“You don’t know how good you have to be just to suck at the CrossFit games.” – Sean Woodland

Deep Squats (Thoughts)

*Disclaimer: I borrowed HEAVILY from Craig Howard’s email to Diablo CrossFit this week. I don’t feel the need to re-invent the same thing I was already going to tell you.

The CrossFit Games began in 2007 as a backyard-style competition on a dusty ranch in Aromas, CA. “The Ranch”, as it came to be known, is about 15 miles South of Gilroy on the 101. With just a few dozen athletes and a handful of spectators, the early Games were raw, unpolished, and rooted in the belief that elite fitness could—and should—be tested in unexpected ways (versus a swim-bike-run race). In following years, CrossFit affiliates were invited to send their best individual athletes and 6-person teams to participate. These first few Games were incredibly special since they were populated with those fortunate enough to be exposed to CrossFit in the early days of its existence. Note: Yours truly finished 85th in 2008 in the dust bowl photo above! (One merely had to register to compete.)

What happened next was not surprising: the grassroots competition quickly grew in scale, professionalism and investment. Qualification stages were added in order to manage participation. In 2010, The Games moved to the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, drawing thousands of fans and gaining a live broadcast on ESPN. The format evolved with structured qualification through the CrossFit Open, Regionals, and eventually the introduction of Sanctionals, and then Semifinals, to accommodate the sport’s very rapid global growth.

Over the years, the progression in fitness performance has been staggering. Early champions like James Fitzgerald, Jolie Gentry, Jason Khalipa and Caity Matter set impressive benchmarks for their time, but the Games athletes of the last five years – like Tia-Clair Toomey, James Sprague and Jeff Adler —represent an entirely new level of strength, speed, and skill. Workouts that once defined the peak of elite CrossFit performance are now routine in affiliate gyms around the world. Athlete performances today are mind-blowing for most of us. The demand for mastery across a wide range of modalities—Olympic lifting, gymnastics, endurance, and strongman—has created athletes who are truly the most well-rounded in the world. The CrossFit Games have also become a global spectacle, with multi-day coverage, packed stadiums, and millions watching online.

This year the CrossFit Games are in Albany, New York. The 2025 competition field is stacked with some amazing athletes, including many new up & comers. Bay Area news reporter and CrossFitter, Amanda Hari, has a VLog on YouTube on the big storylines at the 2025 Games. She’ll also be at the Games doing a daily review of the events. The CrossFit Games has produced a YouTube series, “Road To The Games”, interviewing and hanging out with many of the CrossFit Games athletes around the world. These videos are outstanding and will get you fired up to cheer for ALL of the athletes.

The 2025 CrossFit Games begin early on Friday, August 1st and finish on the 3rd. Follow the action at www.games.crossfit.com and/or by downloading the CrossFit Games App in your phone/device app store.

See you in class. Tim

What’s Going On?

Endless Summer Teen Class

Who: Boys and Girls aged 12-17 Dates: June 10th – July 31st When: Tuesdays/Thursdays at 4pm *Email [email protected] to sign up*

Individualized Skill Training

If The Summer has you feeling motivated to learn a new skill or to refine one, Coach Rebecca has new availability to help. Contact her and set up a single session or regular appointment at [email protected]

CFPA Thorne Supplement Store

Overheard in Class: “The strength of the pack is the wolf. And the strength of the wolf is the pack.”

Timfluencing

Fittest On Earth: A Decade of Fitness

Forty of the world’s top athletes battle through 15 events and five grueling days of competition for the title of Fittest on Earth. Who will rise to the top and prove the fittest?

Tim’s Takeaway: Watch the trailer. Then click the title and you can watch the CrossFit Games documentary from the 2016 Games on Amazon Prime. There are lots of Games docs to select from, but this is one of the better ones, in my opinion. It has the rise of Mat Fraser and Tia Toomey. It’s also the last time the Games were in California before moving to Wisconsin, Texas and now NY. Let me know what you think.

Thank you for your support.

I look forward to what we will do together.