Tell us a little bit about yourself.
My name is Joe Catalano. I grew up outside of Chicago and spent most of my adult life living in Chicago. I’m married to a really cool woman named Sarah and have two daughters, Lucy (~4) and Petra (~1). We moved to the near East side of Madison in December 2022 (wife grew up here) to be closer to family and friends. I absolutely love being a dad and always make that my #1 priority. I really enjoy cooking, home improvement projects, and have spent enough time at playgrounds to really appreciate city parks. Before kids, I was a passionate and pretty competitive long course triathlete (Ironman and Half Ironman mostly), and still spend as much time as possible running or riding bikes. Professionally, I’m a Director of Finance for a consulting firm and now work remotely.

Why did you choose Recursive?
First off, Recursive is the closest gym to my house, and has 5:30 AM classes 🙂  I’ve been struggling with consistent training and learned that to stick to a workout plan, at least for me, 3 Ps are required: 1.) you need a plan, so all that’s required each day is showing up and executing 2.) you need some social pressure, feeling like you’re letting someone down if you don’t show up 3.) you’ve got to pay to feel invested. Recursive provides all that and in my ~2 months I already feel like there’s a community I’m being adopted into.

What is your favorite thing about working out at Recursive?
I really like that I know the people there. Before starting I wouldn’t have said that, but I used to belong to a triathlon gym in Chicago, and some of my fondest memories are connected to that place/people. Also, I knew almost nothing about CrossFit before signing up, so I’ve been really enjoying the workouts.

What was the biggest struggle you’ve had the last few months?
Trying to keep my head above water at my ever busier job, while spending as much time with my family as possible, getting a few workouts in, making sure my family is fed, and trying to see loved ones on occasion. Turns out just regular life… It’s exactly as I want it though.

What is your biggest accomplishment since starting your commitment to a lifestyle change?
I am very much a CrossFit work in progress, so nothing is accomplished, but starting the journey of all the skills has been new and exciting. Learning to jump rope, row, do most of the olympic lifts, wall walks, anything having to do with the pull up bar-all new to me.

How has Recursive changed your life?
Recursive has reintroduced me to weight training and has me excited about it. The coaches have been amazing in teaching the movements correctly. I think most gyms can run you through a workout that makes you feel like you exercised, but learning how to develop this specific set of athletic skills safely and properly is pretty special.

What advice do you have for people who are nervous to get started?
Know that there are a lot of different workouts/skills/motions, but that makes it fun. There’s not a lot of background you need because the coaches have been way above and beyond my expectations. They make sure you learn the CORRECT way to execute the workouts and motions. More generally, I’m coming to realize that we’re all just trying to figure it out and do our best each day. Everyone wants to be around people having fun and succeeding, so therefore, people want you to succeed.

What is something else fun you’d like to share about yourself?
My retirement plan/fantasy is to build a campervan and travel around with my wife, seeing the country, hiking, biking, visiting friends and family.

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