Morning Chalk Up | The Fittest News

Start your morning with a fresh cup of fitness.

Wednesday, April 25

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is fueled by Red H Nutrition. Do you want to add 20 pounds to your squat? How about shave 30 seconds off your 500m row time? If you said YES, then don’t even think about doing your next WOD without Red H Nutrition’s Pre-Workout Formula-H™! You can grab your samples for only 99¢ shipping here!

You can also shop Red H Nutrition’s complete supplement systems at REDHSHOP.COM and save 25% with code “CHALKUP”.

25 days until Regionals starts.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Stop waking up like an accident, what do you WANT. And then once you find out what you want spend the rest of your natural life waking up and going after it.” — Eric Thomas

+ Send us your favorite quote.

ALCOHOL, THE SECRET SABOTAGER TO YOUR FITNESS.

The story.

According to a study published in Health Psychology, the days we sweat, we’re more likely to swig. Researchers asked 150 adults to record their physical activity and alcohol consumption, and found on the days participants exercised, they tended to drink more booze, too. Why?

Researchers hypothesize it’s because people subconsciously use booze to reward themselves for exercise. “I did Murph, I earned this margarita!”. “Bring on the tequila shots, I PR’ed my snatch”. Another possibility: we tend to work out with friends, and then continue socializing with the Fit Fam over drinks.

OK, guilty. Tell me more.

Alcohol tinkers with our hormones and inflammatory response to exercise, so if we start sipping a cold one before properly refueling, our body doesn’t prioritize repairing those muscles, and instead prioritizes metabolizing the alcohol (even if it’s only one beer or glass of pinot noir), explains Kim Larson, spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

So hightailing it to your friend Shelley’s going away party after a workout and throwing back one or two may means the muscles you just worked might not repair and grow back stronger.

Anything else?

Yep. There’s the whole dehydrating effect of alcohol. If “dehydrate to rehydrate” is your fitness mantra, you may want to stick to something a little more, ahem backed by science. Because nothing screams dehydration quite like the combo of CrossFit, which makes you sweat, and alcohol which acts as a diuretic, says Brad Schoenfeld, Assistant Professor of Exercise Science at Lehman College in New York. Fun fact: for every gram of alcohol you suck down, you pump out 10 milliliters of urine, which is about 9.5 ounces for two beers.

So if you’re going to drink: limit the amount, make sure you’re drinking lots of H20, and chow down on some macros first, says Larson. We’re not saying that one or two boozy nights will be detrimental to your health (though they may make you feel a bit out of whack the next day), but over time if you sweat then swig, your performance will probably pay.

COFFEE BREAK CONVERSATIONS

What to tell your friend who’s catching a late season cold…

You didn’t get that from working out. New research overturns a myth that has persisted for nearly four decades, that strenuous exercise weakens your immune system. According to the from the Department for Health at the University of Bath, strenuous exercise actually benefits your immune system instead of the opposite. It only took scientists four decades to correct the record so by 2057 they should have gotten around to reexamining whether CrossFitters who don’t take rest after two consecutive days risk getting sick.

THINGS TO…

WATCH: The Comeback

Ep. 2 in this two-part WAG documentary following Camille Leblanc-Bazinet’s comeback from shoulder surgery takes you through the long and tough challenges of rehabilitation and recovery.

CAMI IS BACK.

KNOW: 9 Things That Can Happen To Your Body When You Give Up Sugar

From your skin to your weight, your mental health and more, cutting out sugar can lead to some big improvements.

JUST CUT IT OUT.

EAT: Cauliflower Grilled Cheese

This healthyier twist on the classic grilled cheese looks absolutely scrumptious and is way better for you (and the kiddos).

GRILLED CHEESE PLEASE.

Today’s edition of the Morning Chalk Up is fueled by

CHALK UP COMMUNITY

FUTURE OLYMPIAN — Ten-year-old Brooklyn Sittner from Billings CrossFit is already lifting a combined total of 74kg/162 pounds and is setting her sights on making the Olympics.

CHALK UP IN 2 MINUTES (a highlight reel around social media of CrossFit pros and average joes)

Couples workout goals • Flashback: Sara Sigmundsdottir used to be a brunette • Jessica Richenbacher is deadlifting and slamming bars at 13-months-old • FUN FACT: Regionals invitations have been sent out all the way down to 50th place for West Regional women.

…and this guy didn’t have a gym so he did a muscle-up on a lamp post.

FURTHER READING: “I’m a Vegan CrossFitter, and This Is What I Eat in a Day” — “I am proof that not all CrossFitters are Paleo and vegans can absolutely thrive and crush their WODS! I’m living proof. I’ve successfully been eating plant-based for the entire (almost) two years that I’ve been doing CrossFit, and I have the energy, the endurance, and the muscle gains to prove it”…continue reading.

— BTW, the Fittest Man in the Netherlands is a vegan.

CHALK UP READS

“Finding Balance” by Joshua Littauer, CrossFit Invictus

Have you ever been stand-up paddle boarding? Or gone out for spin in a canoe, kayak or any other small boat? What is the first thing you notice? It’s not steady. Right? You have to find the middle to get balanced and sometimes that’s not an easy task. There are hundreds of examples of this principle: tightrope walking, skiing, skateboarding, slacklining, cycling, and the list goes on. The point is, each of these things requires balance – no different than life.

Balance is one of those things that is hard to get and even harder to hold on to. Balance takes constant adjustment and readjustment over the course of life and has many ebbs and flows. And more often than not, just when you think you’ve found it, you lose it again.

The other morning, I was playing with on an Indoboard (look it up, super fun!), and was quickly reminded of the difficulty of finding your center and getting stable. As I was getting balanced, I could feel every move I made replicated in the way the board moved on the roller beneath it. One second I was in the middle and then, before I could blink, it would throw me off the side. Getting balanced takes focus and many small movements. Once found, staying there requires even further minute adjustments. These are simple analogies but very applicable to the balance of life.