Helping others to gain health and fitness success is my passion.

Being a mother of two young boys, it’s important for my kids to lead a healthy and active lifestyle.

It is unfortunate for many children that being involved in a specific sport or club is not financially feasible. Or, certain family situations, uncontrolled circumstances or health issues limit enjoyment and involvement in activities. A happy & healthy child is the best gift of all!

One focus of my business is working with professional athletes. Chuck Kobasew and Andrew Ference are both summer clients. Andrew plays for the Boston Bruins and Chuck was recently traded to Minnesota.

I was fortunate to receive a signed stick from the 2008-09 Boston Bruins team. I wanted to use the stick for something meaningful. With so many fundraisers doing a great job raising money and awareness I decided to go a different route. I wanted to give the stick to a child who is deserving of it. Someone who doesn’t have the best luck in their life or is doing tremendous good in helping others.

So, I am asking individuals to email or write me about someone they think deserves it. Is there a child helping others, is there a child that has gone through some tough times, is there a child who you think deserves this and why.

What a great Christmas gift! Email cattconditioning@yahoo.com

Or write:

Rhonda Catt Box 1138 Lumby BC V0E2G0

The joy of winter months sometimes puts the breaks on fitness! Don't get discouraged by the colder weather and darker days. It's important to keep up with a fit and healthy lifestyle all year long. It makes the dreaded weather so much more enjoyable!... can that happen???

I encourage everyone to keep moving and maintain your active lifestyle even though it's dark and dreary! It may have been dark when Brenda grabbed her shoes which is why they didn't match but she still made the class!!!! YEE HAA!

Keep moving and having fun with fitness!

(Rhonda Catt with client Chris Osgood, Detroit Red Wings)


Athletes looking to increase their sport performance often look to a structured training program. It is important for success and injury prevention to follow a sound program that takes the athlete through proper progression levels and reduces dysfunction. The problem with most athletic conditioning programs is they seem to fall under one umbrella. Most are generic programs that are given to entire teams to follow through specific seasons. This can be easy for the program maker but misses the mark for the athlete. Most athletes tend to have similar dysfunctions somewhere throughout the kinetic chain. For the most part, these dysfunctions do not get assessed and are not taken seriously. There are too many cookie cutter programs and unqualified people/parents training their children when they should be stepping away and letting qualified professionals take over.
For the most part, people aren’t aware that what they are following may not be the best suited program for them selves.
Scouts and coaches are looking for stronger, faster and more powerful athletes. Yes, this is important but what is being forgotten is HOW that athlete gets there! If they become more powerful is it at the expense of proper form and progression? Does specific testing of these athletes really transfer to their sport? Are they learning from their training in such a way to reduce dysfunction and gain the above benefits at the same time!?
Most of the time, no! Then, through the years the injuries occur!

Take a look at specifics. Does your training program take the following into consideration:

A properly phased plyometric program. Training for power with plyometrics can take you into a 3 phase plan. It’s not just about jumping over a hurdle or onto a box. Linear days and lateral days should be separated. Two feet and single leg progressions should also be followed. Learning to transfer and absorb force through a quality power program will create a faster athlete and reduce injuries.

CNS (central nervous system) recovery. More is not better! If you are including a dry-land portion of your program plus a strength program limit your lower body training in the gym to twice per week.

Sprint distance and cardio portion: Long, slow and steady cardio should not be the majority of your training. Many athletes such as soccer & hockey still get treated as long distance runners. Work with different intervals that are unpredictable and a fluctuating tempo. If you like long runs, place it appropriately in your week.

Create a strong back! Work on more pulling motions. So many athletes spend too much time pressing (bench press, dumbbell press) A strong back helps to create a strong & more stable athlete and reduces injuries.

With dry-land training you need to understand what a proper athletic ready position is. Force angles into the ground create explosiveness and reduce acceleration injuries. This needs to be taught and not taken lightly.

Strengthening and flexibility that includes all planes of motion. Take a look at human movement and sport. We move our body and stretch in different planes. We reach, step, jump and place our body in positions in our sport that cannot be ignored.

What are the professionals saying?
Steve Kelly, who has spent many years at the NHL and European level has seen training change over the years. Heavy lifts and long runs were the norm! “The game of hockey has changed to quicker more agile players than it was 10 years ago. Explosiveness and quickness is a priority” One thing he wishes he would have paid more attention to in his earlier career is mobility & flexibility. Steve encourages parents to not push too much at a younger age! Let your child have fun!

Chris Osgood, Detroit Red Wings has also seen a huge change in training since his NHL career started. Lifting heavy and long runs were also the focus of programming. Training now incorporates mobility and flexibility in all planes of motion with an emphasis on the Power Center (hips/core).

Eric Godard, Pittsburgh Penguins credits injury prevention to a sound training program.
Being able to compete at your best each game is only possible by training smart! Eric also reminds kids to have fun. If you hate the training your passion for the game will drop.

Andrew Ference, Boston Bruins
Andrew points out that so much ability can be lost with overtraining. “Athletes who train twice a day or 7 days per week will completely burn out. Young kids really need guidance so they can learn what "smart" workouts really are and how often to be doing them. A great point for athletes is to get a better understanding of good fuel for your body as this gives you an edge on everyone!!”

If you are serious about your sport get serious about your training!
If you have any questions regarding this article please contact cattconditioning@yahoo.com

Stay Out of the Fridge You Fat Bastard

By Leigh Peele
Author of Body By Eats
Let’s be honest, sometimes you need tricks to help you get by. Sometimes you need more than just that inner will power to help get you through. Most days you are going to have that “screw it” attitude until it clicks. Until that point comes here are 5 things to put on your fridge to help.

#1) A lock
It doesn’t matter if you have a combination or a key lock because nothing brings the taste of failure more the 10 extra secs it will take to undo it.
I know a lot of psychologist and fitness people who say that kind of thinking is what leads to having a problem in the first place. However, I am of the camp that says that nothing about dieting should become a way of life. We are too caught up in dieting being a way of life. Eating good foods should be a way of life. Losing fat, should be a short term torture you never have to endure again.
Get in, get out, and get a lock.

#2) An ugly picture, of yourself
That’s right, I want you to take the fattest, bad lighting, gut hanging out picture of yourself and then plaster it right there on the front of your fridge. No flexing. No flattering outfit. Yes, you can remove the photo when company comes over, but other then this you need to let it be out there. If you have kids or a husband/wife and really can’t bare them seeing it, then put it in your visor, by your vanity, or somewhere where you will be reminded of what makes you unhappy. Understand that there is a constant and nagging reason of why you want to change. Do not live in denial, that is what got you here in the first place.

#3) A beautiful picture of yourself or someone you admire
I want you to see the bad, but I also want you to be reminded of the good or enlighten to what is possible. If it is of yourself then it isn’t just the body, it is the mindset you had while in that body. Most of the time it isn’t the body that we want, it is the life we lived while we had it. Most people can’t have a bad body and a good life. It isn’t something they can wrapped their heads around. If you have never had that at all, then find someone who represents it for you.

#4) A non-body goal
It can be a place you want to travel to, or a physical activity you want to achieve. Whatever it is, it needs to be a constant reminder of what lies ahead that doesn’t have anything to do with what you look like.

#5) The excuse sheet
Every time you break the rules, every time you break down and give in, you have to write down why it happened on your excuse sheet.
“I broke down and ate because I was sad.”“I broke down and ate because I was hungry.”“I broke down and ate because the game was on and I just wanted to have fun.”
All are excuses, all are things you are trying to justify to yourself. All are reasons why this is being drug out for weeks, months, and years longer than it has to. With the sheet you will start to see a pattern and maybe you can find a way to end some of the triggers of why you keep giving up on yourself.

You would think that with all the science and technology that fat loss would be so easy for so many people. Why does it seem to be so frustrating? Being involved in the fitness industry brings tons of frustration for myself! I can’t tell you how much crap I read, see or hear so how is the average individual supposed to know what’s correct?

Make is simple! Stop letting yourself get confused when you read the best way to lose fat or a great new workout routine. Or, a fabulous new diet in a magazine that promises you’ll lose 20 pounds in two months!
Fat loss is simple! It’s nothing new! Eat smaller portions with healthy choices! More fruit and vegetables and move your body! I know you have heard it before but you are the only one that can make changes.

What are you doing to move your body? What type of fitness program are you following? Most people I see in the gym are following the same program with no results! They are scared to increase intensity because it’s uncomfortable. Well, it’s time to get uncomfortable! Increasing your intensity and shortening your duration will increase fat loss! Slow and steady does not win the fat loss race! Full body movements that utilize tons of energy and as many muscles as possible. Drop the 5lbs bicep curls ladies and start lifting some serious weight! Get strong and powerful by lifting more challenging weight. Stop worrying about getting big and bulky muscles because it’s not going to happen!

When your nutrition is 80-90% proper choices you will lose weight. Don’t tell me you eat healthy and can’t lose weight, if this is your answer you are NOT eating healthy! It’s time to get real about nutrition and fitness and stop making excuses.

Think about the following from CATT Conditioning & since I love to laugh, this works well:
L-A-U-G-H

L - Learn! Learn as much as you can about health, fitness & nutrition. Arm yourself with education and you will succeed!

A – Attitude! Your attitude will make or break results! Stop dwelling on the bad choices and start NOW with healthy choices. You are your success!

U – Understand! If you do not understand the education you are gaining you will never understand WHY you cannot achieve your results!

G – Get Active! Sitting on your butt does nothing for health and fitness … period!

H – Hunger! When are you hungry? Why are you hungry? What are you hungry for? Control your hunger! Are you bored? Is it really time to fuel your body?

Mmmmmmmm massage!

I recommend massage/soft tissue work HIGHLY to clients. Why is Massage so important for muscle recovery and injury prevention? To reduce increased density in the muscle!
What does this mean? It means you have knots in the muscle... the dreaded tender or trigger points in a muscle. You probably won't realize you have these until pressure is added to the muscle.

Ever pulled a muscle? Do you keep pulling the same muscle? Does it feel like it's pulled in the same spot? You are actually pulling different injury sites... above or below the first spot.
You have now increased the density of that area in the muscle! Most people keep stretching that muscle but you cannot stretch this dense area... you'll be stretching above or below! Stretching works for length but it does not reduce density! This is where massage comes in! You need some sort of soft tissue technique to reduce this!

Everyone suffers from some sort of trigger spot we just don't know it until the pressure is applied!

MOBILITY ANYONE?
The above photo shows client Stacy Roest perform a hurdle step comparative assessment for stance leg/hip stability and swing leg/hip mobility.
Most individuals lack proper hip/pelvis mobility which may lead to many compensation patterns through the body.

Are you an athlete who suffers from groin pain? This may be one issue related to this discomfort (though many issues play a role). Adequate range of motion through the hip in the sagittal, frontal and transverse plane may help reduce groin pain BUT please note, if you suffer from groin discomfort this is NOT a diagnosis. This is a reminder that you should consult a health professional such as a phsyiotherapist.

Groin pain can become a serious injury! Take the time to find out why!