Judge Jamie Lee and Assistant Judge Anderson watch for depth during the Team Quarterfinals workout.
“You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.” Zig Ziglar
QUARTERFINALS QUICK TAKE
It was a fast & furious 6 days of competition as the Diablo Añejo Team & our Masters athletes completed their workouts back-to-back, Wed – Fri (Team) and Fri – Sun (Masters). There was no time, nor energy for re-dos. The workouts were brutal. They exposed weaknesses and challenged a wide range of fitness. All of the athletes were exposed to multiple heavy lifts, more complex gymnastics, strict handstand push-ups or handstand walks.
The Good The Bad & The Ugly:
The Good: The QF Competition successfully advanced the fittest athletes to the next level of competition. The workouts were diverse, challenging, and fun. They did not favor the specialists. Weaknesses were exposed. The 3 day format forced athletes to complete the workouts one time only – with multiple workouts per day. The leaderboard updated every day at 1PM which made the competition more dynamic and fun.
The Bad: The QF Competition includes thousands of athletes, 10% of all Masters and 25% of individuals and teams. However, the some of the individual and masters workouts were structured to limit participation. Individual #1 began with the heaviest front squat in the first round and got lighter in later sets. Thus, some athletes had to post “0” or no score for the first workout! By simply reversing the rep scheme, the workout would have allowed for more participation, and more scores on the board without affecting the overall results. Likewise, the Age Group workout 2, began with wall facing or strict hspu, a limiter for many masters athletes who had to post a “0”.. including me. By simply beginning with a different movement, more Masters could have avoided a “0” with no change to final results – thereby increasing overall participation.
The Ugly: Video requirements for the workouts created a chaotic, stress-filled environment that made it less fun for spectators and athletes. I respect and understand the need. But, athletes struggled to find the ideal recoding spot that showed the workout area (shuttle runs!?) and the clock. Starting multiple athletes at the same time proved especially challenging and resulted in a few restarts. I don’t know what the solution is for this one. We got them done, and we’ll likely develop better video strategies for everyone in the future. Maybe we just need more practice & patience.
My Experience: While I thought that the QF workouts would be “just like doing class”, as soon as the workouts were announced on Friday, my anxiety levels started to rise. I went from “nbd” to “omg” instantaneously. Just before the start of the final workout Melissa Chatterton and I laughed about “comp anxiety” vs. “class confidence” – if we were in class, we’d be pumped up to start the workout, and planning on unbroken sets and Sugarwod PRs. But, since it was a “Quarterfinal” workout, we were anxious, filled with dread and hoping we didn’t embarrass ourselves. And that is why competition makes us better. We overcome our anxiety and fears and do very hard work to accomplish a goal.
I took my first “0” ever in a CrossFit Competition – I do not have strict handstand push-ups. I rebounded the next day and finish in 43rd place, 13 spots out from qualifying for the Semi-Finals. My weakness was exposed. That is CrossFit. I’ll work on them and hope to do better next year. Overall, I’m really pleased – I’m a class-fitter. My Diablo family (and my wife) are the ones that challenge me to do better every day in class and that almost got me to Semis!
Thank You: to everyone in our community who came out to watch, cheer, judge and help support our competition athletes, 4 Team members and 8 Masters. It made the experience so much better for all of us.
Finally, Congratulations!: To my wife, Yvonne, who finished 12th in the World (60-64) and will be moving on to the online Semi-Finals in May! And, to our Diablo Añejo Team: Jackson, Kristjahn, Beth and Emily, qualified for Semi Finals and will be headed to Pasadena over Memorial Day Weekend.
MORE STRONGER
- New Class Times: Tue (Strong Room) & Thu (Main Gym!!) at 4:30PM!
- 5 Day Programming: includes 3 class programs (Tue, Thu, Sat) and two Open Gym training sessions (email info@diablocrossfit.com to subscribe)
- Diablo Strong Oly Team (see Coaches Corey, Amy or Carrie)
TWEET OF THE WEEK: “AI is a lot like my teenage daughter: it consumes & regurgitates large volumes of internet data but is not yet self-aware.“
THE WEEK AHEAD:
April Focus: (1) Back Squat + DB Floor Press, (2) Loaded Carry, (Skill) Balance & Stability
PRsAll Day April Calendar & Newsletter
- Mon: Balance & Stability. Metcon – Amrap 12m: 5 C&J, 200m Run, 10 T2B #95/135
- Tue: Back Squat & Floor Press. Metcon: Amrap 7m – Airbike & HR Push Ups 2/2, 4/4, 6/6…
- Wed: E4MOM (w/1m rest) Buy In: 1 Rope Climb, then Amrap – 15 PSnatch & 40 DUs #75/115
- Thu: FT – Odd Object Squats & Carries
- Fri: Loaded Carry. Metcon: 3RFT – 12 OH KB Swings + 6 Burpee Bar MUps
- Sat: Amrap 16m – 8 WB, 12 BJ, 8 WB, 12 DB SPress #35/50
- Sun: 5RFT – 6 PCleans, 12/18 Air Bike Ca, 12 Pull Ups
CRAIG’S LIST:
- Article/Research: Peter Attia, MD: Putting Out The Fire On The Gas Stove Debate – This a very good, object review of the research report that lead to the news reports and legislative debate (correlation without causation). However, the emmissions from gas stoves in high quantity are harmful but remediated with a stove hood.. common on almost all gas stoves.
- YouTube: Amanda Hari: Diablo’s Team Quarterfinals – Can They Qualify?! Diablo member Amanda Hari is a Bay Area news journalist and popular VLogger. I really enjoy her objective take on all things CrossFit – she’s not a “clickbait” journalist. It’s real-life perspective from an avid CrossFitter who’s also a damn good video editor and even better speaker.
- Podcast: PRsAllDay #27: Jason Falcon – Why Members Prefer Remote Nutrition Coaching – Loved having Jason on our podcast to talk nutrition. Jason coaches at least 20 of our members on nutrition for performance and health. We share some great discussion on using a remote coach vs. in-house. We also get into the importance of “steps” and NEAT.
- Article/ Research: Having an alcoholic drink or two per day is not healthier than abstaining, study shows – This is depressing, but reality: drinking alcohol, in any quantity is unhealthy. Think: smoking. A little is not better than not at all. Huberman described the effects of alcohol on the body in detail several months ago in his podcast – if you missed it.
- Article: Elon Musk & Other Tech Leaders call for pause on ‘dangerous race’ to make AI as advanced as humans. This makes me scared.
- IMPORTANT PODCAST: Joe Rogan #1963 – Michael Shellenberger – Shellenberger is a best-selling author talks about the “Twitter Files” – emails and other communications at Twitter that led to unprecedented censorships and delisting of scientists, Doctors, journalists, media personalities, and other experts during the last Presidential election and the pandemic – directed by the FBI, CIA and Whitehouse. Journalists & Authors, Shellenberger, Bari Weiss, Lee Fang and Alex Berensen were granted access to the data and were blown away by the direct violations of the First Amendment in order to control media narratives. This is an important discussion because it serves as a dire warning as to how our Government can easily manipulate media to influence our Nation – and undermine our free press – and the First Amendment.
Make it an awesome week!
Craig
