Catalyst Games 2011

The Transition Phase

One of the smartest strategies around the gym this week: practice loading and unloading the bar for your deadlift. As Jess King pointed out, learning to slide plates on and off faster means you may get an extra attempt or two in Event #1.

No one comes into the CrossFit world as a solid all-around athlete.  We try to ferret out strengths during OnRamp, and address weaknesses as soon as possible, but don't worry: no one wakes up one morning with a 400lbs deadlift. Runners slam to a stop when given their first clean and jerk; powerlifters turn all pink when they see more than 5 reps on the chalkboard; gymnasts can't stick the landing at the end of a 12-minute METCON.

A 500lbs-deadlifter isn't going to have much fun on that mile.  And a marathoner may have all the time in the world, but isn't going to break 200lbs off the floor.  But take a GOOD lifter, make them a GOOD runner, and give them the sense to practice loading and unloading the bar, over and over, every. damn. day? Could make for a winner.

Yes, athletic background counts for something.  But brother, it ain't the only thing.

Yes, others have had a head start.  They're born athletes.  Their parents made more money than yours.  They've been doing this for longer. They're starting life from the womens' tee.  You can complain about your handicap, or you can work on your drive.

100 Reasons To Do Catalyst Games 2010

This was originally a post on our Main Site entitled, "100 Reasons I'm Doing CrossFit Sectionals."  I haven't added or deleted anything, because I think that the vast majority apply to all of us.

Catalyst Games is not about finding the most athletic.  It's about finding yourself.  You are defined by your limitations, your strengths, and your approaches to both.  And if you don't know where the edges are, how can you grow?  EVERYONE who's done Catalyst Games 2008 or 2009 has been happy they finished.  Never has a single athlete regretted their participation, whether first, last, or middle.

So no, thanks, I don't want you to volunteer as a judge.  I want you to commit.

These are my reasons.  Add more at the end, if you like:

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.

Pre-Games MiniClinics!

In August, prepare for the Games (and life!) with our MiniClinics, in four disciplines:

August 15 - Olympic Lifting for CrossFit with Tyler Belanger - 10am
Get your cleans on!  Be faster at Snatches, Crisper on Jerks.... learn strategies for higher-rep WODs and warmup strategies for max-effort workouts.  Technique is EVERYTHING on OLY lifts - don't risk your PR, your time, or your shins!  Spending 20 minutes with Tyler in early July, I added 10lbs to my personal best Clean - and it wasn't nearly the fight the old PR was.  Definitely worth two hours of your time.

August 29 - Running for CrossFit with Mike Watson - 10am
400s and 800s are different runs - and require different efforts - than 5ks and milers.  Learn Mike's secrets to stride, posture, cadence, and speed.  This is a preview of a high-end clinic MIke will be producing in the fall.  When I took this lesson from Mike, I completely changed how I ran, had a 200m PR, and was barely winded.  The new technique requires practice to implement effectively, but you'll still have a month before the Games.

September 12 - Powerlifting for CrossFit with Chris Cooper - 10am
I was competitive as a powerlifter from 2003-2006, culminating with an appearance at 2005 AAPF Nationals in Michigan.  I've done over a dozen meets, and when you're as naturally undisposed to strength as I am, you pick up ways to lift efficiently (and therefore increase your maxes!)  Learn strategies for maximizing joint angles and leverages in the Deadlift, Back Squat and Press.  Learn the difference between a CrossFit deadlift lockout and a PL deadlift lockout (as I did, the hard way, in competition!)

September 19 - Kipping for Chicks with Coach Whit!  Gymnastics for CrossFit with coaches from SSMGC!
Sault Gymnastics Club will provide high-level coaches for instruction in Muscle-Ups, handstand pushups, kipping, and various tumbling exercises at their facility in the John Rhodes Centre.  Master the technical movements you haven't yet been able to do.

FEES: $25 per MiniClinic (or do all 4 for $80!) + gst.

Signup: 256-1344!  Payment due at registration.