“Do hard things and the rest of life gets easier and you appreciate it all the more.” Michael Easter, The Comfort Crisis.
NEVER CLICK THE LINK – IG HACKED! – Last week my Instagram account was hacked and I lost access for about 3 days. I was able to get access after following IG’s protocols. Fortunately, the hackers only posted 2 stories touting an absurd investment opportunity, but annoyingly sent DMs to most of my followers (sorry!). While I feel like an idiot for “clicking the link”, the scheme to get access to my account was quite crafty. Here’s how they did it:
- I received a DM on IG from my friend’s gym (who had been hacked).
- The DM asked me to support his new apparel store (a reasonable and believable request)
- I replied “sure” – and then was told that I’d be texted a “link” to his store on IG so that I could post it (I’ll come back to this)
- Sure enough, the link arrived (from IG!) and I clicked it. The link simply opened up my IG app… strange.
- The hackers then DM’d me again on IG asking if I opened the link. I replied “yes” but it did not link to a store.
- They DM’d me: “send me a screenshot of the text to see if you got the right one” … which I figured, “why not?” it’s just a screenshot.
- Shortly after sending the screenshot, I was locked out of my account.
- The hackers immediately set up “Two-Factor Authorization” which prevented me from gaining access without a Two-Factor code.
- I then texted my buddy who confirmed that his gym’s account was hacked. He replied: “DON’T CLICK THE LINK”
It turns out the “link” that was sent to me was an IG “Password Reset” link that is easy for anyone to get. When I sent the screenshot, the hackers simply typed in the URL address and reset my password. Then they logged in and set up 2-Factor authorization to prevent me from retrieving my account.
I was pre-occupied with other things when this went down, and since it was a credible message from a friend’s gym, I let my guard down. In hindsight, I should have called or texted my friend FIRST. Live and learn.
AMAZING GRACE On Saturday, Oct 29th, Diablo is hosting our annual charity fundraiser benefitting a local charity of choice in need of our support. This year all proceeds will benefit our friends, The Phoenix – National Sober Active Community – an amazing non-profit which provides fitness focused community support for substance abuse recovery. Heats are now OPEN for an early registration donation of $25. Just go to Oct 29th on your Diablo App. Thank you!
ATHLETE SHOUT OUT: Congratulations to Christine Mandilag on your FIRST PLACE finish at the Garage Games on Sat Oct 1. Christine & Jason Willis competed at this cool event at Zero Dark Thirty CrossFit. Christine, PR’d her Clean (125#) 12x on her way to a first place finish in the 40-44yo scaled division!
TWEET OF THE WEEK: “Stop counting your macros and start counting your glasses of wine.”
THE WEEK AHEAD: Check SugarWod For Daily Workouts – October Calendar & Newsletter
> October Progressions:
- Primary: Bench Press + RD; Secondary: Tempo/Pause Front Squat; Skill: BB Complex
—•—
- Mon: E3MOMx5: Row 500m. Then, in 10min, Snatch 3 reps TnG
- Tue: Pause Front Squat. Metcon: 30-20-10 WBs & 200m Run
- Wed: 3RFT – 600m Run, 8 S2OH, 400m Run,10 DL, 200m Run, 2m Rest #95/135
- Thu: E3MOMx4 (1m Rest), Buy In: 18/25 Air Bike, then, amrap 12 Thrusters & Pull-ups #65/95
- Fri: BP & RDLs. Metcon: “Green Machine” – Amrap 6m – 5 Burpees, 10KB
- Sat: Amrap 14m – 16 Pistols, 12 Box Jumps, 8 HSPU
- Sun: TGUs. Metcon: 4RFT – 8 HPS, 20 Lunges, 200m Run. #75/115
CRAIG’S LIST:
Cool Thing: DALL•E 2 is a new AI system that can create realistic images and art from description in natural language. While there is much discussion around copyright and tradmark issues, the infinite image creations are incredible and often hilarious.
REPOST!: The Comfort Crisis – Micheal Easter. I’m almost done with this one – repeating several chapters. I STRONGLY encourage everyone to get this book and listen. It is well written, entertaining and provides excellent advice for us all, especially our children. Awesome Chapters:
- Nutrition: Chapter 14: “4000 Calories” – hunger is part of human existence.
- Understanding Human Fitness: Chapter 19 – 100 Pounds
- Ruck for Fitness: Chapter 20 – 50lbs
In this book, Easter opines that much of our societies struggles with achieving mental & physical health are the result of civilized comfort, especially technology. He relates his experiences with extreme discomfort & boredom to our primal ancestors who endured far harsher extremes their entire lives.
Article: Passion, exercise, and meaningful relationships are a boon to brain health – This is one of those obvious things, but it’s nice to to have validation, in this case mostly based on observational studies. Though clinical studies referenced indicate a slowing of brain grey matter decline with an increase in exercise, pursuit of a passion and quality relationships. And, if you add healthy nutrition, you have an excellent recipe for happiness.
Article/Research: Coupling Weightlifting with Cardio Could Cut Early Death Risk In Half – in other words: “Do CrossFit, Live Longer!” Again, kinda obvious, but it’s nice to have validation: BMJ Research Paper.
Article/Research: Add Coffee & Live Even Longer! – NYTimes. The research found that those who drank moderate amounts of coffee, even with a little sugar, were up to 30 percent less likely to die during the study period than those who didn’t drink coffee!
Make it an awesome week!
Craig
