Happy Thanksgiving week and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition was chalked up while eating this nom nom cronut and not feeling guilty AT ALL.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Continuous effort — not strength or intelligence — is the key to unlocking our potential.” – Liane Cardes
SUNDAY WAS A BIG DAY
WHAT HAPPENED? I DIDN’T SEE IT
Team Europe edged out Teams USA and Pacific to win the CrossFIt Invitational for the first time. Only 1 point separated the three teams going into the final event. Sadly, Canada wasn’t even in the running.
Afterwards, Dave Castro also announced the addition of a 35-39 year old Masters bracket and the 2017, 2018 and 2019 CrossFit Games will be held in Madison, WI.
IN WISCONSIN?
Yup, you read that right — the alma mater of Chris Farley, and home of beer and cheese curds. The Games are also going to be in August.
WHY IT MAKES SENSE?
Let’s get one thing out of the way right now, Madison IS NOT a CrossFit town. There are only seven affiliates and your author used to be a member of one.
BUT, Madison is the unofficial capital of the midwest and as a college-town capital city that’s been emptied for the summer, CrossFit has the ability to completely saturate the city that week. Growing the Games into a global fitness festival and destination, is one of CrossFit’s top goals. They want you to bring your whole family, spending your week celebrating fitness while still having options at your doorstep. Translation: expect vendor village and the fan experience to be fundamentally redesigned.
Summers in Madison are gorgeous. It’s eight hours from Rogue HQ (they just saved a ton of money) and three hours from Chicago. It’s also smack dab in the middle of two massive lakes and surrounded by more than 200 miles of trails – queue in the bike event. Oh and you don’t need to rent a car to get around.
WHY IT MIGHT NOT WORK
Direct flights to Madison are nonexistent for most of the country (or world) and their media market is pint-sized.
CHALK UP IN 2 MINUTES
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU HIT THE BOX
DJ Dillon Francis has started doing CrossFit while on tour. The local Ralphs near Becca Voigt started selling Kill Cliffs. Wes Kitts unofficially set the American snatch record with a 382 pound lift. Kill Cliff’s Mannequin Challenge is killing it. Dane Smith knocked himself down dropping about 275 pounds on his front rack after failing on a push press. Kara Webb got to see snow for the first time IN HER LIFE. Chris Spealler tried the Beyond the Whiteboard Challenge and got 356 double unders in 3 minutes. Angelo DiCicco repped out 300 pound cleans at a competition this weekend. Here’s how you could win a bunch of cool stuff from RockTape. Can you do a one minute muscle up?
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
Behind the scenes at Power Monkey Camp with Katrin Davidsdottir and Dimitry Klokov power clean and strict press 352 pounds.
CHALK UP READS
“I lost 45 pounds and gained it all back. This time, I’m keeping it off” by Justin Mitchell
“In May, I got sick and tired of being sick and tired all of the time. At 275 pounds, I was morbidly obese, according to the BMI scale. I found out I had given myself type 2 diabetes because of how terrible my eating habits had gotten.
“The first week of Whole 30 was a nightmare. I was getting pounding headaches from not having any Diet Coke. I was literally dreaming about ham sandwiches, Oreos and chicken quesadillas.
“After Christmas, though, I had no desire to diet anymore. I focused on work and became best friends with my favorite Chinese buffet again…It only took about a year to gain every pound I had lost back. I don’t want to die because of obesity. I picked up some grilled chicken and almond butter and started Whole 30 again last week. I have been doing workouts when I can and am drinking tons of water. But I’m ready to take my life back again, one step at a time.”
CHALK UP AFFILIATES
A STORY YOU WON’T WANNA MISS
CHALK UP TIPS
Brought to You by the CrossFit Journal — Putting together a local throwdown or competition at your box? Here’s some advice from the best in class on how to program better competitions.
Bonus Tip (cause it’s Monday and everyone needs a boost) from Athlete Daily— Bring wall squats back into your routine.
CHALK UP DEALS
Dimitry Klokov just launched Klokov Equipment, offering up Klokov’s signature barbells, collars and bumper plates.
Mix and match any two cans of FitAid for $0.99 + free shipping.