April/May Groups at Catalyst

Catalyst creates learning opportunities.
We try to help your body learn to move itself better. When you’re born, certain innate abilities – eating, then crawling, then squatting, and walking – are perfected, and then – ironically – lost as new demands are created. Many North American adults, for example, can’t sit into a full squat with their heels on the floor; they’ve lost that ability because they spend most of the day sitting.
We also try to help you think better. Our Ignite program combines cognitive processing tasks – like reading, memory, focus, and attention – with exercise to maximize your brain’s potential. As with squatting, we tend to repeat the same thought patterns over and over, and there by limit our brain’s “flexibility” to think outside these patterns. In short, we can’t keep our heels on the ground when we’re solving puzzles.
Our overarching mission is to create a better life for our members. That means treatment that spans the spectrum from corrective (rehabilitation) to enrichment. If you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward.
Andi Fraser’s new photography course is our enrichment group for April. Take all of the photography books, lessons, catalogues, and throw them away: what is it you NEED to know to take great pictures? That’s what Andi teaches. Take better portraits, action shots, and landscapes this summer…and for the rest of your life. Learn, in four hours, how to make ART. Take better shots than your friends. Gain the essence of years of experience and education for $59.
Cam Wilson’s Beginner Running Group follows the same premise: everyone ‘could’ run, but most don’t because it’s painful. Starting a running career sucks – your knees hurt, you get shin splints, and you suffer from buyers’ remorse almost before you’ve run your first mile, because you paid so much for the shoes and clothing…and you hate it. Worse, you’ll have to run for months and years before you get much fitness benefit. Why not start a bit slower, learn a nice stride, and ENJOY the process? Running is an education unto itself, and if the learning curve is kept shallow, you can love it forever.
Jarret Barsanti’s next round of Obstacle Course Race training is built to help people who want a unique challenge. Tough Mudder, Spartan Race, METCON Blue…they’re fun, they’re novel, and they’re TOUGH. They should be tough, but that doesn’t mean you have to go into them blind. Learn how to handle the course well, achieve a solid level of fitness, and then enjoy the journey 100x more.
Charity Henson is teaching Barbell Bettys I in May. The ‘Bettys’ are one of the most popular groups AT Catalyst. Long before “strong is the new skinny” and motivational memes lit up the social media world, the Bettys were celebrating strength training for its own sake. Women don’t need high heels: they need hamstrings. Squats, not Spanx (TM.) This is where a woman learns to be strong.
Charity’s also teaching OnRamp in May. Learn all of the basics of human movement, and get ready for higher-intensity CrossFit groups.
Greg Pettypiece has a Clean and Jerk clinic on Sunday. There are only 20 spots available, and they’ll be sold to Catalyst members first. You are NEVER SO GOOD that you can’t get better.
That’s the beauty of CrossFit (and life) : you will never run out of things to learn. They don’t all have to involve chalk. Find joy in discovery this spring!