale in the world can measure this stuff.  

Cherrypicking

May 2008.  My second day of CrossFit. Linda was her name, and she was well versed in the frustration of young men.  And me, just a barbell-lovin' farmboy from "down the line," who had no idea what he was in for...

 Mike and Tyler had been drinking the Kool-Aid since February, and were already seeing results.  I was coming off a 3-year Powerlifting rip, competing in the 198lbs class.  My first WOD was a huge stroke of luck: CrossFit Total.  My second was....a little less lucky.  Though I was pulling 500+ deads on a semiregular basis, my power clean was an abysmal 135; to make up for it, I added weight on the deadlift.  I didn't rush; I paced between exercises.  I tried to keep my thoughts - and my lunch - to myself.  I was partially successful.  I've never run into Linda again.

If CrossFit is good at one thing, it's this: exposing your weaknesses.  The more weak links in the chain, the quicker the chain will snap.  You can only coast on  your strengths so far; ultimately, there's going to be a big confrontation, and the winner ain't a fixed bet, amigo.

There were a lot of scrapes, twists, and pains at Catalyst Games 2009.  Be sure of that.  Some were mentioned once and then tucked away in some dark recess of the unconscious mind to be dealt with later.  Some were temporarily hobbling.  But 48 hours later, there was only one ache being discussed at the Park: regret.  

I wish I hadn't dropped to the Scaled 2 Class.  

I should have kept going. 

I should have shown up and done the first two Events.

 I should have done it as Rx'd.

I should have done it, period.

You never regret the WOD you finish.  You never look longingly at a platform on which you've left everything you had to leave.  You never wish to have all that sweat back.

If a WOD intimidates you, good.  It's exposing a massive opportunity: a chance to strike right at the heart of your weakness.  A chance to kick Mr. Sandbag while his gloves are drooping.  It's a chance to make an investment: to pay a big lump against the principal, not just cover the interest.  Because there IS interest: the longer you wait to deal with this stuff; the more you choose your WODs based on your strengths and ignore the "hard ones"; the more you turn your cheek to that blazing, illuminating bulb, the harder it's going to be for your sight to adjust.

C'mon, Linda.  One more chance, baby.  You and me, down by the river.....

Push

My friend, Dr. Mike Mackay, calls it, "Feeding The Baby."

When I'm watching an athlete do box jumps, my knees involuntarily flex and pop! - just like I'm jumping with them.  You do it, too: teaching your teenager to drive, you pump the "air brake" from the passenger seat as you approach a stop sign.  When you're spoon-feeding a baby, you open your mouth with them.

One of my greatest downfalls as a coach: I'm a huge fan.  I want everyone to succeed, every single time.  I appreciate the value of failure.  Absolutely, I do.  But if I can steer you around it, I will.

We do big events like Catalyst Games 2009 to push you.  And it works: 3 people have achieved their first muscle-ups ever in the last 2 days.  Women are getting their first pullups, everyone's linking double-unders, and some are hammering the BCTs like never before.  We're getting emails about competitive standards for knees-to-elbows.  You're submitting pictures of your pushups.  You're changing your facebook status every 2 hours.  You're watching dozens of videos to learn how to get better.

It's tough, as a coach, to referee.  It's tough to hold the line on standards.  Flipping that yellow card over, making you do an extra rep, isn't easy.  But it's fair.

Letting you get away with a pullup that isn't high enough isn't about punishing you.  It's not about being in "a bad mood," or disliking you.  It's about devaluing the accomplishment.  Last weekend, knowing that Nancy's status in the Rx class depended on her getting 3 pullups (she'd only done one, ever, before that,) it was very tempting to drop the standard.  To pat her on the back and say, "that's okay.  You tried your best.  Good for you."  Instead, I gritted my teeth and held the line.  Nancy responded.  She did 3 pullups.  She's ready.  

At 11am yesterday, Jeremy couldn't say he'd ever done a muscle-up.  He ran into the gym between clients and hammered until he got one.  Then he got another.  And another, and another.  Now we're working on Brent.  

These events are hard.  Until you've done one, you can't really appreciate how ridiculous these demands can be.  And yet.... we do them.  We finish.  We push hardest in the final 30 seconds.  We empty the tank.  We leave nothing in reserve.  And then we do it again.  And again.

I know it's frustrating to do extra reps.  I've been there.  But if I give you a freebie, what am I giving to everyone else?  More importantly, what am I really pushing you to achieve?  If we were like every other gym - hell, like most parts of our wimpy "trying-your-best-is-good-enough" culture - you wouldn't be doing pullups today.  And I'd still have a voice left by Friday.

Thanks for being cheer-worthy.  Now get out there and push.

Forcing Evolution

Monday's Murph was fantastic.  12 people, the majority first-timers, took upon Murph like he was delivering rice to their starving village.  They attacked like they had to; like he was solid enough to stand upon once they were done, and thereby reach some higher shelf.

If you believe the Theory of Evolution, then you must believe that your ancestors were the strongest, fittest, smartest among their peers.  Your family has survived, generations individually, where others did not. 

For the first time ever, the world in which we leave our children will not be easier than the world given us by our parents.  There will be hard problems that must be faced down without waffling.  The environment won't be as forgiving.  Even the air will be harder to breathe.  We've weighed them down with the baggage of low demand: they didn't grow up with the need to strive.  They didn't have to catch a chicken before the sun rose, or split wood under a hot sun, or even walk home in the dark.  We've given them helmets, soft landings, crutches; we're still surprised when they can't run.

Not all of this challenge will involve physical labour, of course.  A colleague mentioned attending a brainstorming session for the revitalization of his city's Downtown area.  The great thinkers were there: young and old, hip and practical, monetized and unfunded.  In the final few minutes, the moderator called for a no-holds-barred, no-wrong-answer throwdown: shout out your best idea. 
"They should build more cafes!"
"There should be more people walking around downtown!  They need to ban cars!"
"They should put up an artists' colony!"
"They should open up a bigger farmers' market!"

My friend stood up.  He asked, "Who are THEY?"  No one knew.

Our kids will have to be prepared to make decisions, not fake them, and deal with the consequences.  They must be able to handle adversity - heck, be willing to face adversity beyond the cancellation of Grey's Anatomy. 

In the gym, we're pushing, pushing, pushing not to escape these hard realities, but to prevent them escaping us.  It's too late to change the DNA we're going to pass along to our kids; maybe it's time we taught them by example.  Maybe it's the only gift left to give them.    Maybe we could tell them that a bit of competition is okay.  Maybe even that confrontation isn't so bad.  Maybe even that hard work is its own reward, that a penny saved..... or that cliches aren't good enough.

Maybe we have to set some kind of standard for them to reach.  Maybe even an example for them to live up to: Here it is.  Do this well, or do better.  

On that last mile of Murph, I was behind the clock.  Leaving at 30:00, I knew there was no chance of breaking my 34:42 PR.  My first run had been a quick 6:15, but I suffered on pushups all day, and felt drained.  I was about two minutes ahead of the kid, Wylie, I was racing; with no competition to push me, or clock to pull me, I was lagging.  Walking.  Suffering.
"Come on, finish." 
"Hurry up!  You've got to push through to the end."
"NO!  Don't walk.  Keep running."
"Lean into it.  You'll stumble forward faster than you're going now.  Can't get any slower."
"Are you walking AGAIN?"
None of those things worked.  And then, after the 1/2 mile turnaround, two little words that made me run:
"There's Wylie."
Wylie was the kid who was 2:00 behind me when I left.  Now he was less than a quarter mile from me, and he was jogging.  "I'm gonna puke!" he mumbled as I passed him, going the other direction.  I started to jog. 
I passed a dog.  I passed its walker.  I rounded the final corner.  I knew that if I kept jogging, he wouldn't catch me.
Then he caught me.
Sprinting.  "I'm gonna puke!" he yelled. 
He won by 00:06.  He didn't puke.  But he made me run.

In my head, during that final jog? "The human body just isn't meant to do this."  Words by a physician, written on a Runners' World blog, regarding CrossFit. 

Not yet, it isn't.  But it's getting there.

Changin' Ain't Easy

In September's GO! Newsletter, I wrote about the Trap of Competence.  How it's easy to pigeonhole yourself into being "the one who's good at ....."  and staying there.  Defending that turf.  "But I'M the one who fixes the copier when it's jammed!"  "But I'M the bench press guy around here!"

Change - improvement - demands that you operate in the margins: in those areas where you're not comfortable.  By definition, exposure to the unfamiliar means stumbling, failing, and dropping the bar from awkward positions.  It means imperfect form for awhile.  Coaching helps.  But coaches can't carry you across the river; they've just seen the farther shore.

Interestingly, frequent exposure to change has its own training effect.  Changing regularly means you become more adept at handling change.  You become comfortable being uncomfortable.  

In 1996, I lucked into an Internship two years early.  I was a sophomore; the employer wanted a graduating Senior.  Somehow, I talked my way into the job.  Day One: Karaoke.  I, the Intern, was taken to a watering hole, and sent up on stage, solo.  No alcohol allowed.  Friends back home were jealous of my luck...until they heard about singing Randy Travis songs somewhere in the middle of the Illinois Cornbelt.  Thirteen years later, though, you can't shut me up in public (just ask my Saturday 9am group.)  

I was lucky to have parents who allowed me to take major jumps - first into the bush for half a year, then to Illinois, then Wisconsin - on little more than a whim, often on less than a week's notice, when I was still a teenager.  And I'm lucky now to have had shareholders who backed me up to the hilt, despite catastrophe-level risk.  I've become comfortable being uncomfortable.

Next time a heavy Snatch WOD rolls around, it would be easy to skip.  Few people ever list Snatch as their best lift, even people who do it for a living.  It's hard.  It hurts.  And you miss the lift a LOT.  But after the WOD, will it be easier to confront your boss about a bad decision?  Yes.  Will it be easier to tell your husband to put his damn dishes away?  Yes.  

If you want change, you've can't shy away from the margins.

The Competitive Element

"Our workouts are competitive events. The strength and value of CrossFit lies entirely within our domination of other athletes. This is a truth derived through competition, not debate."

That message was printed on a sign hung on the west side of the Stadium at The Ranch in Aromas, California, site of the 2009 CrossFit Games.

Every Saturday morning, we meet a new crop of the CrossFit-curious.  The spectrum is broad: from great athletes who realize they need to leave their comfort zone to improve, to those who have simply tried everything else to lose a few pounds.  They've heard CrossFit works.  And it does.  They've also heard CrossFit is hard.  It is.  

"CrossFit feels like sport, " I say, and they nod.  But inside, they're thinking, "That's not me.  I'm not competitive. I'm just doing it for myself."   

They're wrong.  At the spark of your existence - way back at the fertilization point - you were competitive.  Your sperm was the fastest, the strongest, the most agile.  Perhaps the most persuasive, definitely the most persistent.  You won.  Over thousands of others, you were top dog.

And even before that, your parents and grandparents and great-great-great-granddaddies survived where others did not.  Your family scrounged food while others withered.  You're the distillate of survivorship.  You are the product of eons of competition.

You may not be a competitive athlete when you come to the CrossFit introductory classes.  You may never hope to be.  You may not be a competitive athlete when you check the WOD online.  You may not be an athlete when you're stopped at the light on Second Line on your way to the gym.  You may not be an athlete when you open that door.  But trust me: at 3,2,1.... GO! a switch is flipped.  A primal instinct, buried deep below Victorian manners and Under Armour fashion, is triggered.

You're 'ON.'  Just like a professional athlete.

You may not have the look of an athlete - yet.  You may not have a number on your jersey.   Coca-cola may not be trying to reach you.  You may return home later to your quiet Sunday-morning life and never ever talk about CrossFit.  Or you may just post a little note on facebook about your sore quads.  You may just check the crossfit.com main site before bed, just to see if tomorrow's WOD is posted early.  You may just remember to have a couple of almonds with breakfast, because dammit, the workout is "Fran" again, and last time you almost broke the 7:00 mark, and you KNOW you could have done better, and she's not going to kick you around like last time.  

You don't have to try to beat anyone else.  Self-betterment means self-competition.

Covering ALL The Bases

What are you best at?  Chances are, that's your favourite thing to do.  There's an obvious self-fulfilling paradigm there: if you like it, you get better at it.  As you get better at it, you like it more.

Doing the CAT Testing with the other coaches a few weeks ago, it quickly became obvious that our strengths and weaknesses were poles apart.  In other words, if my 1000lbs Crossfit Total netted me 8 out of 10 on the Strength portion, my aerobic test was likely all the way at the other pole (i.e. 2 or 3.)  There weren't very many scores in the middle.

It's natural to stick to the things at which you're best, but true growth and physical progress comes from improving our weaknesses.  Think about it: it's much easier for me to improve a skill at which I'm less than great (ie running,) that to add another 10lbs to my deadlift (already more than 2.5x my bodyweight.)  Which will improve my overall fitness?  Conversely, a lifelong runner will typically find more joy in watching their squat strength improve than trying to shave 5 minutes from their marathon time - the payoff is nearly immediate due to their relative inexposure to the lift.

Yes, at some point, these elements of fitness are mutually exclusive.  The world's top lifters are NOT running marathons.  However, the  overlap between elements is far greater than you may think.

For instance, the world's fastest runners (sprinters) are also excellent jumpers and weightlifters, due to the similar demands placed upon them by their sport.  Those who score high in agility necessarily do better than average in flexibility also.  The correlation between two distinct physical capacities cannot be overlooked in training.  

We teach our runners to deadlift.  Hip extension power is the primary determinant of speed in running, even at ultramarathon distances, given a flat surface.  We teach our powerlifters (who appear slow, by comparison,) to move weight quickly, because the neuromuscular overlap means greater success in their sport.  We teach weightlifters to become more flexible.  We increase the anaerobic AND aerobic capacities of hockey players, because they're intermingled.  

For this reason, it's useless to compare different fitness pursuits against one another.  Yoga is great.  So is pilates.  So are martial arts, running, cycling, bodybuilding, weightlifting, Powerlifting, wrestling, and pole dancing.  But do any develop all physical attributes concurrently?  No. 

It's a tough challenge.  However, to be a well-rounded human, you don't have to spend equal time working on all 10 elements individually.  Training at those points of overlap is key.

For instance, high-intensity anaerobic training will improve your aerobic capacity (until you reach a very elite level.)  Likewise, training in explosive movements will help your back squat.  Improving your coordination score, if done properly, will boost your agility levels to new heights.

What do we all this combination of movements?  Crossfit.  Crossfit is the broad application of basic human movement, done in a fun and intense way.  On any given day, you'll be improving on a broad foundation of fitness.  You'll be able to run a mile.  You'll be able to pick up something heavy and lift it overhead without fear of injury or failure.  You'll be able to address and overcome a very demanding physical task in a short time.  And you'll smile, say thanks, and come back again tomorrow.  You'll start to become addicted; you'll check our site first thing every morning to see the WOD.  You'll feel guilty on mandatory rest days.  You'll annoy your friends with your talk of faster Frans and pain-free Angies.  You'll post odd status updates on Facebook.  And little by little, you'll improve.  You'll notice your heart rate climbs more before the workout, with anticipation, than during the workout.  You'll move more weight.  You'll run 5km nonstop.  You'll relish the challenge of a workout that, not long ago, seemed ridiculous to consider.  You'll call the gym to see what time Clint scored on Murph that day.  You'll hit 'refresh' a few times on the Crossfit site at 11pm, just to see the next day's WOD, and then lose sleep thinking about it.  And someday, you'll read an email just like this, and you'll laugh, and then you'll be a Crossfitter.

Exploit Your Weaknesses

What makes you great?  You, specifically?

Yes, you're great.  At some things, especially.  So what's holding you back on the others?

Let me get this old cliche out of the way: you're only as strong as your weakest link.

In a life that sometimes may feel out of your control, there are always actions you can take to make things better.  One of those is to strengthen your weaknesses.

There are things we KNOW we're good at.  There are things we KNOW we're not good at yet.  There are also things - unknown to us today - at which we won't be good in the future.  Fortunately, there are things ahead of all of us at which we can be great.  All we have to do is start preparing now.

Step #1: Take an honest inventory of your skillset.  Is your spelling mediocre?  Is your squat only 'deep enough' at the YMCA?  Is your grammar on par with a sixth-grader?  Are you pre-diabetic?  Better take action.

Step #2: Assess just how good - or bad - you are.  Ask for an extra evaluation at work.  Submit an article to an editor in your field of interest.  Book an appointment for CAT Testing.  Get some blood work done.  Swim across a lake - no, scratch that one.  You don't want to score 75% in a life-and-death struggle.

Step #3: Determine the straightest line to your goal.  Take lessons.  Get coaching.  Read.  Filter.  Repeat.

Step #4: Measure progress.  Start over with the NEXT weakest link.

What's going to improve you more, overall: whittling your particular penchant for sub-Amazon purple-tipped three-antennaed butterflies, or learning how climate change is destroying rainforests?  Adding 1/8 of an inch to your biceps, or learning how to do 5 pullups without stopping?  To shift your picture, you can't just change your focus; you've got to broaden your lens.  You've got to zoom out occasionally.  You've got to put it in 'landscape' mode.   You've got to gain context.

This is going to require some humility on your part.  You can't make progress against your own failings if you're arrogant.  The blustery 'Big Benchers' from other gyms, generally, don't come to our Bench Group twice.  Those who do excel.  We've had more than one case of a 20lbs gain on a new guy's bench press in one session.  THIS is what's possible when you pay constant attention to your weakest links.

The Japanese use a concept called "Kaizen" to describe the continual act of self-improvement.  Click the link to read about it.  

On Saturday the 7th, Catalyst Gym members traded 90 minutes of sleep for huge improvements in their Cleans, Jerks, and Snatches.  The video is below.  Watching isn't as good as being there was, but it WILL help.

Nick Zossimas OLY Seminar -Unedited from Chris Cooper on Vimeo.

Sarah MacGregor (local chick and Crossfitter in absentia) who trains at Crossfit Ottawa just started the Paleo Diet.  This is her blog.  Send her some support!

And this, friends, is one of my all-time favourite videos.  Sebastien Wetzel, age 15, in his first powerlifting meet.  Sebastien's hoping to qualify for the Special Olympics.  The meet was our Virtualmeet Push/Pull on January 23.  

Sebastien - Breakthrough! from Chris Cooper on Vimeo.

Why Wood?

First-time visitors to our Industrial Park Gym (Catalyst Athletic and Crossfit) are sometimes taken aback. There are few machines.  The plates are multi-coloured, huge, and have rubber edges.  There's a twelve-foot-tall set of monkey bars.  There's a giant tire, a shiny keg, some thick ropes, and rock music.
In the middle of it all, though, is shiny wood: 3 platforms, 10 feet long, of heavily-polished cherry.  And they're not there for decoration.
These are Olympic platforms, made specifically for the OLY lifts: Cleans. Jerks.  Snatches.  Stand on wood, drop on rubber.  Drop from overhead, drop loudly, drop often; doesn't matter.
The OLY lifts are unmatched for developing explosive, ground-force power.  Done correctly, they'll improve speed and explosiveness like no other lifts.  But if a weight won't go up, it's gotta go down - and it's coming down fast and hard.
Unlike other lifts, OLY lifts require a high rate of speed.  They're also impossible to spot.  You can't jump in and catch a jerk gone wrong; you can't help a lifter who's going to drop a clean.  And when a snatch doesn't make lockout...well, it's coming down hard.  As it should.  Dropping a weight you can't lock out is the safest thing you can do!

And it's all okay!  It's fine! You SHOULD expect to drop weights if you're working hard!  Occasionally, during Crossfit workouts, you'll want to move quickly between exercises, and delicacy will not be top of mind.  In the most advanced training facilities in the world, PEOPLE DROP WEIGHTS!  Regularly, loudly, repeatedly...and safely.  

Wood is nicer underfoot - it gives a satisfying 'squeek!' when your feet jump into a split jerk.  There's a nice 'clap!' when you drop into a snatch.  And sometimes, when you sit down faster than you'd intended, it's nice to have a bit of slide under your butt.

Yes, we're the only facility in Northern Ontario that uses OLY Platforms.  That's a little disorienting for some folks, but they'll sure be grateful when they make the NCAA or NHL or the Crossfit Games and they see what's in store! 

Below: Arkansas State, Phoenix Coyotes, New Mexico State, Oregon State, San Diego, and West Texas.  Notice: Platforms galore.  Space.  Power Racks. Bumper Plates. Few machines. Success.  These are folks who know what they're doing, can afford the best available, and use the best science out there. 

     

These are what GYMS look like.  These are where CHAMPIONS train.  These are where athletes become BETTER athletes.  This is where you need to be if your goal is to be among these elites.  Can you do cleans at your gym, or do you get into trouble?  Can you deadlift, or are you risking your membership?  Can you drop a weight from overhead - or do people scream?  Can you even chalk up? 

Crossfit: The Sport

9am Saturday morning.  They arrive in singles and in pairs; in SUVs and on bicycles and on foot, and one in a biodiesel Jetta.  They banter in the dressing rooms.  They compare thoughts on the day's challenge while tightening shoes and doing warmups.  Some are comparing game-time strategy; some are just glad they didn't check the daily WOD before they left the house.  

When all have gathered, the coach explains the rules of the rumble.  Now, he's the coach.  Soon, he'll be referee.  But mostly, he's a cheerleader.  

Heart rates rise toward the end of the workout summary.  As the last exercise is demonstrated, nerves are steeled, guts braced, and hands chalked.  Fingers open and close.  Athletes move to their starting blocks.  Jaws tighten.  Sweat breaks.  Heart rates climb.  The coach's thumb twitches over the 'start/stop' button.  The countdown: 3,2.... and everything in the periphery fades.  Work-related stress is forgotten.  Spousal arguments about money: gone.  Kids' poor report card?  What kid?  

Adrenaline clears the brain like a hard brush on a chalkboard.  Focus shifts to "move, move, keep going!" Numbers are counted.  Times are guessed; can't waste a second to glance.  Other athletes are watched from corners of eyes.  Strategies are shifted as muscles tire.  To some in the room, the workout is a public stoning.  To others, it's revelation.

 

To the coach, it's temptation.  You think OUR heart rates don't rise?  You think our yelling, coaxing, cheering is an act?  Then you haven't seen my knees twitch when you're doing cleans.  You haven't seen my hand squeeze into a fist when you're doing deadlifts.  You haven't seen me rise to my toes when you're hopping onto that big box.  You haven't heard me bore my wife with the gory details later, when the lights have gone down and the kids are sleeping.  

You haven't seen me, pacing, at 1:45pm, when it's almost MY turn to hit the WOD.  You haven't felt my heart beating in my throat as I plan my strategy for dropping the stopwatch and starting to move as quickly as possible (hey, seconds count when you're trying to beat Mike and Tyler!)  You haven't heard the 'tick, tick, tick' ricocheting around my head while I'm trying to top Clint's lunchtime record.  But I do.  

 

There's a good reason why we call Crossfit, "The Sport of Fitness."  It's timed, it's competitive.  It's for keeps.  Those records you see, written in blue and pink Crayola, are etched in our history.  Holding a record means holding a place in time, even if short.  Holding the record TODAY is a sip of ambrosia.  If your friends don't do Crossfit, they won't get it.  They likely won't understand why having your initials in pink chalk on some wall up in the Industrial Park, with a little star beside it, is important.  They won't see the relevance of your very best Fran.  They may think bragging about your best Diane is a bit eccentric.  They may ask why you're not repeating '3 sets of 8' like a parrot.  They may take their ball and go home.  Here's what you can tell them:

Crossfit is a sport.  Crossfitters, by extension, are athletes.  We're athletes in a sport that makes them better at other sports.  Runners and powerlifters and gymnasts and welders and accountants, we use Crossfit as a springboard.  Our goals are broad, and our reach is long.  We're strong and fast and powerful, and we can tell you exactly how much, how fast, how many, or for how long.  We know our all-time bests, and we know where we're weak.  We know how to eat for maximal performance.  We know who else is close to that record.  

Crossfit is definitely a sport.  And for the record, coaching ain't easy.  It's not fun to take that squat PR away from you because you weren't deep enough.  It's not easy to watch everyone else rip it up, and hover like a hummingbird, waiting for our turn.  We probably burn up more energy coaching than most exercisers use in their most intense workout.  But we thank you for every minute of it.  And we're nicer to referees, too.

The Cost of Doing Nothing

When we get a new client whose primary goal is fat loss, our first objective is to STOP WEIGHT GAIN.  That's right: you're not actually 'sitting' at a given weight, but you're actually gaining weight (or losing it) as I write this.  And the clock is ticking.

Getting fit is a risky endeavour.  There's usually money involved, and time.  There's also negative social stigma attached to a failed attempt.  What if I try this, and it doesn't work?  What if my friends find out I'm doing this, and I don't make progress?  They'll assume it's my fault!

And so, paralysis by analysis.  Too much information to process.  Can't make a decision until I'm sure it's the PERFECT one.  No sense starting a new fitness program until Christmas is over, right?  Tick, tick, tick, tock....

You assume that you have nothing to lose by doing nothing.  That's not true.  You're not staying still; you're backsliding.  Tick, tick, tick.  You're not standing on a flat playing field; you're standing on an icy slope.  Tick, tick, tick.  You're backsliding.  The boat doesn't look to be sinking, but it's taking on water all the time.  I'll just keep doing that program I tore out of that magazine.  Tick, tick, tick....

There's a cost to all this, of course: you're missing opportunity.  You're missing the chance to make an investment - one that pays dividends.  Christmas is a month away; you could enter the binge season with some real gains under your (looser) belt.  Tick, tick, tick.  You could be more insulin sensitive, for one.  You could have a solid plan of attack to deal with a tight social schedule. Tick, tock. You could drop a dress size.  You could have a bit of experience to share over the eggnog.  Heck, you could have 
some war stories about Diane and Elizabeth and Michael and all the rest, if you're a Crossfitter.  In short, you could enter Christmas as a different person than you are now; one that handles the temptations better, and one that won't be quite as lonely under the mistletoe.  Tick, tick, tick...

Or you can do nothing.  You can wait.

Tomorrow, you're not going to wake up as the same person you are today.  You're either going to be a little bit better, or a little bit worse.  No one is static.  No one gets to float.

In the fitness world, 'zero' is a negative.  

Can you really afford more of the same?  

Fitness Activism

Look not mournfully into the past. It comes not back again. Wisely improve the present. It is thine. Go forth to meet the shadowy future, without fear.—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Whenever I do a powerlifting meet, or a strongman competition, or even a big lift in front of strangers, I get looks.

You know, "looks."

I'm usually one of the smaller guys involved, but I do okay.  And I like surprising people.

I also get this a lot : "You know, I could probably do that, too."  People see me do it, and think, well, if HE can, then I could.  

Here's a secret: they're right.  They COULD.  They just DON'T.  And that's how I win.

"Y'know, if I had come to that Strongman competition, I probably could have finished pretty high."  ....but you didn't.

"Man, if I worked at it, I could look better than anyone up on that stage."  ...but you don't.

"The fitness industry is losing its way.  Somebody should do something." ...yeah, somebody should.

"I can write better stuff than that guy.  I could get published in a heartbeat."  ....but you aren't.

If you're going to do anything in this world - the fitness world - you're going to have to be crazy.  You're going to have to be a crackpot, a target, an object of scorn, an outcast, a protestor, an advocate, a practitioner, a role model, and, finally, a visionary.  You're going to have to be an activist.

What else would you call it?  Consider what we've done in the last 3 years:

• worked standard 70+ - hour weeks
• spent $80,000 developing a tracking and adherence system for clients to use for FREE 
• published hundreds of articles, dozens of videos, and done dozens of interviews 
• volunteered time, training, and facilities for several charities 
• spent 2 years doing research trials with no chance of reimbursement 
• contributed to lobby groups attempting to establish a minimum requirement for Personal Trainer qualifications (currently, there IS no minimal requirement) 
• opened a second facility to make sure our clients can do what they SHOULD be doing, instead of what's convenient for the Big Gym Corporation 
•  showed up in support of clients at every type of event possible 
• trained and competed and hosted events that couldn't find a venue 
• grown while 3 other local gyms with better funding went bankrupt   

Years ago, when he was still alive, Mel Siff told me in a personal email, "If you're going to wave a flag, people are going to shoot at you."  He was right.  

It would be far easier, believe me, to bury our heads; to stick to the main road; to embrace fads and attend sales seminars and cash cheques.  It would be easier to give our clients the same program we picked from Men's Health last month.  It would be easier to quit putting ourselves out there, to quit competing at different sports for fear of public failure, to stop writing and never get another misspelled, poorly-written, anonymous, nasty email from other 'personal trainers.'  

If this were easy, everyone would do it.  They don't.  

Operating In A Climate of Fear

Today, you're going to exercise your aversion to risk. 

Seth Godin's blog (always good) is talking about risk in a populace of fearful consituents.  It's about business, but you can easily apply it to taking risk in your own life.  Some extreme examples:
If you've never been in an abusive relationship, you can't (and I can't) understand why the abused will stay involved with the abuser.  But if you live in a climate of fear, it's hard to take action - even against the source of the fear. 
When we're voting in an election, it's easier to take the 'devil you know' approach and pick the incumbent party or candidate.  No, we may not be happy with their role or their performance, but hey - the other guy could be worse.

...or way better.  What's the worst - case scenario: more of the same?

Today, exercise the power of the Worst Case Scenario.  If you were laid off today, what's the worst-case scenario?  What would you do for money, starting tomorrow?  Apply for the same job somewhere else, or take the opportunity to start that woodcarving business you've been talking about for a decade? 
What if your abusive spouse's sentence relied on your testimony - would you try to please them through perjury, or cut ties and find something - anything - better?  What's the Worst Case Scenario?  Can you live with it for 3 months?  If yes, then you're crazy not to try.

Read this: Will O' The Mill , by Robert Louis Stevenson, 1901.

"..and there he sat, biting his fingernails at destiny..."

Stop chewing your nails.  It's a bad habit.

Tomorrow (and every Saturday morning,) we run a little Boot Camp at our Gym in the Industrial Park.  It's free.  7:30am (just to weed out those who aren't yet SURE about Crossfit.)  You'll learn a lot about basic human movement, how to move better, and how to do it at high intensity.  You'll learn how to move big stuff safely, how to go faster, and how to challenge yourself mentally and physically. 

Get on the list!  Call 256-1344.

Fryia's 'Plan B'

Brent Fryia's a guy I admire. I've liked him since I met him a decade ago. He knows more about training - preparation, coaching, mentality, and physicality - than 99% of coaches and athletes out there. He's done a lot already, and he's right on the cusp of a great career as a MMA fighter. Oh yeah, he's a teacher at CASS, and part of our Training Team (wrestling.) This email from Brent this morning sums up why I like Brent so much:

I'm not nearly as fight ready as I'd like to be. I cranked my knee about three weeks ago and thought it was nothing... and then it didn't go away and it's still bugging me. I haven't been able to train quite the way I would like, but such is the nature of the sport. The guy is pretty good but I've got some good scouting on him and we've put together a game plan that should work. And if it doesn't, there's always plan B (Swing for the fences).

....no complaining, just a statement of fact, identification of a possible problem, and solutions to match. Excellent preparation, willingness to share success with a team (we've put together a game plan..., referring to his training buddies at Jim Liguori's facility) and BONUS: a plan 'B.'

How can you help but like a guy like that? Have fun this weekend, Brent!

The Genghis Solution

The Great Wall of China took 1000 years to build (6th Century - 16th Century, primarily.) It stretches 4000 miles.   At its peak, over a million men patrolled its walls.

Enter Genghis Khan.  Faced with the formidable wall, Khan didn't try the same thing that had failed for other armies (attacking the longest stretches with full siege equipment, archers, and horses.)  Instead, he bribed the gatekeepers.  The Chinese dynasty fell to the barbarians.

Type II Diabetes is caused by a lack of insulin sensitivity in the muscle.  Every time you hit the cell with an insulin spike (following a glucose, or blood sugar spike) it gets a little better at resisting insulin.  It fortifies its defenses.

A cell operating normally has no problem with insulin; too much, though, and the walls start to go up. 

Exercise makes muscle cells more sensitive - less resistant - to insulin.  Instead of dieting to lose weight, why aren't we just bribing the gatekeepers?

No Thanks, We'd Rather Be Average

This week, I was comparing insurance quotes for our two facilities and diverse group of Trainers.  There are really only two providers in Canada; these are emails from the company we DON'T currently deal with:

Hi Chris

Thank you for your interest in our program.

Unfortunately, we are unable to insure Crossfit facility.

When I asked, "why not?" in my usual polite fashion, I got:

Hi Chris,

When our carriers looked into the Crossfit operations, they were concerned that the training methods were outside what we are able to cover (ex. Olympic weightlifting, tractor pulls, etc.)

Tractor pulls.  Really. 

Don't get me wrong: if there were tractor pulls in Crossfit, I'd love it even more!  And Olympic weightlifting?  Compare the injury rates (3 per 10,000) to soccer (1 in 7) or football (1 in 3) and the logic just doesn't follow.

Add to my argument that the certification process for Crossfit is one hundred times more stringent than Can-Fit-Pro or any of the dozen 'weekend-and-website' certifications that the company DOES cover......

...and where are we?  Well, it's more frightening than you think.  It means that the 'fitness' concept isn't just being watered down externally (gyms, media, 'core' gadget infomercials) to attract the less fit; it's being watered down as part of a larger mandate by insurance companies.  Do Crossfit?  Don't get insured, at least not with these guys!  Do BOSU balls and other useless stuff?  Sure!  No, they don't work - but no one gets hurt, either! 

Does 12 years' experience count for anything? Nuh-uh. Degrees?  Nope.  Physio on staff? RMT specialist in-house?  Huge array of professionals to turn to in times of trouble?  Nada.  But if you read Oxygen magazine this month, or maybe Womens' Tone 'n Trim Weekly, and send in your cheque, we'll back you to the hilt!

Think about how this all trickles down to you, the one sweating through another aerobics class with a new name and spongy pink bars: what useful information is the instructor not telling you?  What does your coach NOT KNOW that they should?  What's Big Brother keeping from me?

Crossfit doesn't cause injuries.  Ignorance causes injuries.

Nobility of Purpose

If the purpose is noble, the preparation is easy.

Commitment - More Than Skin Deep

Splash, don't skip.

If you really want to know how something works, immerse yourself for a month.  I did.

We ran Crossfit for months before I did a real, honest-to-goodness WOD.  But the shameful truth is that I KNEW about Crossfit in 2003.  I dismissed it.

In 2006, when we launched our study into exercise adherence, the results were a real shock: people liked exercise that was broad, general, inclusive, and unexpected.  In other words, people like Crossfit - they just don't know it yet!

Putting Crossfit into black and white is like 6 blind guys describing an elephant: depending on where they are, their description is much different!  Starting Crossfit after powerlifting for 3 years, my concern was loss of strength.  Runners, though, worry about bulking up too much.

Do Crossfit for 1 month.  If you can bear it, do Crossfit and nothing else (if you're doing it right, you shouldn't have anything left to give after the WOD anyway!)  Watch what happens (hint: you won't lose strength - my deadlift hit an all-time PR of 520 in May, after a month of Crossfit.)

Drink the Kool-Aid!

A New Frontier

Kaizen (改善, Japanese for "improvement") is a Japanese philosophy that focuses on continuous improvement throughout all aspects of life.

A key philosophy of Catalyst is continual, broad-based improvement.  That means more than just physical fitness, more than just 'wellness,' and more than just 'health.'

Physical well-being is a cornerstone to a happy life, full of meaning and purpose.  So is mental health, spirituality, and self-actualization.  Like physical well-being, these other cornerstones require practice and exercise.

While there are hundreds of exercise books and theories and websites, there are very few texts that exist to provide day-to-day coaching toward a well-rounded existance.  Sure, you'll find 'self-help' books galore on Amazon.com; you'll get great advice on living a decent life at your religious service of choice.  These are important and shouldn't be skipped.

For practicality, though, it's easier for most of us to take one actionable item per day and execute it.  Improve in one area per day, instead of procrastinating for the one 'perfect' moment or lightning strike. 

Like Crossfit has done for exercise, we will attempt to do for Kaizen.  Daily, you'll be given a simple (but not easy) task.  Some will take 5 seconds.  Some will take longer.  Sometimes you'll be taken out of your comfort zone: these are the most important ones!

Like exercising, self-improvement must be done in small, incremental steps.  You can't skip the gym all week, and expect to make it all up over the weekend.  Likewise, waiting for the annual 'retreat' won't trigger long-term, permanent change.

Our Kaizen blog, with daily WOD, is here.

It's Not About 'Working Out'

First-timers to our gym usually do a double-take. Since fitness culture has burrowed headfirst into machine-dominant, seated training, our concept of functional movement at high intensity isn't always the familiar one. After a weekend of boot camp, new Crossfitters can get their head around our setup, at least a little. It takes a good month of solid, intense workouts to 'get' Crossfit, and it's the same at Catalyst Gym.
The point of 'working out' is not to 'work out.' It's not self-fulfilling. Simply 'working out' doesn't guarantee you anything - saving the game, saving the mission, saving your life - at least, not for long. When you start, ANYTHING will work. But you can't keep starting forever.
The point of physical exercise is continual PHYSICAL self-improvement. That can be true in a broad sense, such as Crossfit, or in a narrower one, such as sport-specific improvement. It can mean a lot of things to different people. However, showing up is not enough.
In the same way that going to church doesn't magically endow you with spirituality (religion, like any love affair, takes work) a gym membership doesn't bless you with fitness. This is also true of education: showing up doesn't get you an 'A' - at least, it shouldn't. Grading based on attendance, especially at the college level, is building an unrealistic expectation into young people that just 'showing up' counts. It doesn't. But I digress.
We want you to get your butt in here, shake it around, and leave better than you were. If we can do that in 20 minutes, why would you want to hang around for 2 hours? Sure, be friends with your training partners. Take them for coffee after 'Fran.' Buy your spotters lunch. But don't base your social network on gym people.
We celebrate success more loudly than most. We yell and cheer and bark encouragement. We love you. But we didn't build our gym so that you'd hang around here longer. We built our gym so you'd achieve personal growth. Now let's go for coffee.

Below: pictures of a member's membership card exercising. Gotta admit, that card looks GREAT: lean and hard, not flimsy. Wonder how the client's doing?

Players v. Athletes

I frequently refer to Crossfit participants as 'athletes,' and for good reason.  They're extremely dedicated, they compete (at least with themselves,) and we treat Crossfit WODs like an event.  Preparation for a WOD includes proper eating, good rest, and real restorative methods, not just tossing a dirty gym bag full of old socks into your trunk in the morning. 
At Catalyst Athletic, we belong to two groups: Crossfit athletes, and athletes preparing for a specific sport.  These particular folks - let's call them Players as a point of differentiation - have goals that are less broad than a Crossfitter.  While Crossfit advocates a broad, generalized fitness, Players of other sports must focus specifically on the needs - metabolic, cardiovascular, power-based, etc. - of that sport. 
Crossfit is, by design, broad, general, and inclusive.  Players, however, frequently must choose between exercises, depending on the phase of training, individual weaknesses, and preferences of their coaches.
While Crossfit workouts - general, broad, and inclusive - may be perfect for development of GPP (general physical preparedness, or work capacity) in the early offseason, Players must soon focus on work specific to their game, their position, and their opponent's weaknesses.
Catalyst Gym is built for players and athletes.  If you've never done Crossfit, or watched the videos, or seen NCAA training facilities, it will seem foreign at first.  Train here once or twice, though, and you'll see the logic behind it: we can accomodate large groups of people, going hard and heavy, at once.  We accept - no, embrace - cleans and jerks and snatches and chalk and weights being dropped.  Safety dictates that the only safe way out of a bad clean is the back door, and there's no way you can spot that.  You've gotta drop the bar. 
We also need to be able to throw stuff, move quickly from one thing to another, and drop things without worrying about ceramic tile or downstairs neighbours.  We can do all that here without endangering other gymgoers, coaches, or expensive ladies' sweaters (inside joke.)   Function takes priority over form here.  Browse our pictures and you'll see.  However, there's nothing you CAN'T do, and do better, here. 
Need to gain weight, or bring your lifts up?  There's no better atmosphere.  Need to hit a PR on Murph?  Can't beat a bay door that leads straight outside after 300 squats.  Need to get your deadlift over 450?  You're going to need a coach who's been there, and space to yell and chalk and drip and do all the things necessary to move that sucker.
Those things are valuable for athletes and players both.  If you're a Crossfitter, you're an athlete.  Live an athletic life.

What The Heck Are We Doing?

If you've read The Catalyst Philosophy, you may think it's the same jargon as other fitness facilities, or you may think we're hardcore/old-school/masochistic/egotistical/insane. We are, and we aren't.
Our goal is this: take simple movements that utilize your body's natural ranges of motion, coach the techniques that will make those movements faster, stronger, or more stable, and execute them at high intensity.
These 'simple movements' aren't easy, but they are common to various disciplines, like martial arts, gymnastics, powerlifting, olympic lifting, running, and dance. Yes, dance.
They're also the movements that you're most likely to use on a day-to-day basis, but finely-tuned to make you more proficient during exercise, and thus more proficient outside of exercise.
As an example: most people would think a 'clean and jerk' exercise is 'extreme.' In fact, most commercial gyms have banned the exercise (though not for the reasons they want you to believe.) But break a 'clean and jerk' down into its component parts: squat down, pick something up quickly, lift it to your shoulders, and then use the momentum to carry it over your head. Sounds a lot like putting cans of soup on the top shelf to me. There's a direct application; there's a clear benefit to training that lift. No lift can replace it. Compare that to a pec deck machine: is there a direct application to improving elbow adduction? Is there a clear benefit that no other lift can replace?
Likewise, we train 'components' of fitness together. We don't have a 'cardio day' and an 'abs day' and a 'legs day.' YOU are a functional unit. Loss of function means loss of game, loss of posture, and potentially loss of life. Train like one unit, not a hundred little machines. Your elbow joint doesn't know what a 'curl' is: it knows to pull something up toward the shoulder. This movement is never done in isolation, except in a gym. How can it help you outside, even as a bodybuilder? We already know that 'isolation' exercises don't actually isolate anything, or improve the appearance of isolation. Why not get more bang for your buck?
Because we use these compound exercises (for instance, chinups and hand-over-hand rope pulls) instead of 5 times as many isolationist movements to achieve the same results (you'd need biceps curls, static curls, lat pulldowns, lat rows, static rows, scap retractions, back extensions. Russian twists, rear delt flyes, and trap shrugs) we can often finish a workout in under 20 minutes. Bonus: we get a metabolic benefit that bodybuilders don't.
The result is that Catalyst clients train like athletes, and start to become - well, athletic. They LOOK like athletes. They BEHAVE like athletes. They FEEL like athletes. While new clients may start with the goal of 'losing weight' or 'toning up,' they quickly realize that weight and endurance and bodyfat percentage are merely CORRELATES of fitness; they're not the whole bag, baby. Yes, a fitter person may be lighter. Yes, a fitter person may be able to run 5km more efficiently. But is a lighter person necessarily more fit? No. Does an elite 5km runner necessarily fit our ideal of 'fitness?' Not until we see their deadlift total, or their pushup form, or their anaerobic threshold.
The trickle-down effect of real fitness onto your life is exceptional: you start to eat better, because you know that you've got to be well-primed for tomorrow's workout. You gain more confidence. You know you hold a card that others at the table don't. And yes, you start to look the part. Think of all the reasons you put your kids in sports at a young age: camaraderie, exercise, self-esteem, confidence, teamwork.....and now apply them to your life. What if you were better at all those things?
Our facility doesn't have mirrors. It doesn't have gleaming chrome or monogrammed towels. It does have everything you need to succeed: elite coaches. Record boards. Chalk. Space. Bumper plates. Ropes. Sleds. Stuff to lift, stuff to carry, stuff to throw, and stuff to swing.
It could be that you've never trained this way before. It could also be that you've never achieved your full potential before. It could be that you've never done ANY exercise before.
Either way, our goal is to start you at an appropriate level, and take you beyond your previous personal best. We love it; we'd do it for free if we could. We think you'll love it too (or at least, like it a lot.) It's worth noting that over 90% of people who start training with us never go back to training the way they did before. Most of our clients thought they'd NEVER need a personal trainer, or a coach, or that they'd never like the panic of discovering that day's workout every morning. Now that they're far more proficient, most of our clients could teach most personal trainers a thing or two about exercise, but they still stick around. Why? What's their Catalyst? Find out.
What's YOUR Catalyst?

The Catalyst Philosophy

Our goal is to trigger the evolutionary process in clients through education, personal training, coaching, and mentoring.  We advocate the development of inclusive fitness, specializing in general needs-based movements executed at high intensity. 
We are active in research as well as literary review in an international community.  We disseminate research, distill its essence, and translate its relevance to clients through our programming.
We are coaches, and we are athletes.  We won't prescribe an exercise or workout that we haven't performed ourselves.  We will prescribe workouts based on client background, need, and goal. 
As an organization, we will never be outworked.  We delight in our competitors taking days off, or banning essential exercises, or outlawing chalk.  We move while others are stopped, as do our clients.  In this way, we evolve together.

Every Inch A Story

Our new facility - already lovingly nicknamed, "The Park" - in Industrial Park is brimming with success and triumph already. People have hit PRs here; they've gone to new highs, and plunged new depths of their own inner strength and resolve. In short, they've shed their skins, and washed them away with sweat.
Even putting the sign up front was a great story: the contractor arrived with the SkyJack (a little portable hoist) to put it up, but was a man short. He asked if I was better at lining up picture frames or holding heavy stuff steady. Of course, I was opting for any answer that would get me up in the lift! Plus I'm bad at the 'picture frame' option.
He was hesitant. "You need a fall arrest harness," he said. I had one in my truck, which surprised him. "We use it for pulling trucks." I explained. That surprised him more. He looked at my shoes (the Chucks!) and told me I couldn't go up without steel toes. I showed him the kettlebells: if one dropped on my toes, no boot would save me!
Moral of the story: he was on the ground, I was in the hoist, and the sign is straight.