The Pandemic was tough on our fitness & nutrition – including coaches. Coach Rick Nolley decided to do something about it and reached out to our nutrition coaching partner: Falcon Nutrition. The results speak for themselves!
“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
TWISI (The Way I See It) – In the fight together. This weekend I spent two days hanging out at the CrossFit Ranch with the Street Parking group at their Fitness Freedom event – watching workouts and joining in on the early morning Ruck . It was a lot of fun and reminiscent of CrossFit in the early days: affiliates & community coming together to celebrate a common love for CrossFit & fitness. Street Parking is an online training program for at-home / garage workouts. It it a simplified version of CrossFit, relying mostly on bodyweight movements and dumbbells. The founders, Miranda and Julian Alcarez are former CrossFit Games athletes and coaches. Miranda was a CrossFit Flowmaster and a longtime coach at NorCal CrossFit in Santa Clara. She created Street Parking to appeal to the busy, working or, stay-at-home parent or professional who didn’t have the time or desire to make it to the gym. SP periodically hosts get-togethers to bring their community together to share their passion and meet other in-person. More than 200 people from around the country came to the Fitness Freedom event. Dave Castro, hosted the event at his family ranch in Aromas. He and Miranda have been friends for years.
So why support Street Parking, a competitor of CrossFit? Here’s why: Miranda and Julian are friends with a shared passion for CrossFit and changing peoples lives through fitness. There are MILLIONS of people around the world who are in need of daily exercise but don’t have an outlet. The way I see it (and Miranda too) is that we are in this together! SP has more than 30,000 online clients because they have created something very special that appeals to their clients: simple-to-start, functional fitness workouts for varied abilities. All you need is a pair of dumbells – heck, you don’t really need that to get started. They creating a love for fitness and changing lives along the way – kinda like us. Finally, during the middle of the pandemic, Diablo launched a GoFundMe to help CrossFit affiliates in dire need due to shutdowns and restrictions. Street Parking, Miranda and Julian, eagerly donated $5000 to help and to show support for affiliate owners, their partners in the fight for health.
If you’re looking for cool, at-home workouts to supplement your fitness – or, maybe, to help convince your family or friends to get started, go check out Street Parking.
FLAT FEET – Sometimes you have to do the opposite: flat shoes. I spent the first 4-5 months of 2021 nursing a bad case of plantar fasciitis. In the end, resting my foot prevailed – no running, mobility work (shoulda done more) and… barefoot walking prevailed. Diablo member Greg Spiker is a “barefoot” runner – all of his mileage is done on Luna Sandals. He strongly encouraged me to spend time walking barefoot and, to switch to a “no-drop” running shoe, like the Altra Superior. I was shocked when I started walking barefoot for short periods of time every day and my PF improved dramatically. A little researched revealed that barefoot walking improves foot strength and allows the foot to spread to its natural shape. And, when I graduated to running sandals (Bedrock), my foot strength improved even more – with no hint of PF. Give it a shot – but, START gradually. You’ll need to build up your foot strength and adjust your stride to accommodate a flat shoe or zero drop.
PRIVATE COACHING IS A SECRET WEAPON! – Double Unders, Bar Muscle Ups, Kipping Pull Ups, Butterfly Pull Ups, Handstand Walks, Handstand Push Ups, Ring Muscle Ups… all of these are high-skill movements that require significant practice in addition to fitness. However, practice can be a fool’s errand if you’re lacking proper technique or inefficient drills. If you want to improve or master any of the above skills, I strongly encourage you to spend an hour or two with a coach, one-on-one, to break down the movement, address your skills, and learn progressions & drills to get you to your goal. Just talk to a Diablo Coach or, purchase a PT session or 10 pack online and stop by the front desk to schedule your next session. It’s time to get better.
UNBELIEVABLE WORK CAPACITY – Royce Dunn, Last Chance Qualifier Workout #1. We’ve almost become numb to the impressive performances of the top CrossFit athletes over the last few years. Then, along comes Royce Dunn’s performance in the Last Chance Online Qualifier Workout #1: In 2 Mins complete: 20 Thrusters at #185, then max reps Bar Muscle Ups in the remaining time. Rest 2m then in the next 2m complete 20 Bar Muscle Ups and max Rep Thrusters. Royce won the event by going unbroken on his first set of #185 thrusters and 24 BMUs! Absolutely amazing.
TWEET OF THE WEEK: “The frequency of double-under misses is directly correlated to the volume of your internal dialogue.”
WORKOUTS – Progressive Programming Calendar July. PRsAllDay Newsletter.
- Primary Focus: Squat Clean Complex
- Secondary: Jerks
- Skill: Strict Chin Ups,Rig Dips, DUs
- Mon: “1776” – E4MOM x7: 1 Rope Climb, 7 DBs Devil Press, 7 Box Jump Over, 6 alt. Pistols
- Tue: Tall Jerks. Metcon: 10,9,8..1 – KB Swings & Chest-to-bar Pullups
- Wed: 4RFT- 500m Row, 60s rest, 200/250m Row, 30s rest, 100/150m Row, 2m Rest / 200m Walk
- Thu: Strict Chin Ups. Metcon: Amrap 9m – 6 Burpee BMUs, 12 FC Lunges #35/050
- Fri: Squat Clean Complex. Metcon: Amrap 6m – 12 DL, 6 Thrusters #65/95
- Sat: 5RFT – 5 Ring MU, 10HPSnatch, 200m Run. #75/115
- Sun: Amrap 15m: 4 HSPU, 8 DB PCleans, 12 FC Box Step-Ups, 25/30c Bike
CRAIG’S LIST (Stuff I’m Reading, Hearing, Watching, Using or Buying)
- American Heart Association Checklist Now Includes “Sleep” – Ugh. I gotta work on this one! (My daughter, however, is crushing it). “The ideal level is 7-9 hours daily for adults. Ideal daily sleep ranges for children are 10-16 hours per 24 hours for ages 5 and younger; 9-12 hours for ages 6-12 years; and 8-10 hours for ages 13-18 years.”
- WOD Science on IG.- This is an awesome Instagram page with killer data on CrossFit workout science, strength & fitness, and nutrition data. Follow them!
- Found My Fitness #76 – Rhonda Patrick PhD with Dr. Stuart Phillips: Protein Breakdown Show! Daily protein needs by age, plant proteins & muscle growth, protein timing, protein for hypertrophy, exercise requirements and more.
Unfortunately for my wallet, GoRuck had a nice booth at the Fitness Freedom event this weekend. Here’s what I walked away with:
- Go Ruck Back Pack Plate Carrier – I got this for Yvonne for her Games prep. It is badass. If you like to Ruck, this thing is awesome because it keeps the weight in tight against your upper back.
- Go Ruck Kettle Bell Sandbags – I purchased a #35 & 53 Kettlebell sandbag to use for travel to the Games. What a killer idea – and so well made.
- Go Ruck Ballistic Trainers – I’m a sucker for black gum shoes! My favs are the Reebok Nano 6’s, no longer made. The Ballistic Trainers are a LOT like the Nano 6’s: sturdy, flat and a wide toe box.
Make it an awesome week!
Craig
