The Catalyst

Turning flaws Into Gold

...and our week ahead!

The 3 Types of Diets

And your weekly Catalyst program!

How To Survive a Heart Attack

And this week's Catalyst program!

- **Understanding Zone 1**: Zone 1 is characterized as being active but not necessarily exercising. This concept is crucial because most of our daily lives are spent in a passive state where we consume continuously—watching Netflix, scrolling through phone content, driving while absorbing advertising, and consuming sugary foods. Gradually, these activities start to consume us instead.

- **The Problem of Modern Life**: Despite working shorter days, many people feel they have less time. The issue is not time itself, but rather the lack of attention. Life tends to happen passively to us. To initiate change, we must actively engage in the process rather than waiting for external changes or for others to act.

- **Taking Action in Zone 1**: To take control and initiate change, it is important to become proactive in Zone 1. This means engaging in activities that enhance your life, such as:

- Walking

- Working on projects that increase time or wealth

- Meditating (could be moving meditation, written, or prayer)

- Stretching

- Preparing meals for the day

- Reading actively (as opposed to passive listening)

- **Morning Routine for Empowerment**: Implementing a morning routine where you prioritize self-improvement activities can significantly impact your day. By focusing on personal development before engaging with the external world, you set a tone of growth and resistance against stagnation. A recommended resource for enhancing morning routines is "Miracle Morning" by Hal Elrod.

- **Simple Life Hack – Owning a Dog**: Getting a dog can naturally structure your morning to be more productive. Dogs require early morning walks, providing an opportunity to meditate and reflect. After the walk, you can use the remainder of the time to focus on personal growth, business development, enhancing fitness, or improving relationships.

Every person needs a goal, a plan and someone to hold them to the plan.

Today, I'm going to tell you how to do all three.

Our Daily Catalyst is a free daily workout (and more) to improve your health. You can do it in an hour or less. Book with one of our coaches to get YOUR plan.

https://catalystgym.com/daily-catalyst/

How can you calculate your max heart rate or your heart-rate zones and use them to optimize your training?

In today's episode of The Catalyst, Mike Watson takes you through three different ways to find your maximum heart rate. The methods range from "no expensive equipment required" all the way to metabolic testing in your local gym or fitness facility.

For more information visit https://catalystgym.com/

1:26 - The "Good": Formulas for max HR or wearables

3:43 - The "Better": Ramp testing

4:47 - The "Best": PNOĒ or metabolic testing

If you know what Orangetheory is, you're probably assuming Catalyst's model is exactly the same. But that's not the case. The difference is that Orangetheory is a franchise. In the fitness industry, good franchises can work. But their model must be efficient and generalized, not prescriptive. 

Catalyst isn't a franchise. 

In today's episode, Chris Cooper explains why Catalyst's personalized prescriptive model is more effective for individuals than a large franchise model. He also touches more on the importance of having prescribed workouts from a coach who knows you, and how heart rate and zone training plays into this. 

Find out more at https://catalystgym.com/

00:50 What is Orangetheory?

01:14 The key to a good franchise

02:34 The prescriptive model

06:04 The importance of changing your prescription when needed

The Catalyst Method: why—and how—does it evolve so frequently?

In any good business, you need to change your method whenever you find a better way to fulfill your mission and help your clients.

In today's episode of The Catalyst, Chris Cooper explains the mission-model-method concept and what the "three M's" mean for his gym. He also explores his personal business philosophy and explains and why it's important to adapt to new science in order to serve your clients in the best way possible.

Find out more at Cataystgym.com.

00:18 - Creation of the Catalyst model 

01:56 - Mission of Catalyst

02:26 - Model of Catalyst

05:47 - Evolving the model

06:25 - Method of Catalyst

08:04 - Following new science and technology

09:37 - The next evolution of Catalyst

Vaughn Smith is a competitive fitness athlete who used to have one speed: all out.

When he started feeling poorly after endless bouts of hard training, he started looking for a better way and discovered heart-rate training. But he was scared: If he slowed down in training, would he perform well in competition?

In this episode of The Catalyst, coach Mike Watson talks to Vaughn about how training optimally produced impressive competition results and gave Vaughn more time and energy to spend on other aspects of his life.

If you're burned out all the time and want to find out how to train smarter, this is the show for you. And if your coach is asking you to slow down now to speed up later, listen so you understand why this approach is a long-term investment in your health and fitness.

Links

Interview With Ticker Trained Vaughn Smith: https://youtu.be/MVt0cjQggrU

Vaughn Smith Metabolic Analysis Follow Up: https://youtu.be/ZBQjsnTOJy8 

1:24 - Vaughn's story and background

12:50 - Vaughn's initial test results

16:07 - Competition results

18:54 - Life changes

19:44 - Second test results

22:52 - Heart-rate training for gym members: Trust the process

Metabolic training is essential—but so is strength training.

In this episode of The Catalyst, Chris Cooper explains exactly how strength work fits into the Catalyst Method.

The benefits of building and maintaining strength are undeniable: You'll maintain independence later in life, preserve muscle mass, avoid injury, improve your mood and be able to do all the fun things that make life wonderful.

At Catalyst, strength training is programmed for efficiency and functionality. The focus is on large compound movements, and most of our work is done with a barbell or body-weight-type exercises. Strength work generally comes after conditioning work.

Overall, strength training is an essential part of Catalyst's mission to improve lifespan and healthspan.

More info at Catalystgym.com.

0:46 - Strength training and metabolic training

3:06 - Benefits of strength training

10:34 - Basic rules of strength training

16:22 - Efficiently improving strength and conditioning