Year 17: Still Chasing the Cheese, The Cheese Is Always Moving.
“Surround yourself with relentless humans. People who plan in decades, but live in moments. Train like savages, but create like artists. Obsess in work, relax in real life. People who know this is finite, and choose to play infinite games. Find people going up mountains. Climb together.”
— Zach Pogrob
Winter Merch is LIVE!
Bro’s and Broettes, this is the best looking winter gear we’ve had in some time, and, well, in the words fo the Starks “Winter is coming”. So cop some swag and rep the House of Gainz all about town!
https://apparellab.chipply.com/CFIWinter26/?apid=32817530
Anniversary Game Night
Saturday, November 14, 6:30 PM at the gym
CFI turns 17 this month! This year we’re keeping it low-key with a potluck game night for friends and fellowship. Bring a dish to share, a fun game to play, or if you want in on the poker table, bring $20, or $40 for a rebuy, Gorilla Daddy needs to make some cash.. times are hard at Chubbies.
The big celebration returns next year along with our Legacy Leaderboard update, which happens every two years. *Lawd Jesus look at that juicy bicep*
Programming Update
We’re wrapping up the back squat cycle this month, so finish strong! From there, December is a mixed bag of CFI favorites and CrossFit classics, hitting every modality and as many movements as we can before the year wraps up. The next strength cycle kicks off in January. (Strict Press and Deadlifts, anyone?)
Caffeine, Ketones, and Random Gorilla Thoughts
I was talking with a friend recently and something came up that I can’t stop thinking about: the cheese is always moving.
In Who Moved My Cheese?, Dr. Spencer Johnson writes about how change is constant and the ones who thrive are the ones who adapt. I’d take it a step further, our goals never sit still. Every season of life and every new challenge brings new goals.
Surprise, surprise, the Gorilla has a model for this, the two tragedies of life. Oscar Wilde said there are only two tragedies in life: not getting what you want, and getting it. If you miss the goal, you never made it to the top of the mountain. If you hit the goal, it stops driving you. Either way, the cheese moves.
So here’s what those of us who’ve done this a long time eventually figure out: the point isn’t catching the cheese. The point is the chase. And the best tool you have for the chase is you. The better you build yourself, mind and body (and yes, both matter), the better you’ll chase whatever comes next. Catch it and set a new goal, or keep chasing. Either way, you win. What goals are we chasing in 2027? spend the next month thinking of them, and lets put pen to paper in December.
There’s an old African proverb that goes something like this: every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up knowing it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning, a lion wakes up knowing it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve. It doesn’t matter whether you’re the lion or the gazelle. When the sun comes up, you’d better be running.
See you on the Serengeti.
— The Gorilla
L-1 challenge still ongoing:
Guess I’ll just leave this here in case someone wants to play along.
https://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/CFJ_English_Level1_TrainingGuide.pdf