51 Diablo athletes registered for the Community Cup!
Today, the “Make-Up” Crew got together to do the workout they missed or, wanted to re-do: 25.1, 25.2 or 25.3. We all started at the same time – and finished together and had a blast doing it. Thanks, Coach Sarah Howard for keeping us organized (and warmed up).
“Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.”
Joshua J. Marine
CROSSFIT 3RD PLACE
Today I sat with my friend Tim (owner CF Palo Alto) outside Diablo contemplating our roles as owners and the future of our gyms (side note: I highly recommend this healthy activity for other affiliates). When we discussed our gym businesses versus others, Tim said, “our gyms are gathering places – the 3rd place in most people’s lives” – something I’ve also come to realize. And, the human connection CrossFit affiliates provide contributes to the health and wellness of our members.
As an example, I spent last weekend at the the Northern California Classic Competition event with our Diablo athlete crew. Athletes arrived at our base-camp in the morning with their backpacks and wagons with chairs, clothing, shoes, food, drinks and other supplies. They hung out all day, mobilized, ate, shared strategies and stories, and periodically wandered off to compete or watch another athlete compete. It was a lot of fun and very fulfilling as a fan of CrossFit competitions, as the owner of an affiliate and most of all, as a man who enjoys hanging out with friends and like-minded people.
The fact is that humans don’t get together outside of our homes as often as we did in past years, especially versus 40+ years ago. As author Michael Easter (The Comfort Crisis & Scarcity Brain) said in a recent IG post, “for centuries, humans gather in third places – spaces outside of home and work where people could: celebrate, mourn, exchange ideas, find support and feel a sense of belonging. Compared to the 80’s, socializing with friends has fallen almost 50%, face-to-face interactions have fallen 60%, Church attendance is down 30%, and community volunteering is down 50%. On the other hand, we spend an average of hrs a day on screens. Unfortunately, the negative consequences are massive: anxiety, depression, stress, and loneliness – all of which dramatically affect mental & physical health.”
CrossFit affiliates and CrossFit community events are an awesome “3rd Place” for human connection. Durning the pandemic, our members constantly thanked us for providing an outlet for human connection and exercise. Members would come, workout and literally hang out outside for another hour or more just talking. So, if you have family or friends looking for or in need of more human connection – send them to a CrossFit gym. They’ll get fit af, AND make some amazing connections that’ll likely become life-long friends.
#itsup2us
CROSSFIT COMMUNITY CUP WORLDWIDE PARTICIPATION
THE 2025 CROSSFIT COMMUNITY CUP – A QUICK REVIEW
Diablo registered 51 athletes for the 1st ever CrossFit Community Cup.- 25% of our Open registration. Thank you Diablo members for supporting this fun competition! I’m guessing that our affiliate was in the top 5% in the world for participation. Here’s my quick take on the event and ideas for an even better event in 2026:
- Move the CC to Sep/Oct when affiliate owners have less things on their plates. Diablo finished up the Age Group and Online SemiFinals, ‘Murph and NCC.. and then jumped into the CC. It was a lot for our community.
- The Levels made “scaling” the workouts effortless. Just do the workout you’re assigned to your level.
- Confusion was common. Example: most Masters were assigned two rankings by CrossFit after the Open: their overall ranking (open m/w) and their Masters ranking. They only learned their CC level by registering for the CC. Workout #2 was a fun interval workout, but confusing to execute for large classes.
- “Advanced” skills exceeded several of our female “Advanced” ranked athletes’ capacities – primarily HSPU and OHS weights. Rookie, Novice, Intermediate and Pro were great!!
- The workouts were fun and fairly easy to execute in a class environment.
- We didn’t require judges – but our coaches held the standard. In the future, if prizes or awards are given, the top of the leaderboard should probably have judge requirements.
Bottom line: this event has great potential. I love the performance levels! There’s more that CrossFit and other competition organizers can do with those levels. We’ll have a bigger crew for this next year especially if it’s moved to the Fall.
PRSALLDAY PODCAST
Last week: NorCal Classic: A Win For Affiliates (who saved the day!) – Jamie and I talk about the great and not so great things at the NorCal Classic CrossFit competition event.
This week: Jamie’s on vacation..
The Programming Week Ahead:
- Mon: 15-12-9-6-3 HPSnatch, Burpee over bar, 10/15c Bike (#75/115)
- Tue: Back Squat. Accessory Work.
- Wed: Push/Pull Superset. Metcon: 4RFT – 6 DB Devil Press, 12 Box Jump Overs
- Thu: CF Hero Workout: “Luke”
- Fri: TGUs. Metcon – 4x2m Amrap (1m Rest): 6 OHS, 9 Push Ups #55/75
- Sat: Amrap 25m: 900m/1k Row, 20 Box Jumps, 10 BMU, 2m Rest
- Sun: 5RFT: 6PC, 3 Thrusters, 12 BFB #95/135
CRAIG’S LIST – INFLUENCERS: Social media can be pretty cool for motivation. I’m getting my algorithm dialed in for maximum positive influence whenever I log in. Here’s my current favs that I love to re-post:
- Michael Easter: @michael_easter Author of the “Comfort Crisis” and a big fan of doing hard things and Rucking.
- Dr. William Wallace: @dr.williamwallace PhD in Health Education. His posts are just relevant fitness & heath data along with the research that supports it.
- Dan Go: @danfounder – 45yo Fitness Coach for entrepreneurs. Clean, simple, to-the-point fitness & nutrition recommendations.
- Tony Robbins – @tonyrobbins – The GodFather of Motivation. So good.
Make it an awesome week!
Craig
