Diablo’s 54yo Chris McCrary “sends it” Captain America style at the Sugarbowl Pond Skim. Click for the video! |
Either I will find a way, or I will make one.” Philip Sidney
TWISI (The Way I See It): Standards matter. With the increase in video verifications for workouts in the CrossFit Games Open & Quarterfinals, some appalling and embarrassing performances have been made public. While I am saddened & disappointed, I am not surprised. The Open & Quarterfinals are large competitions with tens of thousands of athletes competing, many from their garages or home gyms. There are bound to be varied interpretations of the rules and adherence to standards.
I do not want athletes to be shamed or humiliated, but I am glad that these issues are coming to light. First, many athletes adhere to the standards set by CrossFit and the CrossFit Games. If they are beat by an athlete with improper range of motion, it is not a fair competition. Next, standards matter for the overall integrity & reputation of the sport of fitness. If the general public sees that CrossFit athletes do not follow movement standards, the assumption can be made that CrossFit does not care about movement standards – and THAT is a violation of CrossFit’s core tenet of virtuosity of movement.
So, the way I see it is that we need to be vigilant of ourselves and others. I strongly believe that most athletes guilty of movement violations simply are NOT aware. I’ve been there and done that. It is up to judges, coaches and peers to make CrossFit athletes aware of their movement issues – especially before they end up in a video highlight.
And to ALL CrossFit athletes: listen to your coaches and, if in doubt, simply video your workouts! Let’s keep CrossFit legit.
MASTERS ROCK! 9 Diablo Masters Athletes (plus 2 Occupational Athletes) competed in the CrossFit Games Quarterfinals this last weekend – 5 tough workouts to be completed in 3 days. Our classes yielded space in the main gym for rope climbs, shuttle runs, lunges, overhead squats and muscle ups (thank you!). It was organized, chaotic, high-energy fun – and an inspiration for our community.
The preliminary results are impressive. Here are their new, worldwide rankings!:
- Taylor Madge (16-17) – 151st in the world
- Brittany Benedetto (40-44) – 158th / 21st Teacher!
- Randi Mahar (40-44) – 243rd
- Kim Hilen (50-54) – 65th
- Melissa Chatterton (50-54) – 66th
- Davida Jones (50-54) – 212th
- Mark Money (54-54) – 304th (note: Mark missed a score entry for #4!)
- Gwen Holtan (55-59) – 92
- Yvonne Howard (60-64) – 5th
- Kendra Watters (Medical Professional) – 34th
- Sean Reifel (Police) – 42nd
Shout Out & Congratulations to Yvonne Howard, on qualifying for the next stage of the CrossFit Games: The Semifinals (June 2)!!
TWEET OF THE WEEK: “I’m afraid that many people would accept communism if they could still have access to their phones, the internet, alcohol, meds and Netflix.”
CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK: 1 Walk A Day. Take 1 walk a day, at least 20 minutes. By the way, no one cares what you’re wearing or how fast you’re moving.
WORKOUTS – April Focus: Base & Balance (Newsletter / Calendar)
The week ahead:
- Mon: Back Squat 6×2. Metcon: Amrap 6m – 3,6,9… High Wall Balls +15/20c Row
- Tue: Base & Balance work. Metcon: Amrap 7m – 8 Burpee Box Jump Over + 4 Wall Walks
- Wed: ‘Helen”!! 3rds: 400m Run, 21KBs, 12 Pull Ups. Core Work.
- Thu: 5 Rnds for Time: 8 S2OH, 20 Pistols, 35 DUs #105/155
- Fri: Deadlift 6×2. Metcon: Amrap 9m – 6 DB FRack Lunges, 10 DB Power Cleans, 12 Deficit Pushups #35/50
- Sat: For Time: Bike+HPSnatch+OHS.
- Bike: 20/25c, 15/20c, 12/18c, 9/12c + HPSnatch: 21, 15, 9 + OHS: 15, 12, 9. #65/95
- Sun: 1000m Row, 15 HSPU, 40 Toes-to-Bar, 15 HSPU, 1000m Row
CRAIG’S LIST (Stuff I’m Reading, Hearing, Watching, Using or Buying)
Tony Hawk: Until The Wheels Fall Off – HBO. AMAZING documentary. Tony Hawk has had an incredibly long career and is considered by many as the best ever – and he’s still going at 53. Most of this skate crew (mid to late 50’s) still skate very hard and some compete! Really cool documentary.
What Happens to Used Hotel Soap? Good Things. “The surprising afterlife of used hotel soap.” – The Hustle. In the US, Hotels go through 3.3 million bars of soap a day – most of them barely used and destined for landfills. Sean Seipler figured a way to get the soap in to the hands of children in need.
Cold Ain’t So Hot. Is cold exposure beneficial for metabolic health? Peter Attia, MD. – This article bummed me out, but I’ve kinda suspected this. Dr. Attia conducted some personal experiments on himself to see if activating brown fat through cold exposure therapy offers metabolic benefits. The results were negligible. However, he did not delve into cardiovascular effects, which are claimed to be plentiful (with regular weekly or daily cold exposure).
Sevan with Khan – Podcast. Sevan will definitely ask the blunt questions and relate very awkward experiences, which makes his podcasts engaging and often hilarious. But, he also likes to delve deep into meaningful experiences of his guests which create intriguing conversations and often, very moving and inspiring content. In this episode, Sevan talks with Khan Porter, a notable CrossFit Games athlete from Australia who recently moved to Iceland to compete on the CF Reykjavík Team with Annie Thorisdottir. In the podcast, Khan talks intensely about his past & current mental health, including his ADHD diagnosis and previous flirtation with suicidal thoughts. This is a powerful conversation especially given Khan’s position & success as a CrossFit athlete.
Make it an awesome week!
Craig
