Catalyst Fitness

Betty and The Frat - Summer School Edition

Believe it or not, SUMMER - the season of skin - is when more people struggle to maintain their physical output level.  They let themselves believe there's such a thing as treading water.  Three Coronas in, it's pretty easy to be okay with maintenance.

We don't do hard exercise for its own sake. We do it to find: find our bedrock, our limits, our commitment, our space-coyote-spirit-guide....or maybe just our abs.

Nothing physical was ever found by standing still and waiting for it to come to you.  The search must continue.  This summer, we're loosening the leash...but we're not cutting any slack.

Instead of running regular 6-week Bettys and Frat Barbell groups, we're going to offer you a challenge, and schedule regular 'checkups' to keep you on track. Need another reason?  There are prizes. 

Monday June 7 ^{th :}Entry level test to determine your starting point on the progression chart, and your starting level for each lift.

Monday August 16 th - Final Exam - Supermeet-style! Most progress WINS - plus, you'll be more prepared for Catalyst Games 2010.

 

Includes: Program for the summer, 2 month Park membership, Progression Prizes, Entry level test day, 4 Progress Check up sessions and a Final exam. 6 total instruction hours. Same as a 6 week session, but spread out over the summer for more convenience.

  Coach Ty's message:

“We know you're busy in the summer and family may come first but we are challenging you to challenge yourself. The progression charts are up and its time to master the pull up that you've been watching other people do. The Bettys' and Frat programs are working. Ladies are pumping out 20 double unders at a time! Guys are putting 30 – 50 lbs on their lifts and inching closer to that first muscle up! Use this summer to train for the Catalyst games. Use this summer to work on mastering the progression chart. Let this be the summer you improve, not just maintain!”

Fee: $80 for gym members, $150 for non-members (includes a two-month membership.)  This will be the ONLY Barbell Bettys and Frat group we offer this summer - get in early!

Barbell Bettys Summer Program Signup

Fraternity Barbell Summer Program Signup

Start From Strong

It's good to have brothers.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

56362.96 Joules                     51799.3 joules

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

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

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

The Next 7 Days

Today is Monday.  Out of a possible 24 hours, 9 are already gone; another 2 are committed for sleep later tonight.  You'll spend another nine working. That leaves four.

In the Western Christian calendar, this is the season of rebirth.  And about time, too: we're dying here! For the first time, our childrens' generation has a lower projected lifespan than our own.  We've literally got it so easy - so pain-free, so automatic - that it's killing us. 

It's a common misconception that we're just plain lazy.  We're not.  Our minds have been finely tuned over a million years to be primed for action.  We simply haven't come all this way, done all this preparation, to be more ready to watch Oprah than ever before.  It's also a mistake to think that we've reached the end of evolution....unless we're capping the genome right here. If we continue to devolve, it's over. 

Our problem isn't lack of motivation.  It's not weakness of character, or weak ankles, or some elusive 1950s term like, "willpower."  Given a crisis, we can still respond better than our predecessors.  So what's stopping us?  Too much information, Jerry!

Paralysis by analysis.  We're looking for the perfect way to shed our skin.  In a city of a hundred avenues, we're mesmerized by the map, bagel in hand, acting the tourist.  We sample the culture without becoming immersed.  We do drive-by dieting.  We count to 8 (sometimes 12, if Dr. Oz says so) while we kill time on the recumbent bike, waiting for the Exercise Pill to pass the patent board.

You have better options. 

They're simple, but they're not easy. For one, you can spend three weeks learning to exercise.  You can meet Smilin' Whit every morning for 21 days, and reap the benefits for the next 50 years.

You can give yourself permission to be bad at it - at first.  We all were.  The most successful are just the ones who allowed themselves to fail most often. 

You can plant something.

You can come to Fight On Friday, hover near the back, and just try not to get excited.  It's impossible.  Try NOT to cheer, we dares ya.  Try not to smile.  Then remind yourself: this is exercise.  Are we supposed to like it this much?

You can try a Zone meal.  One thing about the Zone style of eating: forgiveness.  If you eat a non-Zone meal, just eat a Zone meal at the next one, and you're back on the road to insulin bliss.

You can tithe.  That is, commit in advance to spending two percent of your day, once per week - 30 minutes - with a personal trainer.  30 minutes, once per week, and then just do the homework you're given.  Heck, we'll even figure out your Zone blocks for you.

By Monday, you could be living a different life.  To say 'reborn' is cliched nonsense, but starting a different track will be like learning to walk again.  Expect shaky legs on the upward climb to self-actualization.

The Enduro Project

One of the principal tenets of CrossFit: that aerobic capacity shares such a large overlap with anaerobic capacity, an athlete can train both just by focusing on the latter.

To that end, we do METCON - METabolic CONditioning - workouts lasting 4-16 minutes.  Fran, Grace, Linda...they're all METCON.  We already know it works; testimonials on CrossFit Endurance, personal empirical observation, and anecdotes of others all support the idea.  We just want to see how, and why.

In April, Chris is going to put this type of training to the test with all the science and measuring tools at our disposal. Four Catalyst members, not currently involved in OnRamp or running groups, will have their Vmax and Tmax measured.  They'll do CAT Testing.  They'll follow a month-long training plan revolving around wattage output, heart rate, and ever-stretching METCON.  They'll wear heart rate monitors.  They'll never run more than 400m.  They'll do Fight Gone Bad on April 2, and again at the start of May, to measure progress.  They'll sit, pink-faced, at the edge of the ditch and wish for snowbanks.

METCON workouts will be built around heart rate ranges OR maximal wattage outputs.  The notion of 'prescribed' weights will be tossed, in favour of loads that will elicit the most work in the timeframe provided.

Chris will be the fifth member of the group.  He'll blog his times, heart rates, wattage outputs and other scores daily.  At the end, we'll report back to you. This may be something big - this was exactly the type of group we first ran in March 2008, when we were toying with this "CrossFit" thing. That group produced Philsy, Coach Whit, Coach Ty, Kube, and a host of other front-runners.

Want to throw your hat in the ring? We have a few prerequisites:

A heart rate monitor (we can recommend some, if you don't have one)

Fight On Friday, on April 2

Vmax and Tmax testing (NOT V02Max, but max effort at max speed on an inclined treadmill)

Participation in at least 90% of prescribed workouts in the Enduro program and CAT Testing, starting April 3rd

No other coaching or training outside of normal CrossFit groups

Tracking on the wodomatic.com site

...a little math, maybe.  We may also use your name in our summation at the end.

It's one month.  No charge, but we're only taking four people.  It's going to take some commitment to finish. If you're serious, email catalystfitness@yahoo.ca .

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!

Run 101

One year ago last weekend, I faced my first 5k run.

5k runs had popped up on CrossFit.com before, of course, but I'd always found an excuse to skip.  The lizard brain was in full effect: I was still considering more Powerlifting meets, and was scared to drop weight.  Realistically, I was just scared to fail, even if failure would be private.  I would know.

I had the accoutrements of a runner: Christmas gifts from my sister (a real runner,) or little things I'd picked up along the way, to be ready for the "someday" when I'd finally do a 5k run. I had no idea what to expect, but I tentatively set a goal of 30 minutes to finish. I Google-mapped out different 5k options.  I timed my meals all day (on a Sunday!,) checked with my wife a hundred times (are you sure you don't need me to re-hinge the cupboards today? Re-gravel the driveway? Check the shingles?) and finally set out.  I told myself to go slow.  At the turnaround, I knew I'd finish: I had to get home, after all.  I walked a lot of the way back (there's a massive hill, about a mile long, at a grade of 6-12 degrees.)  But I finished, just over 30 minutes.  I was happy.  And sore.

Training for last year's Ontario CrossFit Challenge, I was running 400m and 800m pretty regularly.  I wasn't a better runner: I was still very up-and-down, with a long stride and a huge shock to absorb on every step.  I'd finish runs exhausted, but just try to gut-out the lifts anyway.  But when my quads started seizing during training runs, I started to worry: my legs would go numb, and the VMO (largest quadriceps muscle) would fire uncontrollably, as if it were attached to a car battery. I couldn't get my thighs to shut off.  I DNF two workouts that I should have dominated. 

Despite my years of training and coaching and study, I had missed something very simple: running is a skill.  Like cleans and jerks and deadlifts and pullups.  Technique matters.

After the Ontario CrossFit Challenge, I booked some private personal training sessions with Mike.  His words: "You run like a hockey player."  I was leaning back, with a heel strike way in front of my torso.  He videotaped my runs and showed me; I was shocked.  We practiced the POSE method three times, on the hot asphalt of the Industrial Park.  First, I could hold my position for about four or five strides; then for a hundred metres; and slowly, over an entire 400m sprint.  In July, I ran sub-25:00 at midnight, carrying a beer in my gut.  I didn't win, not by a long shot (Beharriell shot by me around the 2k mark - he was already on his way back!) but it was a PR, and I knew I was onto something. My 800m times went from 3:45 to 2:55.  My 400m times, even in the middle of a tough WOD, still dropped to 1:20s. 

How many runners, I wonder, run for 20 years without a coach?  How many read about running, follow the sport, watch the Boston Marathon...and never have their stride assessed? How many New Year's Resolutions die on the cold pavement on January 3rd out of pain and frustration?

Beginner's running groups in the Sault have always served a very important function: develop a running habit.  Cough up some running germs, and let the running itch slowly kindle.  Hope that the passion of the coach is infectious (and usually, at least a few would become runners for life.)  But others became immunized: they'd tried it, found it painful, and given up forever.  If your only exposure to something is painful and frustrating, after all, why would you continue? 

It's now very obvious to us that technique coaching is critical for beginners.  If we can make running easier, 'softer,' virtually pain-free......and you can get better, faster......you're more likely to continue forever. Maybe...you'll like running?  It's not too much to ask.

We all need coaches.  The more elite the athlete, the more it's expected they have a coach. But it's absolutely critical to use a coach when you're a beginner (or a second-time starter.)  Let's do this right.

We've been hosting "Mondays With Mike" - part one and part two have already been published - to help folks learn to run better.  Now he's making himself even more available to help: we'll be starting a morning group for beginners AND an evening group for beginners on March 9.  You can sign up below. It's definitely the best running experience we've ever offered:

On-the-fly running coaching (he's out there with you!)

Whiteboard instruction pre- and post-run

Nutritional advice

Group runs (critical to building a habit)

8-week running program

When you're done, you'll run 5k.  You'll love it.

Tuesdays and Thursdays with the coach, Saturdays with the group.

7am Group - readers of this blog: sign up online before March 1 and get 10% off!

7pm Group - readers of this blog: sign up online before March 1 and get 10% off!

Mondays With Mike #2

Mike's beginner running group is unlike any other: coaching in skills, homework, group runs...you'll be a safer, better runner, and reach your goals faster.

Thursday Night Betty

On any given Monday morning, Betty will be 10 minutes early for work.  The kids squared away, husband off to his job, Betty organizes her week.  On Tuesday, Betty may add a little flair to her day with a different hairdo, or flavour in her coffee.  Wednesday, she may bring a new, exotic fruit in her lunch.....

But Thursday nights, Betty goes out.

Out of the house.  Out of her do-it-all role.  Out of her cold-creamed skin.

On Thursdays, Betty puts on her 'goin'-out shoes,' checks her outfit, texts her friends, and leaves.  Her peers will be scattered among various clubs and other evening hotspots, but not Betty.  Betty's "goin'-out shoes" have very low heels instead of the high variety.  Her outfit is tight, but functional, not frilly.  And she'll be movin', all right, but not shakin': her dance will be the ballet of the box squat; her bar of choice will have sharp knurling.

This is not what the average woman does.  The average woman stays home on Thursdays, because that's when Desperate Housewives is on. The average woman folds into her couch, waiting for the perfect commercial opportunity to make the popcorn.  And that's too bad, because real inspiration won't be on CBS tonight.  Mama won't find fulfillment in that bathroom makeover after all.  Self-improvement won't be in the Victoria's Secret catalogue this month, and nobody's going to care that she did 32 reps on the hydraulic pec deck at the  'health club' circuit today.

Average women don't pick up 250 pounds off the ground.  But they could.  Do you think those women get osteoporosis? 

Average women don't drip sweat in a group with a coach.  But they could.  Do you think those women beam with pride after their workouts?

Average women don't chalk up; don't drop down; don't jump over.  But they could.  Do you think those women feel strong?  Confident? Powerful? 

I think every woman is born with a bit of Betty somewhere inside. The female of the species, after all, is usually the protector of the brood.  She's capable of not just placation, but power.  And pride. 

Barbell Bettys is definitely a group for women: it's very social, very upbeat, very friendly.  The Bettys meet up outside the gym.  They stay friends.  They post on facebook and take pictures and clap and cheer.  But they're also challenging the stereotypical "woman's workout": there are no triceps kickbacks, no pink-covered dumbbells, no checking of headbands in the mirror to make sure the lululemon logo is just so.  

The growth of our Bettys Club has been fantastic.  Its popularity is 100% due to its amazing members: they hound their friends to join.  They host Betty parties.  They laud one another on facebook.  And now, to better accommodate both veterans and Baby Bettys, we're going to add a bit of structure, Betty-style.

Monday evenings, we'll host a more advanced Barbell Bettys group, focusing on OLY lifts (cleans, jerks, snatches,) and also on more advanced skill training (double-unders, muscle-ups, kipping, etc.)  You'll have to qualify to join the group (it's not too painful, and it's not based on how much you can lift, but on your ability to demonstrate technique.) 

Thursday evenings, we'll welcome the new gals.  They'll get all the basics that make Bettys famous: deadlifts, squats, presses, and the like.  They'll become True Bettys, and one day they'll grow up into
the type of woman that makes us most proud: the strong type.

Before we start this new era on February 23, we'll host an opportunity to earn a spot as a Level II Betty (the 'Bar' Exam.  C'mon, it's funny!)  If you're smooth and proficient in your lifts, you won't have a problem.  If you'd rather continue to focus on the more general skills, that's fine; even the best lifters in the world take it all back to the drawing board many times.  After all, if we don't find  you the best fit, you're not getting best value for your training time.  This way, we can keep making even better Bettys.  See you on the 23rd!

Pre-register for Level 1 Barbell Bettys: Thursdays at 7pm at the Park

Pre-register for Level 2 Barbell Bettys: Mondays at 7pm at the Park (must pass the 'bar' exam first!)

Youth Holiday Speed and Power Camps!

This Christmas, give your kid something you can't fit in a stocking: speed. Give them more prowess at sports; give them an athletic boost. Give them a two-step head start.

This year, if you're under 19, you have an amazing opportunity to improve POWER and SPEED while your opponents (and maybe, parents) are getting fat. One hour per day for five days, you'll train your heart out with Mike Watson at the Park. You'll jump, you'll throw, you'll push and pull and carry. You'll emerge from the five-day cocoon as a more powerful athlete in every way.

You'll learn:

Proper running technique (POSE posture and stride method)

Introduction to weightlifting (using appropriate loads for each age group,)

Anaerobic capacity (HIIT) workouts

Core Strength - Acceleration - Mobility - Foot Speed

YOUTH SPEED AND POWER DEVELOPMENT CAMP

DECEMBER 28 - JANUARY 1 - INDUSTRIAL PARK LOCATION

10am - Boys Aged 10-13

11am - Girls Aged 10-13

1pm - Men Aged 14-19

2pm - Women Aged 14-19

FEES:

$50 - first participant

$45 - second child (sibling only)

(we reserve the right to combine classes if necessary.)

REGISTRATION: 256-1344!

Barbell Bettys - A Letter From Coach Tyler

Week 1, I stood in front of 15 ladies and gave them the kind of speech I would give my football team before the season.  “Commitment, ladies. I need you to commit yourself for 6 weeks.”  As they raised their eyebrows and swapped recipe secrets during my speech, I could tell they had no idea what they were about to put themselves through.  I had to get them focused on our main goal, which was a conveniently-timed Power Lifting meet on Virtualmeet.net, and not the fact that they would be telling the guys in the gym to, “Get out of the cage, I gotta squat.”  After repeating the word commitment over and over like a bad used car sale radio commercial, they started to see how serious and passionate I was about this 6 week pilgrimage. 

      Before they even touched a weight, they had to buy into being a Barbell Betty.  A strong, but still beautiful, Betty.  I knew the buy in wasn’t going to be easy for some ladies, especially after what I was about to tell them next. “No cardio”.  Gasp!  It was like I told them there was a 2 for 1 sale on diamonds.  They were shocked.   I was shocked they all stayed.  This was good.  They wanted to be stronger and this was the next step.

                The passion of lifting grew like wildfire throughout the ferocious 15.  Scattered throughout those 15 were leaders, motivators, swearers and skeptics, all working together towards a common goal. They were out of their comfort zones, becoming a team, and seeing progress. But more importantly, they were doing. 

                It wasn’t easy.  Ladies walking in sore, unable to squat but not wanting to sit out and squatting anyway!  Ladies getting their very first box jump! Ladies box jumping on a 29 inch box!  Belting up!  Squatting with the big scary red plates after 2 weeks!  Ladies actually FAILING on squats and bench and living to tell about it!  Jumping squats with a bar on their back!  After failing, screaming out ONE MORE SET! Lets go up 5 more pounds! It wasn’t easy.

                Now I don’t have kids, but on meet day, I felt like a proud father with his video camera sitting in the first row watching their first recital.  Only thing was this recital had a little less glitter and didn’t take place in a magical forest.  I saw a 310 deadlift, multiple 100+ bench presses and , squats so low with 200lbs you would have thought the plates were Styrofoam.   I saw ladies helping each other with form, taking plates off and putting plates on for one another.  I saw ladies have 25lb PR’s in their deadlift.  I saw ladies really, really mad they couldn’t lift a certain weight and try until we had to kick them out of the gym. 

                Thank you, ladies.  Thank you for committing to a rough 6 weeks.  I was so proud of all of you and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to coach you.  Your success was a direct reflection of your attitude, so keep it up!  You are strong, you are beautiful. 

Barbell Ken aka. Coach Tyler