Coach Famous. Persevere. Pandemic wod. 100KMC. Falcon Podcast. RR2021. Yvonne’s Mob List! The Week Ahead 11.26.20

“The secret to happiness is freedom… And the secret to freedom is courage.” Thucydides

 WE MUST PERSEVERE. Last week an investigator from the DA’s office visited and fined Diablo CrossFit $250 for operating during a “prohibited time”.  I’m not eager to violate the law or stand in defiance of our local or state Governments. On the contrary, I want to partner with our governments to help reduce or eliminate metabolic diseases, like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, strokes, high blood pressure, etc.

Unfortunately, the State, County and City are unwilling to evaluate businesses on a case-by-case basis, despite having the resources and time. They have had 7 months to visit all high-traffic businesses, similar to how the health department typically evaluates all restaurants. Instead, the County Health Director has made archaic and generalized assumptions about gyms and imposed broad sweeping & draconian “shut-down indoor activity” rules. This new shut-down is frustrating given our extensive protection protocols and the fact that Diablo has had more than 8900 visits since September 15th with zero reported cases.

During the last major shut-down, our membership base dropped 30% almost overnight (understandably). However, we were able to seek financial support via the Payroll Protection Program and our employees that needed assistance were able to get help via Government supplemented unemployment benefits. Thus, we were able to make our rent payments, compensate employees and remain open. Unfortunately, there is no assistance available to Diablo or our employees for this shutdown.

As the Northern California Affiliate Rep for CrossFit, I have spoken to many affiliates in the last two weeks who have shut down their gyms, have lost most of their members, and are accruing significant debt. It’s tragic to hear the stories from passionate gym owners who built incredible communities dedicated to transforming lives. 

If we move our business outside during the winter, memberships will decline, new memberships will stop, Private Coaching will stop, Teen Strong will be canceled and class hours will be reduced. Several of our employees will suffer significantly as we head into the holidays. We will essentially put our members’ health, our employees’ wages and our overall business in danger – despite our excellent record of keeping people safe.

Instead, we will remain open indoors, operating safely and we will fight the fines in court. I just returned from a visit to Home Depot and was shocked by the congestion throughout the entire store, the lack of cleaning, and overall ignorance of proper protocols. The same is true at Costco or Safeway on most days. Ultimately, after 7 months, I believe it is now each person’s individual responsibility to manage themselves. If you do not feel safe, or if you’re at risk, don’t go out or visit questionable businesses. Our members feel safe. I believe they are certainly safer at Diablo than they are at most other stores or public venues. And, they are improving their fitness, their immunity and their mental health.

We will persevere. We must.. for our community, for our health, our business, our employees and my family.

THANKSGIVING PANDEMIC WOD – We’re going to be at Diablo this Thanksgiving for our epic “Pandemic 2020 Wod” which tells the story of our long journey through this crazy time. Here it is:

Compete For Time:

• 1600 Meter Run (Mar 16th, the gym closed. Running was the only option for most)
• 20 Dumbbell Devil Press #35/50. (Mar 20, we loaned DBs & KBs to members)
• 600m Row. (June: we returned indoors briefly, able to use the rowers!)
• 200m Run + 1m rest + 200m Run + 1m rest (track workouts in July)
• 200m Dumbbell Farmer Carry #35/50 (Aug/Sep: city oks parking lot wods – farmer carried equip in & out daily)
• 16 Clean & Jerks #95/135  (Oct: back inside! Maximum 16 per class. “Grace” is always Oct)

TIME FOR 100KMC: The annual charity event, 100,000 meter challenge begins on the day after Thanksgiving! All registration proceeds go to a charity of your choice. Accumulate 100,000 meters on a rower, bike, run or even swimming! It runs until December 24th. Have you registered yet?  We WILL be doing weekly movie nights and other fun challenges to keep us on pace. Diablo CrossFit has been the #1 CrossFit affiliate by meters almost every year we participate. Questions? Email katya.hoogerhuis@gmail.com for information or questions!

JASON FALCON KNOWS HIS SH*T  Shaker Cup #6. I got 30 minutes with Jason Falcon, founder and coach at Falcon Nutrition. We talked about holiday eating, protein intake and late night eating. This was a really good discussion.

ROW’D ROYALTY IS LIVE!  Event dates: Jan 14, 2021 – Feb 8th. We have an awesome event planned this year with a LOT more prize money, a weekly Concept 2 Rower giveaway, killer apparel and a fantastic charity partner: Charity Water. Diablo members get 20% off registration (before Dec 1st!). Check Sugarwod for discount code. 

WORKOUTS THIS WEEK (check Sugarwod Track “Workout Of The Day”)  Check out the videos on Sugarwod or on YouTube (PRsAllDay). 

• Mon: Amrap 15m – Buy in: 1k Row, then, 6 PSnatch #75/115, 12 Pull Ups, 18 Burp over bar
• Tue: Back squat 2×2 & Accessory. Metcon: Amrap 6m – 7/10cal bike, Max set high wbs.
• Wed: EMOMx4 for reps – Pullups, Dips, Double Unders, Rest
• Thu: Pandemic 2020 Wod!
• Fri: FT – 18-15-12-9-6-3, Thrusters, Power Snatch, Toes-to-Bar
• Sat: 5RFT – 6 DL (#155/225), 12 DB Push Press (#35/50), 400m Run
• Sun: Amrap 15 – 500m Row, 15 Pull Ups, 200m Run

YVONNE’S LIST! (stuff that Yvonne is reading or listening to.. or talking about):

Yvonne is always showing me mobility and movement training stuff from her Instagram feed. If you need more mobility or movement drills follow these on Instagram! Her favs:

• @crossfittraining – This CrossFit page has improved quite a bit over the past year. Great instructional site for all CrossFit movements.
• @thephysiofix – Dr. Stacie breaks down mobility, recovery and stretching like nobody’s business! She’s got new routines up every day.
• @drkatie_clare – Another awesome mobility page for targeting specific areas and ailments. Her drills are easy to do at home or pre-wod.
• @thebarbellphysio – Zach Long is a CrossFitter with a passion for mobility and PT. Web: @thebarbellphysio
• @moveu – Their tag line: “fix yo shit” is appropriate. This page is targeting injury & nagging pain recovery through mobility work.

Ed note: I’ve started listening to the book, The Carnivore Code.. considering. More on this next week.

Make it an awesome indoor or outdoor week!

Craig