Thank you to our members for your support and donations for Diablo’s Annual “Amazing Grace” Charity Event. This year our contributions benefit the Phoenix Org – providing access to fitness activities for substance abusers in recovery. Since 2010, our community has donated more than $60,000 to local charitable organizations via our “Amazing Grace” event.
“There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.” Denis Waitley
WHY SO HARD, BRO? Monday’s workout is a doozy! It includes 30 Ring Muscle Ups, 30 heavy Clean & Jerks and 96 Single Leg Squats. It is time capped at 24 minutes. Only a small percentage of our community will be able to complete this workout under the time cap. The majority of our members will have to scale. Can you imagine what someone with no CrossFit experience would say about this workout? I imagine people would say:
- “Wtf? That’s just dumb!”
- “If most of your members can’t do it, why would you program it?”
- “This is how you get hurt doing CrossFit.”
- “If you make it do-able for everyone, more people will come to your gym.
Of course, I have a sarcastic retort for all the above, however many people newer to CrossFit may not comprehend the why of CrossFit programming. When I first started CrossFit, I followed the mainsite programming and was blown away by the level of difficulty of some of the daily workouts. There were many I could not do – and there’s still some that I cannot do.
So, why so hard, bro? Well the simple answer is that CrossFit programs for the “tip of the spear” – the best of the best. Similar to the original CrossFit community, our member base includes competitive athletes, military, police, fire and other first responders – the tip of the spear. CrossFit is the methodology of choice for the tip of the spear because it is highly functional and increases work capacity across broad time and modal domains, better than any other methodology. And, as the founder says, “”the needs of Olympic athletes and our grandparents differ by degree, not kind.” Increased work capacity across broad time and modal domains is a path to better health and longevity.
Fortunately, CrossFit workouts and movements are infinitely scalable. So, everyone can do the same CrossFit with scaled loads, movements and total volume. So, instead of Ring Muscle Ups, you might do ring rows and push ups. And, instead of a 155lb Clean & Jerk, you might do 20lb dumbbell Clean & Jerks, and for 1-legged squats, you might do lunges. But, you’ll give it your all as you race the competition athlete doing the workout as rx’d right next to you in class. And you’ll fist bump her with pride when you finish at the same time.
Finally, when you hit your first workout “as Rx’d” you’ll feel a tremendous sense of satisfaction knowing you did the hard work to get there. You are the tip of the spear.
TEEN TRIALS COMP IS LIVE! – Our Teen CrossFit competition is happening Saturday, December 3rd at Diablo CrossFit. This is the ONLY local Teen competition and maybe the first of it’s kind. We have 5 divisions: 12-13 combined, Boys & Girls 14-15 and Boys & Girls 16-17. Registration & information can be found here.
DIABLO/PRs PODCAST: Coach Jamie Lee and I are going live again Monday at 8:30AM ish on the PrsAllDay YouTube Channel.
GORUCK MEMBER DISCOUNT! Get your 10% Discount on all GoRuck Gear using the code DIABLO10 at checkout! Remember, we’ll be rucking on Thanksgiving Day.
TWEET OF THE WEEK: “If you want to improve the effectiveness of your medications, walk to the pharmacy to pick them up.”
THE WEEK AHEAD: Check SugarWod For Daily Workouts – November Calendar & Newsletter
November Progressions:
- Primary – Front Squat.
- Secondary – Deadlift.
- Skills – Handstands & EMOMs
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- Mon: 6 RFT – 5 MU, 5 C&J, 16 Pistols #105/155
- Tue: Handstand Skills. Metcon: EMOMx4 15/20c Air Bike, 12 T2B, 12 DB Press, then rest 1m & FT: 15/20c Bike, 15 T2B, 12 Press
- Wed: Front Squat 5×5. Metcon: Amrap 7m – 200m Run, 10WB, 200m Run, 20WB, 200m Run, Max WBs
- Thu: 3RFT 900/1000m Row, 21 HR Pushups, 15 Box Jump overs
- Fri: Deadlift. Metcon: E3MOMx3 (1m Rest) – Max Cals: Buy in – 16 DB Snatch, 16 DB Lunge (8L/8R), then Air Bike.
- Sat: Amrap 15m – 35 DUs, 8 HSPU, 6 HPC, 4 Weighted Pull Ups. #155/105 #20/35
- Sun: 3RFT – 400m SB Carry, 40 Situps, 20 WBs
CRAIG’S LIST:
Podcast: I Beat Cancer: Chris Wark on the Sevan Podcast – This podcast started accidentally after the Kym Dekeyrel podcast so I listened and was blown away! So damn good. Chris beat colon cancer (stage 3.6) with a raw vegetable & fruit diet. His story is amazing and inspiring. I am eager to read his book about his experience. In this podcast he describes the very scary, doctor-recommended surgery & chemo protocols and why he declined to follow the rules. He radically transformed his diet and his mental health with some very simple strategies. This is a fantastic podcast.
Research: How Physical Exercise Burns Muscle Fat – This is pretty fascinating. Scientists have identified a neuromuscular circuit that links the burning of muscle fat during exercise to the action of a protein in the brain.
Feats of Strength: Powerlifting Coach James Hall rowed a world record 1000 meter on the Concept2 Rower in 2:39! That’s a 1:19, 500m pace!!
Make it an awesome week!
Craig
