This is the Open at Diablo. Friday Night Lights 25.1 and Sunday FUNday 25.1.2 will hold a special place in our history – while serving as a reminder that CrossFit is much more than a methodology or a sport.
Thank you, Diablo family.
It’s one thing to be a part of an organization. It’s another thing to be a part of the community.
Travis Kelce
A QUICK LOOK:
- Break Time?
- Open Updates
- 25.2!
- Rise To The Challenge
- More AI, Old Tom vs Young, Junk War, Swear, 1923
ITS OK TO TAKE A BREAK: Just a friendly reminder that it’s ok to take a break from CrossFit – or, scale back a bit. If you’ve got a nagging injury that won’t go away, or if you’re feeling beat up and tired, take a few days away. CrossFit is intense, one big reason why it works so well so fast. But, excessive intensity without proper recovery (sleep, hydration, nutrition, mobility) can create excessive inflation and inhibit recovery.
Symptoms that indicate you might need a little time off include:
- Not sleeping well
- Diminished strength in primary lifts
- Irritability
- Movement patterns that regularly create pain
- Deep muscle aches or pains that show up after every workout
I recently scaled back my CrossFit to 3-4x a week and took a week off last week. I was experiencing chronic pain in my shoulder & elbow and a consistently achey back. I showed up today for 25.1 and felt great – and had a good workout. That said, I still “exercise” every day – long hikes with the dogs (often with a Ruck pack) and add in small doses of bodyweight exercises.
There’s quite a bit of new research that shows that we will not lose strength or fitness gains by taking brief periods of time away from working out. In fact, elite athletes show improved performance with 5-7 days off once every 6 – 12 weeks. The upside: mentally, you’ll be ready and excited to hit it hard again.
Finally, if you can’t be away from Diablo – that’s awesome – just come in and bike, row, or mobilize. Maybe do some functional bodybuilding. But, come be a part of this amazing community.
#itsup2us
OPEN UPDATES:
THANK YOU COACHES! Honestly, I was a little nervous about the Open this year – we’re trying out new strategies including our Thursday Night Announcements and our Sunday FUNday. And, we almost didn’t do an intramural competition. Fortunately, a few weeks back in our weekly coach meeting, I asked “how do we get more members to participate?” The answers came quickly from our team: “our members love a good competition” and “not everyone can come on Friday night.” Turn’s out, our coaches know best. Friday Night Lights was packed and so was Sunday FUNday. And, we’re almost over 180 registrants for 2025! Moral of the story: listen to the people who talk to your community every single day.
DIABROS VS. SHE-DEVILS – Scores will be posted on Tuesday on our Website!
25.2 DIABLO OPEN ANNOUNCEMENT- THU MAR 6, 5:30PM – Our Open Athletes will be Richard Blake and Erin Sutch! Erin is a Mom of two and a member since 2013. Richard is a UK native and a Doctor of Psychology and a member since 2022. They’ll be going head-to-head on 25.2 LIVE at 5:30PM on Diablo’s YouTube channel.
25.2 FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS – DiaBros & She Devils. Our theme for 25.2 will be “Go Wild!” – however each team would like to interpret it.. and, if you can’t make if Friday, please come to our Sunday FUNday at 10AM!
MAR EVENTS
- MAR 13 – THU: 25.3 Announcement
- MAR 14 – FRI: 25.3 FNL & End of The Open Celebration
- MAR 27 – THU: 7:30PM – Breath Work Techniques for Improved Performance and Mental Health – Richard Blake, PhD.
PRSALLDAY PODCAST
- Look for us on the Diablo CrossFit YouTube Channel for our Thu Night Open Announcements!
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT DIABLO...
When we opened in our current location in Pleasant Hill, we only occupied 4000sf (vs 12k today). One of our members, Jenn Maynard, offered to hand paint a mural on our back wall. Our request: we want Mt Diablo in the background, our logo & tag line as viewed from inside the Roman Coliseum. We wanted our members to feel like gladiators – putting it all out on the floor for the crowd. Jen spent a week – and many late nights painting the mural which lasted for 6 years. Side note: some of those GHDs are still around!
PRSALLDAY THIS WEEK:
March Focus: Primary – Back Squat, Secondary – Oly Power Lifts, Skills – TGUs.
- Mon: For Time: 15WB, 250/300m Row, 15 Push ups, 15WB, Rest 1m
- Tue: Hang Snatch. Metcon: FT – 20 T2B, 100m FC, 40 Sit-ups, 200m FC
- Wed: Back Squats. Amrap 5m – 9DL, 9BJ (125/185#)
- Thu: E2MOMx5 – 20/30c Bike, 20/30c Row, 200m Medball Run
- Fri: 25.2! Class: E3MOMx5 Buy-in: 5 Wall Walks. Amrap: 30 DUs, 12WB, 15 Situps
- Sat: TGUs.Amrap 5m – 21DB Bench Press, 12 HR Push Ups, 9 DB Strict Press
- Sun: 3RFT – 200m Run, 12HPC, 200m Run, 12 Pull-ups, 200m Run, 1m Rest (65/95#)
- Amazing AI (IG): Historical Figures Come To Life – I watched this a dozen times, smiling the entire time. AI has some incredible potential to recreate history for us. My favorite: Michealangelo.
- NOT AI – Video: 46 Years Old Tom Brady is faster than 22yo Tom Brady! – This is unbelievable to be honest. WATCH this one. Experts attribute the increase in speed to weight difference (he’s lighter now) and his strict exercise & nutrition habits. What’s really cool: the two efforts are overlapping on video!
- NYT Magazine: Ozempic Could Crush the Junk Food Industry. But It Is Fighting Back. (paywall..) Here is a transcript of the podcast version. In a recent earnings release announcement, General Mills indicated that GLP1 drugs would likely impact sales of products. So, they’re working with a high-tech food company from the Bay Area, Mattson, to develop food products that can buy-pass the dopamine-supression signals of GLP1s that keep hunger at bay. I understand, but it’s disturbing in my opinion.
- Research (really): Swearing Improves Performance – F-yah!! During a Wingate anaerobic power test, athletes improved performance by 4.5% by swearing (and 15% improvement for planks & pushuips!)
- Parmount: 1923 – Can’t go wrong with Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford and this Yellowstone prequel – Season 2. Excellent casting and scenery. Story is compelling.
Craig
