Big Trot! It’s Up To Us. 75 Hard. 13 Months. Any Asshole Workout. 75% is best. Everything Everywhere. TWA 11.27.23

We Gonna Need A Permit: Our 16th Annual “Totally Unofficial Turkey Trot/Ruck” – getting bigger.

“If I quit now, I will soon be back to where I started. And when I started I was desperately wishing to be where I am now.” Unknown

ITS UP TO US: For the first time in our lives, Yvonne and I had Thanksgiving dinner with family at a restaurant. Ordinarily, Yvonne cooks. Needless to say, the restaurant experience did not measure up. And, there’s no freakin’ leftovers. But, we did enjoy the time together with family. 

While seated in the restaurant, I looked around at the many patrons and wondered, “why are so many people dining out on Thanksgiving?” I surmized that most people just didn’t want to cook on Thanksgiving Day – it is a big job. But, something else dawned on me as people continued to arrive: many people appeared physically disabled as a result of age and often, their health and weight. Frankly, many people at the restaurant were likely far too unhealthy to prepare and host Thanksgiving dinner for family. It made me sad and at the same time, more motivated to help others overcome their debilitating physical conditions, mostly cause by chronic disease.

Chronic diseases are responsible for 70% of deaths in our country. Chronic diseases are considered “lifestyle” illnesses and include heart disease, strokes, cancers, obesity, dementia and others. More and more research points to excess consumption of ultra processed foods and physical inactivity as the leading causes of chronic illnesses. Unfortunately, our society and governments will be too slow to address the problems and more likely to rely on healthcare and big pharma for solutions. Therefore, we are on our own. The solution is up to us.

On the other end of the health spectrum, I bet that many of us reading this email were likely the fittest people at the table this Thanksgiving. Perhaps some of us were even teased for our “obsession” with fitness or CrossFit. Admittedly, with our family I’m very reluctant to discuss my exercise routines for fear of making others feel self-conscious or judged. I believe the best way to influence others is by our actions, our attitudes and our presence. When our fitness and health are recognized or acknowledged, a seed has been planted. And, hopefully, it grows – influencing someone to inquire about what we do for our fitness or perhaps, motivating someone to start their own journey.

It’s up to us. We can’t influence everyone, but if each of us are able to influence 1 or 2 people every year, that’s a few thousand people… and so on. By the way, if you’re asked, “what should I do?” just tell them: visit a CrossFit affiliate. The rest will take care of itself. 

HOLIDAY TRAVEL & AT-HOME WODS – We created a dedicated webpage with links to Diablo’s recommended travel/at-home workouts – and CrossFit.com’s recommended workouts. There’s some damn good ones in here to keep you in shape during your holiday travels: TRAVEL & AT-HOME WORKOUTS

PARTY TIME DEC 16th:  Our Annual Holiday Party will be December 16th at 6:30PM – 10PM at the Back Forty Restaurant in Pleasant Hill! 

2024 CHALLENGE COMING: 75 Hard…Diablo Style. 

PODCAST PREVIEW: 
This Week:  Tue at 9:30AM – Inspiration From Modesto? Brian Boucher – MidState CrossFit
Last Week:  #64 – Bitching ‘Bout Work & How To Host A Turkey Trot For Members

TWEET OF THE WEEK:  
Guaranteed Fat Loss Recipe:
• 30min Fasted Walk – AM
• Small Breakfast – Late AM
• Big Lunch – Midday
• Small Dinner – Evening
• 15min Walk – Before Bed
• 7+ Hours Sleep
• Prioritize Protein

THE WEEK AHEAD: 
Dec Focus: 1. Deadlift. 2. Overhead Squat. 3. Skill: Handstand Push-up

CRAIG’S LIST:  

WTAF: A better calendar!! Here’s something I stumbled across on the internet: if we had 13 months instead of 12, every month would be 28 days. The 1st would always be a Monday and the 28th would always be a Sunday! 

Blog: “The Any Asshole Workout” – Aug, 2012. My good friend and former CrossFit Affiliate Owner, Freddy Camacho, was one of the best blog writers in all of CrossFit. His daily blogs were some of my favorites and served as an inspiration for my weekly emails. This post is legendary in the CrossFit world, because it addressed a common problem that occurs with passionate CrossFitters and affiliate owners: the “more is better” syndrome. But, as Freddy points out, especially when programming for a diverse community of members, “more CrossFit” is NOT “better CrossFit.”  

IG:  For Best Results, Train at 70-85% Effort!  (Post 1 – Endurance. Post 2 – Strength) I’ve heard this many times from top competitive athletes. But, check out what the Wod Science guys found out about endurance and strength training in these two awesome posts!

Article: Skipping weekday workouts? Weekend-only exercise offers similar benefits, study finds – In other words: if you have a busy, active week – don’t stress. Come on the weekendThe study followed almost 90,000 people, and found that moderate to vigorous activity, concentrated during one or two days a week, offers similar cardiovascular benefits to a similar amount of exercise spread throughout the week.

Movie – Amazon Prime TV: Everything Everywhere All At Once – Yvonne & I have been wanting to watch this one for a while. WOW. The creativity of the storyline is incredible – the acting, impressive. The movie is original, entertaining and has an awesome message. 

SAVE BIG ON DOC SPARTAN SKIN CARE! – We all know the amazing things that Dale King, CrossFit PSKC and Doc Spartan are doing to help treat drug addiction. (Small Town Strong).  Now, you can save on their amazing all-natural skin care and healing products (we love Combat Ready Ointment!). Doc Spartan is having a huge sale 25% off all products a& 50% off Combat Ready Ointment (amazing stuff). ADD OUR DISCOUNT CODE & SAVE MORE!! Use the code PRSALLDAY and save an additional 20%!

Make it an awesome week!

Craig