Self-reliance. More Endurance. Panic Attacks. MRIs Can Kill. No Hard Feelings. TWA 10.30.23

Thank you to our Diablo Community! Together We Raised $3650 for Coach James and his family. #diablolove

“What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

SELF RELIANCE – A series of events and experiences this last week has led me to think more about the importance of self-reliance and the benefits of CrossFit. CrossFit builds resilience against the effects of aging and illness and makes us better prepared for what nature and life throws at us.  

1. In a discussion with a nutrition expert he disclosed that social pressure from friends and family is one of the leading causes for failure of a healthy nutrition strategy. In other words, who you surround yourself with is the largest determinant of your nutrition consumption. A simple example is friends that drink together for any type of gathering. The solution: rely on yourself to create change. And, if the pressure is overwhelming, find new friends. 

2. CrossFit recently hired a new executive to lead CrossFit affiliates. His stated objective is to help improve systems & operations and drive more people to affiliates. His background, however, is primarily executive roles at Barre Studios and YogaWorks (franchise companies). While I’m confident that the CEO has good reasons for this hire, I’m inclined to believe that newer affiliates will be the primary focus of his efforts. Diablo and most other OG CrossFit affiliates got started more than 15 years ago with the understanding that we were on our own. We paid our annual fee to CrossFit so that we would officially offer CrossFit training with the “CrossFit” brand in our name. We made a lot of our equipment, we build our brands and websites and we recruited our members. As a result, our facility and our community became a reflection of our efforts – as did all other CrossFit affiliates. The entrepreneurial experience hardened us – and made us self-reliant which, by the way, enabled us to survive the pandemic shut downs (that’s another story for another email). The benefit to CrossFit is that they can (and should) focus on the brand (media!), the training and the Games. Affiliates can (and should) take care of themselves.

3. Finally, on Saturday, I attended a health & nutrition symposium, Reclaiming Food & Medicine featuring 4 popular & influential experts: Dr. Aseem Malhotra, British Cardiologist & AuthorDr. Vandana Shiva, Activist and EnvironmentalistDr. Drew Pinksy, Physician and Addiction Medicine Specialist and Robert F. Kennedy, Presidential Candidate & Health & Environmental Lawyer. This was an incredibly eye-opening experience as each speaker detailed the troubling influence of big-pharma and big-agriculture on our health, especially our children. There’s a lot to share, but to summarize, chronic diseases caused by primarily by nutrition choices are the leading causes of death. Treating chronic diseases is a multibillion business for Pharma. Sadly, obesity, cancers, autoimmune diseases, autism and afflictions have been increasing almost exponentially since 1990. Until our Government intercedes in some way, our health is UP to us. We have to be incredibly self-reliant. We have to do the research on medical treatments, seeking multiple opinions on recommended treatments. Remember, doctors and hospitals are heavily dependent and often financially motivated to recommend procedures, drugs and other treatments. Do CrossFit. Shun processed foods, high fructose corn syrup and non-organic foods.  Our health is up to us.

Be self-reliant.

PICHELLI’S ENDURANCE CAPACITY CLINIC BEGINS THIS WEEK!  This 6 week program will include TWO small group training & testing clinics along with customized a endurance training program for each athlete. 

  • Start Date: October 30
  • CLASS #1 – Technique & Testing:  Tue, Oct 31, 1:30PM or Thu, Nov 2, 6:30P  
  • Final Re-Test: Dec 7-10
  • Clinic size: Max 8 Athletes (customized programming for each athlete)
  • Purchase on the Diablo App (Specialty Clinic), Online or at the Front Desk.

COMING SOON: 

  • Turkey Ruck – Thanksgiving, Nov 28th. Join us with your family & friends for our Annual “Turkey Ruck” at Hidden Lakes Park in Martinez.
  • Diablo’s Annual Holiday Bash:  Saturday, Dec 16th at Back Forty BBQ in Pleasant Hill.

PODCAST SCHEDULE

TWEET OF THE WEEK: “We built our CrossFit affiliate business ourselves with occasional advice from the message boards & YouTube and no assistance from HQ. The mistakes we made are our battle scars that serve as proud teaching moments for new affiliates.

THE WEEK AHEAD: 
Nov Focus: Front Squat & Deadlift. Skill: Endurance Conditioning
Nov: Calendar & Newsletter.   
 

CRAIG’S LIST:  

News: Instant Relief From Anxiety Attacks – Panic attacks suck. I’ll get one about once every 6-8 weeks, usually at night when sleeping – especially if I get overheated. This is my tried & true instant relief method: I grab a cold pack from the freezer and apply it to my face and back of my neck. Works like a charm. But, I had no idea I was activating the diver’s reflex. Fascinating!

NewsBay Area Nurse Crushed In MRI Accident. Holy Crap, I had no idea this was possible. Look at the pics of the crushed bed. Wow. For your next MRI, make sure that protocols are followed, you have no metal on your person and doors are shut!

Research: It’s Time to Warn The Public About Ultra Processed Foods! – Overall, compared with people with low consumption of ultra-processed food, those with the highest consumption have been shown to have higher risks of diabetes, hypertension, overweight or obesity, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events, as well as all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. NIH Report

NetflixNo Hard Feelings – Jennifer Lawrence. Reasonably believable story. Not your typical JL movie. Very funny. Very raunchy. I warned you.

Make it an awesome week!

Craig