Catalyst Fitness

May Evening OnRamp

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

100 Reasons I'm Competing At 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.

The April OnRamp

Spring is all about change.  It's about second chances - or third, fourth, and fifth chances.  Yes, when the snow melts, there's still some garbage beneath.  Yes, we'll endure some mud for a week or two.  But it's nothing we can't handle in anticipation of better things to come.

OnRamp is one of our most popular programs: it takes folks without solid exercise foundations, and turns them into full-steam locos in twenty-one days.  That's a real feat.  OnRamp is something special.

But it's got the wrong name.  We should have called it, "Jet Pack."  Or, "SpringBoard."  Or something more exciting. 

Yes, an OnRamp is a gradual turn onto a higher plane.  It results in a change in direction, and that's its purpose.  But that's not the story of OnRamp.  These are:

"Whoa." She said. She stood there, a barbell at her shoulders. The gym was absolutely silent; I was waiting to see what she'd do next. Finally: "I never thought I could do that."

He'd been training at the Park gym for months.  His deadlift was a respectable 320lbs.  21 days later, he pulled a solid 415lbs.  That's not progress; that's a deadlifting miracle.  But that's what technique does.

She started by driving past the gym.  Three times.  Somehow, our newsletter had found its way to her inbox.  It took her nearly ten minutes to get out of her car and open the gym door.  Three months later, she's dragging in every friend she can find on facebook.  She can tell you how to deadlift; she knows what 'fast elbows!' means when her coach says it.  Her biological clock has rewound ten years.

"Just want to keep up with my kids," he wrote on his release form.  His kids play soccer; run track; do gymnastics.  Now, they do it with him.

One of my favourite OnRamp'ers of all time just completed our Murph Challenge last weekend.  When she started - four short months ago! - she wouldn't run a step.  Now it's, "how many 400s are we doing?"

There are as many stories as there are OnRamp students.  In her charming way, Coach Whitney takes all comers, from every background, eases them through the CrossFit funnel, and they emerge - different.  They have the habits, the knowledge, and the drive to succeed.  No more second-guessing every workout; no more procrastinating; no more hating gyms with mirrors and the daily Treadmill Catwalk. CrossFit has changed them.  They're not going back. There's no Off-Ramp. 

See why we need a better name?

7am.  21 days, every day.  A private atmosphere.  A small group. You, a surprising success.  Try it.

April 6 class - sign up now.  Small groups means we only take 8 people each month!

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.

Are You Fitter Than A Fifth-Grader?

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

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

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

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

Download Fitness_test

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

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

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

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

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

Coach's prediction: CrossFitters will kill this test.

Heroes Week: "Randy"

Randy


In honor of Randy Simmons, 51, a 27 year LAPD veteran and SWAT team member who was killed February 6 in the line of duty. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Officer Simmons' wife and two children.

75# power snatch, 75 reps For time This was the first CrossFit WOD done in our initial experiment by Tyler. He, uh, didn't like it.

HEROES WEEK MEMORIAL WORKOUT SCHEDULE:

Saturday: "DreamTeam" in honour of Sara Fryia.  Catalyst Family Potluck at the Park!  Grain-free!  For details on facebook, join this event!   CrossFit Games 2009 movie at night!

Some of these WODs  are scary, it's true. All of these folks, despite their valour, were scared. They acted anyway. Do the right thing.Entry daily by punch card. Heroism earned after the "GO!" command at the user's discretion.KNOW A LOCAL FIREFIGHTER, POLICE OFFICER, OR SOLDIER?  INVITE THEM!  CROSSFIT GROUPS ARE FREE FOR *HEROES!* ALL WEEK! THE SCHEDULE IS HERE.

Heroes Week: "Nate"

Nate In honor of Chief Petty Officer Nate Hardy, who was killed Sunday February 4th during combat operations in Iraq. Nate is survived by his wife, Mindi, and his infant son Parker. First posted 12 February 2008

2 Muscle-ups 4 Handstand Push-ups 8 2-Pood Kettlebell swings

As many rounds as possible in 20 min

HEROES WEEK MEMORIAL WORKOUT SCHEDULE:

Friday: "Randy" - first CrossFit WOD we ever did at Catalyst.

Saturday: "DreamTeam" in honour of Sara Fryia.  Catalyst Family Potluck at the Park!  Grain-free!  For details on facebook, join this event!   CrossFit Games 2009 movie at night!


Some of these WODs  are scary, it's true. All of these folks, despite their valour, were scared. They acted anyway. Do the right thing.Entry daily by punch card. Heroism earned after the "GO!" command at the user's discretion.KNOW A LOCAL FIREFIGHTER, POLICE OFFICER, OR SOLDIER?  INVITE THEM!  CROSSFIT GROUPS ARE FREE FOR *HEROES!* ALL WEEK! THE SCHEDULE IS HERE.

Heroes Week: "Tillman"

Tillman
7 Rounds for time:

7 Deadlifts 315 lbs
1 Full Gasser (sub 300m row OR 50 double-unders, whichever you're worse at)
15 Pull Ups

*Rest 45 seconds between rounds

Post times to comments. Patrick Daniel Tillman (November 6, 1976 – April 22, 2004) was a professional football player who left the National Football League and enlisted in the United States Army in May 2002. He joined the Army Rangers and served multiple tours in combat before he was killed in the mountains of Afghanistan. He was a recipient of the Silver Star, the third highest honor in the military, and a Purple Heart. Pat is survived by his wife Marie. He is also remembered through the foundation named in his honor; the mission being to inspire people to make positive changes in themselves and in the world around them.

The Pat Tillman Story on T-Nation  

HEROES WEEK MEMORIAL WORKOUT SCHEDULE:

Thursday: "Nate" - a local favourite. Get your muscle-ups on!

Friday: "Randy" - first CrossFit WOD we ever did at Catalyst.

Saturday: "DreamTeam" in honour of Sara Fryia.  Catalyst Family Potluck at the Park!  Grain-free!  For details on facebook, join this event!   CrossFit Games 2009 movie at night!


Some of these WODs  are scary, it's true. All of these folks, despite their valour, were scared. They acted anyway. Do the right thing.Entry daily by punch card. Heroism earned after the "GO!" command at the user's discretion.KNOW A LOCAL FIREFIGHTER, POLICE OFFICER, OR SOLDIER?  INVITE THEM!  CROSSFIT GROUPS ARE FREE FOR *HEROES!* ALL WEEK! THE SCHEDULE IS HERE.

Heroes Week: "Scotty"

"Scotty"

400m Run

30 Wall Ball
10 Burpee Pullups

3 rounds for time.

Scott Vernelli was killed in Afghanistan in March, 2009, by an IED.  He's survived by his wife, Marcie, and their little daughter Olivia.

 HEROES WEEK MEMORIAL WORKOUT SCHEDULE:Monday: "100 Grand" in honour of Sarah Grand.

Wednesday: "Tillman" - in honour of Pat Tillman. One of the greatest Hero stories of all time.Thursday: "Nate" - a local favourite. Get your muscle-ups on!
Friday: "Randy" - first CrossFit WOD we ever did at Catalyst.
Saturday: "DreamTeam" in honour of Sara Fryia.  Catalyst Family Potluck at the Park!  Grain-free!  For details on facebook, join this event!   CrossFit Games 2009 movie at night!
Some of these WODs  are scary, it's true. All of these folks, despite their valour, were scared. They acted anyway. Do the right thing.Entry daily by punch card. Heroism earned after the "GO!" command at the user's discretion.

KNOW A LOCAL FIREFIGHTER, POLICE OFFICER, OR SOLDIER?  INVITE THEM!  CROSSFIT GROUPS ARE FREE FOR *HEROES!* ALL WEEK! THE SCHEDULE IS HERE.

Heroes Week: "100 Grand"

 

"100 Grand"
25 ring pushups
25 tuck jumps
25 knees to elbows
25 walking lunges

4 rounds for time.

Sarah was part of our Catalyst family in 2009.  Sadly, Sarah succumbed to brain cancer July 20th.  She was 25; a fighter with a two-year bout.

This is her story, in her own words.

 HEROES WEEK MEMORIAL WORKOUT SCHEDULE:Monday: "100 Grand" in honour of Sarah Grand.

Tuesday: "Scotty" - in honour of MCpl Scott Vernelli.
Wednesday: "Tillman" - in honour of Pat Tillman. One of the greatest Hero stories of all time. Thursday: "Nate" - a local favourite. Get your muscle-ups on!
Friday: "Randy" - first CrossFit WOD we ever did at Catalyst.
Saturday: "DreamTeam" in honour of Sara Fryia.  Catalyst Family Potluck at the Park!  Grain-free!  For details on facebook, join this event!   CrossFit Games 2009 movie at night!
Some of these WODs  are scary, it's true. All of these folks, despite their valour, were scared. They acted anyway. Do the right thing.Entry daily by punch card. Heroism earned after the "GO!" command at the user's discretion.

KNOW A LOCAL FIREFIGHTER, POLICE OFFICER, OR SOLDIER?  INVITE THEM!  CROSSFIT GROUPS ARE FREE FOR *HEROES!* ALL WEEK! THE SCHEDULE IS HERE.