“The magic is in the movement, the art is in the programming, the science is in the explanation, and the fun is in the community.” – Greg Glassman
CROSSFIT THE SPORT – PARTICIPATING & HOSTING Last weekend, nearly 20 Diablo members competed in different fitness competition events around the Bay Area. The two largest events were “Wodtoberfest” in San Jose and the “Festivus” Games in Petaluma. Both of these events included multiple challenging workouts that tested a wide range of work capacity – strength, endurance, stamina, speed & agility. Most local CrossFit affiliate sponsored events have an “Rx” division for experienced athletes and a “Scaled” division for newer or less-experienced competitors.
Competing in local CrossFit competitions are an excellent way to test your fitness, meet other CrossFit enthusiasts and have a blast doing what you love with friends. So, what are some things you should know before you register for a local competition? And, affiliates, what should you be thinking about if you want to host a competition? Here’s some quick tips to improve your experience.
Thinking of competing? - First time? Make sure they have a scaled division! It’s like dipping your toe in the water and you’ll have an awesome time.
- Evaluate the workouts & make they are within your capacity. If in doubt, ask a coach.
- Pack like you’re headed to the beach for the day: chairs, towels, food, drinks, cash, sun shade, ground cover, warm clothes etc.
- Bring your own mobility tools – the event will likely have nothing available.
- Print the schedule or have the link on your phone! There’s nothing worse than missing your heat.
- Recruit friends to compete with you!
Thinking of hosting a comp?- Start planning 4-5 months before.
- Check your insurance – you might need a rider.
- KEEP IT SIMPLE! 3 primary events and 1 finale (for a limited # of athletes) works great.
- Limit the size. 15-20 athletes with a scaled division = 60-80 total athletes. Avoid Indy + Teams.. too many people.
- Limit the equipment. You can host an awesome competition with 3 pieces of equipment.
- Limit the programming. Complex workouts create set up, judging & viewing problems.
- Workouts for time are more fun to watch, but always have a time cap. Amraps are good for time mgt. but hard to watch.
- Make judging easy! Kettlebells & push ups are hard to maintain standards. Burpees over a bar are easy to judge.
- You can’t have enough bathrooms & coffee.
- Contact info@prsallday if you need help with planning & programming.
CEO HAT TRICK On Friday I drove to Santa Cruz to meet with the new CF CEO, Don Faul and the former CEO, Dave Castro. After our meeting, I was invited to hang out at the beach in Capitola with the people’s CEO, Sevan Matassion and his podcast producer, Matt Souza. Here’s the Cliff Notes of our conversations:
Don & Dave - CrossFit brand: Don & Dave are committed to “Forging Elite Fitness” and keeping CrossFit as the methodology of choice for the “tip of the spear” athletes & Military, Police, Fire & First Responders.
- CF media is committed to telling the amazing stories of life transformations happening daily in CF affiliates around the world.
- My “suiggestions”:
- Keep fighting for us, ie., stop State & Fed regulators trying to limit or license our ability to coach fitness & nutrition.
- Elevate the value & prestige of CF Certifications in the fitness industry. The L1, L2, L3 & L4 should be the most desired fitness certifications in the world.
- Figure out how to connect affiliate owners that want to help with those who need it (mentors). FB groups suck.
- Assess affiliates for survival capacity – connect owners ho want out with potential owners who want in.
- Figure out how to help owners find & hire new coaches
Sevan- Sevan is committed to bringing real & relevant CrossFit stories to the community
- He is CrossFit Training’s biggest advocate & will continue to promote the L1 and affiliates front & center in his podcast.
- Sevan is adamant that CF needs a new media director with a sole directive of telling the affiliate success stories.
- I connected him with a couple of future guests: Affiliate Owner, Matt Schindeldecker, who runs an amazing (state funded!!) Juvenile Probation program in Ohio and soon in Illinois; and Coty Bradburn, a 29yo affiliate owner who purchased a failing affiliate at age 24 (!!) with his wife and turned it around.
PODCAST: Coach Jamie Lee and I are going live again Monday at 8:30AM ish on the PrsAllDay YouTube Channel.
THIS WEEK: AMAZING GRACE AT DIABLO This SATURDAY, Heats are now OPEN for an early registration charity donation of $25. Just go to Oct 29th on your Diablo App.
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: “Coming out of the pandemic realizing policy makers were mostly winging it is akin to coming of age when you realized your parents were doing the same.” (thx Stacey for this one!)
THE WEEK AHEAD: Check SugarWod For Daily Workouts – October Calendar & Newsletter- Mon: Pause Front Squat. Metcon: Amrap 6min – 12 DB FR Lunge & 9 DB Strict Press
- Tue: Skill – E3MOMx4 Cal Row (2m Rest). Strength: 1x PSnatch, Snatch Balance, TNG Snatch
- Wed: 5RFT – 7 DB Pull Ups, 14/21c Bike, 40 DUs #25/30
- Thu: BP & RDLs. Metcon: Amrap 7min – 2/2, 4/4, 6/6…. DB Devil Press, FC Box Step Ups #35/50
- Fri: FT – 800m Run, 25 T2B, 40 Push Press, 25 T2B, 800m Run #75/115
- Sat: GRACE!
- Sun: 3RFT – 1000m Row, 200m SB Carry, 25 Situps, 3 Wall Walks
CRAIG’S LIST:
Must-Listen Podcast: Kym Dekeyrel, Games Adaptive Athlete: Near Death Experiences, Raising a Family, and CrossFit While Blind – This is an incredibly inspiring podcast. Kym is amazing – humble, kind, very funny and insightful. Sevan handled this interview brilliantly, helping the listener truly understand what it means to be blind at age 26 (she’s now 40). Kym talks about her life, the emotions, her childhood experience (with rapidly declining sight) and how CrossFit changed her life. I first learned of Kym (from San Jose!) in this awesome post on CrossFit’s Instagram.
From The Games In August to A 3:08 Marathon in October! 6X CrossFit Games Athlete Kristi Eramo O’Connell decided to run a marathon 8 weeks after competing in the CrossFit Games, and PR’d with an amazing 3:08 (7min mile average!).
Research Article: The Link Between Skeletal Muscle Mass Loss & Cognitive Decline. Peter Attia, MD tackles a recent published research report showing a relationship between sarcopenia and cognitive decline. The mechanisms are not known – nor if it is a causal relationship. Nonetheless, it’s apparent that fitness, specifically weight training, may significantly offset mental decline.
Article: Scientists Found A Way to Predict Your Death By How You Walk. A new study shows that measurements taken with wrist-worn motion sensors can be used to predict one’s mortality risk up to five years later. The study used data from over 100,000 Britons since 2006.
Article: She Can Smell Illnesses In People – This is a wild story, very touching, and true. “I’ve become known as “the woman who can smell Parkinson’s” and have delivered lectures on my work. I’m working with people in California, detecting cancers, and in Tanzania, to locate the smell of tuberculosis.”
Make it an awesome week!
Craig |
