On Monday the 29th, Diablo hosted our annual Memorial Day ‘Murph workout to honor those who sacrificed their lives in service to our Country. This was our largest ‘Murph turnout in our history: 143 members participated! Thank you to our community and most of all, thank you to those who gave their lives so that we can do this. (Pic credit: Kat P.)
“No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.” Paul Carus
BROKEN SCIENCE: I am a bit of a nerd. I enjoy history and science and I love probability and statistics. As I’ve said in the past, that’s why I love CrossFit: the results are measurable and repeatable. If we accept that the Fran workout is a good measurement for one domain of fitness (which is defined as increased work capacity across broad time and modal domains) then, we select a group of members improved their Fran times by 20% after 6 months of doing CrossFit, we can hypothesize that doing CrossFit improves your fitness in one domain. But, to prove that CrossFit improves your fitness, we must repeat the test with another randomly selected group. Unfortunately, a lot of published science has not been following established scientific protocols: observation, measurement, prediction and validation. Consensus science and “peer-reviewed” research has become de rigueur, primarily as a result of the massive pressure by institutions on scientists to publish often and as a result of massive funding increases from corporate and other private interests.
This weekend I attended the Broken Science conference at Dave Castro’s Ranch in Aromas to hear from Greg Glassman about his new initiative to bring attention to the dangerous state of modern science. Consensus studies and peer-reviewed research are being produced at excessive volumes according to Glassman, much of which cannot be replicated or validated – thus are “broken” or invalid. The most common issue with most published scientific papers today is the inability to reproduce the results due to flawed processes, research bias or just plain fraud. Additionally, with the incredible volume of research publicly reported, results are often misinterpreted or misrepresented. And, unfortunately, social media exacerbates the problem and has even influenced public policy. You don’t have to look much further than the research (or surprisingly, lack thereof) on masks during the pandemic.
So what does this mean for you or me? I think we need to be skeptical of any new research concerning our health, especially drugs. Read reports carefully. Ask questions. Look for proof via randomized control trials with viable sample sizes. Examine both sides of the equation: ie, if 50% of subjects experienced an improvement while taking a drug, what happened to the other 50%? And were the results duplicated with randomly selected participants? A probability of success infers a probability of failure.
And remember, correlation does not equal causation.
NO MORE FBB AT NIGHT! Due to rapidly declining attendance in our FBB class on Tue & Fri evening, we are changing the class to CrossFit. Beginning this week, on Tue at 7:30P and Fri at 6:30P we’ll have another CrossFit class for our members who like to come in the eventing.
PRISON FIT – Matt Shindeldecker owns CrossFit Crave in Celina Ohio. For the last 4 years he has run the most successful juvenile probation rehabilitation program in the state’s history. Now, the State of Ohio is taking the next step and launching a CrossFit Affiliate IN a State Prison! We’ll be talking to Matt about his incredible programs and how affiliates can get started in their local Counties. Watch it live on YouTube tomorrow!
TWEET OF THE WEEK: The ONLY way that CrossFit can reach high schoolers and junior high schoolers en masse is via CrossFit affiliates and PE Teachers. A 3-month scholarship for one teacher at every US affiliate 4x a year would deliver CrossFit to 20-30,000 PE Teachers a year.
THE WEEK AHEAD:
June Calendar & Newsletter
June Focus: Front Squat, Power Clean, Ring Dips & Chin Ups,
Mon: Ring Dips & Chin Ups. Metcon: E2MOMx5 – 200m Run, then Amrap Burpee BMU
Tue: Tempo Cleans & HPC. Metcon: 5RFT – 9 Thrusters, 12 SDHP, 15 Lateral Bar Hopovers
Wed: 3RFT (cap 17m) – 6 WW, 12 T2B, 18 Goblet Lunges, 24/28c Bike
Thu: Amrap 22m – 250/300m Row, 12 DB Deficit Push-ups, 12DB Deadlift, 12 DB PP, 1m Rest
Fri: Front Squat. Metcon: Amrap 6m – 10WB & 30Dus
Sat: 4RFT: 6 HPS, 9 C&J, 12 BFBurpee, 15 Pull Ups #75/115
Sun: Amrap 17m – 15/20c Air Bike, 30 Abmat Situps, 20 Lunges, 200m SB Carry
CRAIG’S LIST:
IG: Most Inspirational Moment At The North America East Regional.
Podcast: Sevan Podcast: The Dave Castro | Not a Pop SEAL #923 – If you want to get to know Dave Castro and what he does at CrossFit (and has done for CF) – this is a fantastic and very funny episode. Dave and Sevan have contradicting personalities that make for very lively interchanges and some funny moments. Great one.
Podcast: Huberman Lab: Adderall, Stimulants & Modafinil for ADHD: Short- & Long-Term Effects – This podcast should be REQUIRED listening for anyone diagnosed with ADHD and/or taking an ADHD drug (especially parents of children with ADHD). This is an excellent explanation of the primary medications for ADHD – how they work, the positive and negative affects and more. It is outstanding – and the first time I’ve heard a detailed explanation of the chemistry and physical & mental impact of the drugs.
Yvonne’s Recent Readings:
Make it an awesome week!
Craig
