Happy March!
We put a lot of emphasis on develoment, practice, and self-challenge every day. We want you to always try to get better; to relentlessly challenge yourself. We hold the same for kids, and we're very excited to announce that we're expanding our program by a large degree. Starting in March, we'll offer Catalyst programs for kids as young as THREE, and for all ages and interests up to the mid-teens. Read more about it here, but the quick breakdown is below:
Rumble/Tumble
(Ages 3-6)
The vestibular system – necessary for balance, spatial awareness, and proprioception – is critical for success in sports throughout your whole life, but it's primarily developed before AGE SEVEN! Kids do some basic tumbling and rolling, jumping, running, and group games. The atmosphere is very exciting and fun, and prepares kids to enter jiu-jitsu or Catalyst Kids when they're older.
REGISTER HERE ONLINE
or 705-256-1344
Jiu-Jitsu
(Ages 7-14)
As a martial art, Jiu-Jitsu's emphasis is on using the attacker's energy against him. As a sport, Jiu-Jitsu produces some of the best athletes in the world. As an exercise, Jiu-Jitsu creates athletes who are well-rounded, strong, and balanced, with very few injuries. As a Catalyst group, Jiu-Jitsu combines the art with the challenging, playful atmosphere you've come to expect from us…
REGISTER HERE ONLINE
or (705)256-1344
Catalyst Teens
(Ages 10-14)
A well-rounded, diverse program combining gymnastics, running, weightlifting, calisthenics, and fun games, Catalyst Teens is the junior-version of CrossFit. We build athletes who are strong, injury-free, flexible, and know how to train themselves properly for LIFE.
REGISTER HERE ONLINE
or 705-256-1344
Defiance was, in a word, ridiculous. Ray outdid himself. More than once, he prefaced an event with, "Now, I put a lot of thought into this….." and more than once, he ended his event intro with:"….it's gonna get dirty." Tricks aside, the peer-judging process worked pretty well. My little speech to our subgroup was stolen from a competitor at CrossFit Sectionals in 2010: "No matter what else happens, you'll know that you were held to the highest standard here today; that you didn't succeed because you were given a shortcut." I think that was true for every other platform too. Platform #1 outdid itself, though, taking high marks across the board. Thanks for chalking up with me, guys.
Murph 2011 will be the biggest and loudest yet. Our Murph challenge started in '08, when we were just a hobby group of Trainers who dared each other into doing a workout that appeared to be the hardest on the planet. I can remember worrying about FINISHING the first MILE…let alone getting ten pullups! I gave myself permission to take a full hour, and I recall doing pushups from my knees while Tyler did pullups, in singles, in the next room. But we finished. You will too.
Three years later, SEVENTY Catalyst members and friends will run a mile; do 100 pullups, 200 pushups, and 300 squats; and stagger another mile home. You can watch the trailer HERE. You can signup HERE. Commit early; scare yourself into practicing; show up and muddle through. Everyone will be racing, and everyone will win.
There have been a LOT of new members in the past month. Everyone wants to be part of this amazing community – The Family – that we're building. It's exciting to come to these events, and see amazing displays from people who appear to be superhuman, ESPECIALLY with the knowledge that, a year ago, those same athletes were watching from the sidelines! So…what's the best way to start? With OnRamp. OnRamp builds up your foundation, and eases you into CrossFit. Athletes who start the BEST way get to the summit FASTEST.
The next-best way? Just show up. Come to any CrossFit group; learn and practice skills under the eye of an expert coach; do the workout with the group. Need more one-on-one skill building? Book a private session with a Trainer. Then practice on your own, during non-group times, with a gym membership to the Park.
CrossFit Open Team Update
The Green Army has had some respectable – and amazing – performances at events already. The Open is a qualifier for CrossFit Games 2011 at the Home Depot Centre in LA. Rules are quite a bit different this year: there's no travel required, and that means we can include ALL OF YOU in the events!
Registration is $10 for 6 weeks. Enter yourself on the Catalyst team, and see where you rank in Ontario, Canada, and the world! More information is available HERE.
T-shirts will be here before the Open! Support your team with a shirt or a Green Army buff!
February 2011 was the month of CHANGE for a lot of people. I had the chance to speak on the subject of Change at IgniteSault4, and received a lot of great emails and stories of change afterward.
We get to see people Change every day. You can watch an unedited version of the talk here (I'm the third speaker,) but here it is, in a nutshell:
1. Commit to a scary goal.
2. Identify things you're already doing right.
3. Identify future successes.
4. Get emotional.
5. Treat challenges as PRACTICE time.
6. Do the easy stuff first. Practice being successful.
As I read this, it's very easy to apply the model to Murph. Murph 2011 is a scary goal, but you can already do a couple of squats, right? And when it's over – it WILL end, eventually – you'll have taken a major step toward living this CrossFit life. Murph will provide all the emotion, challenge, and practice you'll need for the next month; and when it's over, you'll have a huge Bright Spot to build on.
Murph 2011 is a terrific change agent. But in the spirit of Good-Better-Best, the BEST way to make a long-term change is still with a Catalyst personal trainer. It's like Murph every day!
Introducing the Ignite! NeuroMotive Coach program.
Since September, Tyler's been researching and implementing movements that enhance learning. He's had tremendous success with kids who have autism and ADD; patients with head injuries and loss of executive function; and schools who want to improve their students' comprehension and test scores.
In March, we'll start two new larger-scale studies of students using Ignite! to measure their progress in Grade 10 math, and across a small group of at-risk students from a local high school. Results are very promising.
Teachers who would like to learn Ignite! methods for their students – and eventually become certified to deliver the program on their own – have a unique opportunity in March.
Tyler will host a two-day miniseminar on Ignite! methods for schools on March 4th and 5th. Teachers may register for FREE (and receive a discount in May, when the full Certification becomes available) – but there's a catch: they'll have to use Ignite! in their classroom and track a little data for us.
Ty will have 10 spots available – 5 are already taken – and you can reserve yours or ask questions by emailing tyler@ignitegym.com. Teachers only for now, please.
As always, thanks for reading. When we put this stuff together, we always think, "What will help people realize that they CAN do anything they want?" After 14 years in this business, the only thing that's ever remained constant is this: the more people we help, the better we do. We don't offer 'sales' or 'discounts'; we don't raise our prices or lower them. We're c
onsistent. The more we know,
the more we can help, and that's why you'll see our coaches sweating, practicing, reading, and dying on the gym floor beside you. Trust me: we've BEEN there. We've seen the world from where you're sitting. You're not alone.
Sincerely,
Chris Cooper
Catalyst Fitness Inc.
705-256-1344