PREVIEW- The Grind
- Sober Walktober
- Podcast 100 Redux
- Logo Chaos
- Creatine & HIIT Rule!
- Alcohol Kills
THE GRIND – as I use the term – is the persistent, tedious, and very often, physical or mental work necessary to complete a project, accomplish a task, pass a test, prepare for competition, or, learn a new skill. “The Grind” can be over in a few minutes (daily push ups), a few hours (getting a painful tattoo) or, the Grind may last years (training for the Olympics). But, in my experience, the gratification of success is amplified by the amount or intensity of Grind required. In other words, the harder the Grind, the greater the satisfaction. Earned success is more rewarding than serendipitous success.
Ironically, most of us avoid the Grind, especially if it’s enduring. I think it’s in our DNA to avoid or minimize exertion and seek rest and comfort. Physical and mental exertion depletes energy stores and exposes our bodies to injury – 2 things that shortened the lives of our ancient ancestors. But, to learn or master a new skill in CrossFit, gymnastics, weightlifting or endurance, we must practice and train the skill or variants of the skill repetitively. Double unders, pull ups, kipping pull ups, muscle ups, wall walks, handstand push ups, and the Olympic lifts all improve with a dedicated Grind.
September’s burpee challenge is a case in point. As the weekly volume increased, I dreaded the Grind. I had plenty of time throughout the day to do them – heck, 100 burpees in 10-20 minutes is do-able for most everyone. Yet I still procrastinated getting started. Not surprising, once I did my 1st 10 reps, it was fairly easy to grind out the next 90. And, once I was completed, I felt a great sense of satisfaction with the accomplishment. However, the payoff or, the physical benefit was not felt until I had a workout with burpees and another with pushups. Delayed gratification sucks, but feels so good when it happens. “Ahhhh, I see what happened there!”
So, beginning in October, Diablo coaches will be including a “Grind” – accessory training – in every warm up. The October Grind? Hollow Body Holds. Every time our member comes to class in the month of October, s/he will be doing hollow holds in the warm up. Hollow holds build core strength and are essential for most gymnastic movements, especially for kipping.
Be sure to let us know if you see any improvement in your core strength or gymnastic movements at the end of the month.
Embrace The Grind.
SOBER OCTOBER! We got this.. - SOBER WALK-TOBER – Our October Sugarwod Challenge comes to us from Coach Herald: No alcohol and plenty of steps. Here’s how we’ll score this daily on SugarWod. Maximum daily points available: 7
> No Alcohol: 1pt
> Walk 6000 Steps (approx 3mi): 1pt
> Walk 8000 Steps: 2pts
> Walk 11,000 Steps: 3pts
- 19th – “AMAZING GRACE” CHARITY EVENT – This is Diablo’s Annual Charity Event – We all do the workout Grace (30 C&J) for a donation to a local charity. We make this a community event with food & drink & fun afterward!
- 26th – DIABLO FALL CLASSIC – Diablo’s annual USAW Certified Weightlifting Competition is back! All levels strongly encouraged. This is a great introductory meet and is also a USAW National Qualifying meet.
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