Athlete of the Month: Victoria Catterson

There's always a select few people that come to mind when you hear the phrase 'one of the nicest and most genuine person you've ever met'. Victoria is definitely one of them. She was a great addition to our 6S family when she joined back in May of 2019, and to this day, she's still probably one of the hardest working.

As Coach Dave said, 'If you look up a picture of consistency in the dictionary, you'll see a picture of Vic'. She is the example that hard dedicated work pay off.

If you've ever watched her in class, she'll listen attentively, then get to work. No questions asked. Every time she works out, she always give her 100%. As a coach, she's a joy to work with because of her personality and willingness to be coached.

In the time she's been with us, she's accomplished so much. With her work ethic and stellar attitude, we know she'll continue to crush goals and reach to new heights!

What is one thing people may be surprised to learn about you?

I'm a burlesque performer! I've performed in Toronto and around Ontario, both solo and with a troupe. My favourite act involves a life-sized skeleton. Although it'll be a while before I'm back on stage again...

Why did you start functional fitness training?

I had been powerlifting for years, but hit a long term plateau. I started working with Melissa to improve my movement asymmetries, which revealed that I was lacking strength in unexpected areas. Working on my quads wasn't increasing my squat numbers because it was adductors and abs that were failing! Functional fitness gave me a way of addressing weaknesses in supporting muscles, in a fun and interesting way. It comes automatically through the variety of movements, rather than endless sets of banded crab walks to target a single muscle.

What’s your favorite music to workout to?

I can get into just about anything up-tempo, but I always get an extra boost from punk or metal.

What is your proudest 6S moment?

Winning the Squat Challenge last year! Not only was it a great competition, but it showed the progress in my squats within a few short months.

What was the best advice you were ever given?

"It's better to regret something you did than something you didn't do"

What’s your biggest fitness goal right now? How close are you?

I'm focused on my weightlifting right now, since I was struggling to hit RX numbers in class. I've made some great technical improvements already, which is translating into better efficiency during the WODs. My goal is to compete in a weightlifting meet, when such things become possible again.

Other than fitness, what do you do for fun?

I play Dungeons and Dragons with a group of friends on Zoom twice a week. We started at the beginning of lockdown as a way to keep in touch, and it's been great to grow into our characters during that time. I've also started rollerblading recently.

What book are you reading right now?

"The Three Body Problem" by Liu Cixin. I love science fiction, and grew up reading a lot of the classic 1950s Western authors. This is an amazing combination of hard scifi set during and after the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Highly recommended!