“I believe that every human mind feels pleasure in doing good to another.”- Thomas Jefferson
PROFILE
CrossFit Accolade and Commonwealth CrossFit Celebrate Black History Month With Hero WOD “Oleta”
CrossFit Accolade and Commonwealth CrossFit, two affiliates in the suburbs of Boston, celebrated Black History Month in a special way. Its members completed a new Hero WOD, Oleta, while supporting an initiative from The Phoenix.
One big thing: Larry Thomas, the owner of CrossFit Accolade and Commonwealth Crossfit, designed Oleta with Harry Palley of HWPO. This workout is dedicated to U.S. Army Major Oleta Crain (September 8, 1913 – November 7, 2007).
Major Crain enlisted in the United States Army during World War II and made a lasting impact on the service. She was one of only three Black women in a group of 300 that entered officer training during WWII. She went on to become the only Black female officer to complete officer training and be retained after the end of the war.
Major Crain had to endure segregation after enlisting in the U.S. Army, to the point that she stayed in a separate room instead of in the barracks with other women. However, she used her position to initiate change and ensure that her troops were treated fairly.
Major Crain remained on active duty until 1963, and she completed several tours of duty around the world. Once she left the military, she began working for the U.S. Department of Labor, where she advocated for other women’s employment rights until her retirement in 1998. She was later inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame.
The WOD: Oleta is a workout that must be completed for time. It features 10 rounds of nine hang power cleans (95/65), eight push press (95/65), and 13 air squats.
The rep numbers represent Major Crain’s birth date. There are 30 total reps per round, so completing 10 rounds equals 300 reps. This represents the 300 female officers.
From Larry Thomas: “The Phoenix has a Black Alliance employee resource group, which I’m a part of. One of that group’s recent initiatives was creating a social media campaign for Black History Month to highlight changemakers in the black community. On a planning call, someone suggested doing a workout as a way to bring the community in on the effort. My eyes lit up!
“As someone who programs for their affiliates, I thought this was a great idea and something I could use my advantage to contribute to this campaign. I took it a step further and thought, ‘What if we could memorialize this workout by making it a hero WOD and tying the greater CrossFit community in?’ We don’t have many black hero WODs as it stands and this could be a unique opportunity.”
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The end is near: The final week of the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Open is upon us with 23.3, and Morning Chalk Up will have you covered, so keep an eye on our Instagram, competition hub and newsletter.
Athlete signing: Dani Speegle is the latest in a now long line of CrossFit elites to ink a deal with TYR.
Local love: Great story in the Tribune Interactive about CrossFit Righteous opening in Leeds, Alabama and how they hope to make the local community fitter and healthier.
Interesting: A new study has found that exercise is more helpful in managing mental health than medication.
Also interesting: Another study has found that just 20 minutes of moderate exercise a day can decrease someone’s chances of being hospitalized.
LIFESTYLE
MEMBER EXCLUSIVE
Why You Can't Out-Train a Bad Diet
How often do you justify poor nutrition choices? This morning’s WOD was intense, so you add a muffin to your morning coffee order. Work was stressful, so an afternoon chocolate break is much needed. You get takeout because friends are in town, and finish your child’s dessert so it doesn’t go to waste. But training was extra hard this week, so Saturday is a “cheat day”.
While no food is off limits in a healthy balanced diet, the miserable truth is that it’s almost impossible to achieve our fitness goals with a poor diet. No matter if we’re training for weight loss, muscle gain or performance goals, our diet should support our training; our training shouldn’t support our poor diet.
South Korea’s Carlos Albaledejo has Sights on 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games
Carlos Albaledejo’s life after high school could have gone in a much different direction had it not been for sports and the people who helped give him a sense of purpose.
As a youngster, his parents’ divorce had hit hard. The son of a Puerto Rican father and South Korean mother, he grew up in a military installation in South Korea and was close to his dad.
He admitted to being unsure of himself as a youngster, lacking confidence and having minimal interest in school. He was also hanging around with the wrong crowd.
Then in high school, sports took on new meaning, thanks to guidance and inspiration from a handful of teachers and coaches.
“I was unsure,” said Albaladejo when asked what he was like before discovering sports. “I was always playing sports. But previously, we would pay to use (sports) services. Whereas when you are in high school, you are trying out to join a team. It’s a different sense of validation, where you’re paying to play than making it to play.
“Before high school I always felt like I was a troubled kid, I was always in trouble. I didn’t have much purpose, so I wasn’t interested in school, I wasn’t really sure. I still had a lot of time but I was kind of worried if I was able to actually finish high school.
“But having sports, and having coaches and teachers around me, kind of validated my talents, so to speak. It’s what really kept me going in school, kept me in school and really pushed me to really excel in school.
“I always really interested in sports but never sure I was good at it until I got into high school and tried out and made it onto the football team.”
Albaladejo credits Tony Alvarado, football coach and mentor; Christine Vega, strength and conditioning coach and mentor; and coach Brian Swenty with giving him the confidence and guidance that put him on a fitness and sporting path that he continues to walk to this day.
Join Barbells for Bullies in Sit-Ups for Pups, starting March 1st. All through the month of March accumulate as many sit-ups as possible with your besties at the gym to raise awareness for shelter dogs!
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