Is it safe for your kid to lift weights? You've probably heard the warning your whole life: weight training stunts a child's growth. It's so widely repeated that most parents accept it without ever asking where it came from.

In this episode of The Catalyst, Coach Chris Cooper traces the myth back to its actual source — an 1842 report from England's Children's Employment Commission about coal-mining children — and unpacks why the science behind it falls apart on closer inspection. The kids who worked in those mines weren't short because of the heavy loads. They were short because of malnutrition, lack of sunlight, chronic stress, and the fact that mine operators specifically chose smaller children to fit through the tunnels.

Modern research tells a completely different story. The National Strength and Conditioning Association, the American College of Sports Medicine, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology all agree: resistance training is not only safe for children, it's beneficial — and in many cases, necessary for healthy bone density, muscle development, and injury prevention.

Chris also explains what most parents miss: kids get stronger by rewiring their nervous systems, not by building muscle. That makes strength training for children a form of skill training. He walks through the exact three-step progression Catalyst uses with young athletes — mechanics first, consistency second, intensity last — and gives parents a practical checklist for evaluating any youth coaching program.

Plus: why the coach matters more than the weight, and three things you can do this week.

Book a free No-Sweat Intro at catalystgym.com.

What does it mean to be fit? It sounds like a simple question — until you try to answer it.

Back in 2002, CrossFit founder Greg Glassman tackled this question head-on and argued that the fitness world had no agreed-upon definition of fitness — so he wrote his own. He defined ten physical skills that make up true fitness, and introduced the concept of the sickness-wellness-fitness continuum: a spectrum that places fitness as the opposite of sickness across measurable health markers like blood pressure, bone density, and blood sugar.

It's a powerful framework. But in this episode, Coach Chris pushes the conversation one step further.

Glassman's model is two-dimensional. But fitness is actually three-dimensional — because it depends entirely on what you're training for.

Tour de France cyclists have extraordinary endurance but a narrow physical profile. Powerlifters have elite strength but limited aerobic capacity. Navy SEALs need broad capability but still face real tradeoffs between strength and endurance. Each is profoundly fit — for their specific purpose. The same profile that makes one of them excellent at their task might make them average at everything else.

So who is actually fit? Coach Chris argues: if you're an athlete or have a physical job, your fitness is defined by readiness. If you're training for general health and longevity — which describes most of us — Glassman's balanced approach is exactly right.

You'll leave this episode knowing how to define fitness for your own life, stop chasing someone else's standard, and build the kind of broad, functional fitness that actually matters.

What do you actually get when you train at a coaching gym — as opposed to just having a gym membership?

It's a fair question. Coaching costs more. It requires commitment. And if you've never experienced it, it can be hard to understand what you're paying for.

In this episode of the Catalyst Fitness Quickcast, Coach Chris breaks down the three things every Catalyst member gets that a standard gym membership simply can't provide: motivation, instruction, and accountability.

Motivation doesn't mean a coach cheering you on while you do burpees. It means you don't have to manufacture the feeling yourself. You just have to drive to the gym. The coaching, the community in group and semiprivate sessions, and the energy of the environment will handle the rest — every single time.

Instruction means you never have to guess at what to do. No searching for workouts, no repeating the same five exercises from years ago, no showing up and going through the motions. Every session is programmed, coached, and designed to move you forward. Chris also shares three signs that you might be wasting your time at your current gym — and what to look for instead.

Accountability means having an appointment, a training partner, a real incentive, and yes — a real consequence for not showing up. Because without downside risk, it's too easy to bail on the days that matter most.

If you've been spinning your wheels and wondering what's missing, this episode will tell you exactly what it is.

Book your free No-Sweat Intro at catalystgym.com.