Diablo outside of Diablo. Qualified! Did You Know? More Teens & Kilos. LSKD. Intention. The Week Ahead 4.17.23

“A healthy social life is found only when, in the mirror of each soul, the whole community finds its reflection, and when, in the whole community, the virtue of each one is living.” Rudolf Steiner

WHAT MAKES US HAPPY & HEALTHY
I’ve read several articles & research on the keys to longevity recently (check Craigslist below) and, besides the obvious things (exercise & nutrition), all of the data point to a need for supportive social contact. And in this ever-increasing world of tech and social media, there are fewer and fewer in-person opportunities to make meaningful positive social connections. CrossFit affiliates are filling that void. And, even better, the community that happens at CrossFit is built upon a foundation of exercise, nutrition and healthy living. 

For affiliate owners, a great community helps keep members coming. And as a result, members get more fit and more healthy and equally important, the affiliate business thrives. Good communities make affiliate owners happy and the business healthy. 

Yvonne and I were thrilled to see so many different groups of our community getting together this weekend for competition events, hikes, rucks, lunch on the Bay and a backyard bar-b-que to celebrate the end of the Open. Of all of the things we’re grateful for, #1 on our list is the friendships that have been made at Diablo. Those will last a lifetime. Keep sharing your pictures!

THE RESULTS ARE OFFICIAL 
The Quarterfinals Results for Team and Age-Group athletes are finally official! Congratulations to our Añejo Team, Jackson Miller, Kristjahn Boyd, Beth Stankevich and Emily Scott, who qualified for the North American Semi-Finals in Pasadena on Memorial Day Weekend. And, congratulations to Yvonne Howard, who finished in 11th in the world in her age group (60-64) and moves on to the Age-Group Online Semi-Finals, April 28-30.

LET’S GO TO THE SEMIS! 
The Semi-Finals have returned to the West Coast (Pasadena) after a two-year hiatus. Many Diablo members and other local CrossFitters still reminisce about the West Coast Regional Competitions, the predecessor to the Semi-Finals. The Regionals were a more intimate version of the CrossFit Games with many of the same athletes and vendors on site. The Regionals were a weekend festival celebrating CrossFit, the community and especially the sport of fitness. Diablo was always a presence at the Regionals, with individual athletes and teams competing every year.

This year, team Diablo Añejo will be competing with 40 North America West teams trying to qualify for the CrossFit Games. The top 10 teams qualify. Competition begins on Thursday, May 25th and ends on Saturday, May 27th. The competition will be held at the Pasadena Convention Center and promises to be extremely exciting and many of the best individual and teams in the world compete for an invitation to the Games.

Diablo will have a crew of fans on hand to cheer for our athletes. If you’re able to join the fun, you’ll need to purchase a 4-day ticket ($115). As the date gets closer we’ll make arrangements to make sure we’re all sitting close to each other so they can hear our cheers.  Hope you can join us!

DID YOU KNOW?! 
I’m adding this section to my email at the urging of Yvonne. Often, we’ll add new equipment, or new services, or make changes and then fail to communicate to our community. Here’s where you’ll find about about these things…like:

• More Teen Strong – Beginning this week, Teen Strong will be meeting 5x a week, Mon – Fri at 4:30PM! Your teen athlete doesn’t have to come 5x – but, now you have the flexibility to come on different days. Coach Corey wants to see them at least 3 days a week!
• More Kilos – Our friends at Hassle Free Barbell in San Mateo sold us some of their excess Eleiko training plates to use for our Diablo Strong barbell class & club. You’ll find them on the “Kilo” side of the Strong room. 
• Daily Pliability (formerly ROMWOD) is on Sugarwod! – If you’d like to improve your mobility, or just wind down your day with a little meditative stretching, check out the “Romwod” track on Sugarwod. Every day, we publish an awesome video that will take you through a wide range of stretches with scaling and instruction. 
• 20% Off of LSKD Training Apparel. LSKD is an Australian-based fitness apparel company that is quickly becoming very popular with the CrossFit athlete community. They make some really nice gear with high quality material. I LOVE my LSKD hoodie and sweats. Use the code DIABLOCREW20 at checkout to get your 20% savings. 

• Mon: Amrap 17m – 20 DUs, 6 S2OH, 9 Knees to Elbow, 12 Deadlifts #105/155
• Tue: Back Squat / Floor Press. Metcon: 12,9,6,3 – Thrusters & BFBurpees #55/75
• Wed: 5RFT – 6 Strict Pull-ups, 12 Power Snatches, 15/20c Bike
• Thu: Balance & Stability. Metcon: 10 x 30s On/Off – Max Calories Row.
• Fri: Loaded Carry. Metcon: Amrap 8m – 12 DB HSCleans, 12 FR Lunges, 100m DB FCarry.
• Sat: 800m Run, 25 T2B, 50 PPress, 25 T2B, 800m Run
• Sun: 5RFT – 2 WW, 12 Alt Arm KB Swings, 2 WW, 3 Rope Climbs, 12 SDHP (KB)  #35/53

• Article: 4 Science-Backed Habits That Will Keep You Mentally Sharp Into Your 70s – these are mostly obvious, but a very good reminder for all of us. Fortunately, a membership to a CrossFit gym is an easy way to hit all four!
• Article: In Defense of High-Rep Olympic Lifts – A very common criticism of CrossFit from the weightlifting community is that high-repetition Oly lifts may cause injury. My friend, Stephane Rochet, CF-L3 wrote an impressive article in defense of high-rep Oly lifts that undeniably puts an end to any argument on this subject. 
• Article: The Only Reason I Exist Is Because of A Lack of Transparency – the MCU posted a good interview article of Andrew Hiller, who has risen to fame within the CrossFit community over the last year as a result of his very public criticisms of top CrossFit athlete range-of-motion and workout execution issues. While I find some of his material to be click-bait, and his experimentation with TRT irresponsible, I do admit that Andrew’s work has had a positive impact on movement virtuosity within the competitive CrossFit world.
• Book: The Power of Intention – Dr. Wayne Dyer – this was one of my favorite books from my corporate career. Re-listening to several of the best chapters. I remember learning from this book: do good work, keep your vision in mind, and your eyes open for opportunity.

• Sensitive Collar Bone?  The Lift Collar – I love my lift collar for heavy cleans or shoulder-to-overhead!