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The CrossFit Invitational is heading to…

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up, where we’re popping a bottle of champagne after hitting 75,000 Facebook likes. Flashback to this time last year, we had only 18,857.

Today’s edition is fueled by Paleoethics, the Official Sports Nutrition Sponsor of The CrossFit Games. Packed full of herbs, fruits, and greens – and completely absent of wheat, grasses and fillers, Paleoethics’ Super Greens are the perfect way to add more veggies to your diet. And this week you can pick-up a pack for 20% off with code “CHALKUP.”

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing is so gentle as real strength.” — St. Francis de Sales

SEE YOU IN AUSTRALIA.

WHAT HAPPENED?
Last night, CrossFit HQ announced that the 2017 CrossFit Games Invitational would be hosted in Melbourne, Australia on November 5th at 4PM AEST — that’s 11PM Pacific time.

AUSTRALIA, REALLY?
Around this time last year, we sat down with CrossFit Games General Manager Justin Bergh to talk about the history of the Invitational. From that interview it became clear they were looking at other international markets to host, and looks like they found one.

Consider this:

  1. In its five year history, Australia is the only continent with a team not to play host. We say continent because technically North America includes Canada and the United States, and Europe isn’t a country.
  2. Australian athletes hold three out of six podium spots — Tia-Clair Toomey, Kara Webb and Ricky Garard.

WHO’S ON THE ROSTER…OUR TAKE.

USA — Tennil Reed-Beuerlein, Kari Pearce, Mathew Fraser, and Noah Ohlsen. Coach: Rich Froning.

PACIFIC — Tia-Clair Toomey, Kara Webb, Ricky Garard, and James Newbury. Coach: Rob Forte.

EUROPE — Annie Thorisdottir, Sara Sigmundsdottir, Bjorgvin Karl Gudmundsson, and Jonne Koski. Coach: Samantha Briggs.

CANADA — Alessandra Pichelli, Carol-Ann Reason-Thibault, Brent Fikowski, and Patrick Vellner. Coach: Camille-Leblanc-Bazinet.

CHALK UP IN 2 MINUTES

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU HIT THE BOX

Pat Sherwood challenges Tommy Marquez to do 30 cleans at 135# and 30 cals on the Assault Bike in under 2 minutes…VIDEO.

ROUNDUP — Beyond the Whiteboard’s message to CrossFit Affiliates: we got your backJamie Greene and Elliot Simmonds are pairing up for the Team SeriesMathew Fraser’s girlfriend Sammy Moniz refuses to hold a live fishChelsey Grigsby turns 28-years-oldJessica Lucero is joining the Brute Strength teamCandice Wagner did 90 strict handstand push-ups in 8 minutes. Mathew Fraser’s going to be at CrossFit HQ this week for some interviews. Kari Pearce competed in bodybuilding back in 2012 and she was even more ripped than she is today. Sólveig Sigurdardóttir hits a 240 poundclean and jerk PR, only one kilo off the Icelandic national record set by Sara Sigmundsdottir…and we bet you can’t do this.

For when you think you’ve finally achieved peak shoulder mobility…then you watch this and realize you’re not even close.

RADAR SCREEN — Tonight at 8PM EST, Wodapalooza’s individual online qualifier kicks off with the first announced workout. For the next three weeks, WODs will be released each Wednesday. This is the first stage in qualifying for a spot in the Miami-based fitness festival. If you haven’t registered already, there’s still time.

KICKSTARTER, ROUND 2 — From the same team that brought you Barbell Apparel and the jeans that actually fit people who squat, comes Rushpack, the ultimate water bottle. The Rushpack is an insulated stainless steel water bottle that comes equipped with a zip on sleeve for your credit cards, ID and phone. Think of it this way, it’s the only thing you’ll need to take with you to the box. Barbell Apparel originally launched in 2014 after raising $735,794 in a Kickstarter campaign so these guys have have some serious chops when it comes to start-ups.

A MESSAGE TO TEENS — In this month’s edition of Girls Life Magazine, the 2017 Fittest 17-year-old Kaela Stephano offers her body image advice to young girls: “I 100 percent believe that strong is the new skinny. It’s so much better to be muscular, healthy and in shape than it is to be as thin as possible.”

THINGS TO..

WATCH: Jason Cooper, The Nurse Advocate
Meet Jason Cooper, co-owner of CrossFit Enoch and registered nurse for 16 years. Cooper experienced the impersonal health industry firsthand when his wife was diagnosed with endometriosis. He and Keri fell near to financial ruin paying for a drug that left Keri depressed and suicidal. Now he’s working on the side of patients.
JASON’S STORY.

HEAR: CrossFit Ep. 02 with Rory McKernan
Rory McKernan joins Sevan Mattosian in Episode 2 of CrossFit’s newly relaunched radio show. Nothing will beat their description so we won’t even try — “Ever wonder how Rory McKernan started CrossFit? Learn more about how he went from brawling in Mexico, fishing for trout in Alaska and training athletes in San Diego to finally becoming a broadcaster for CrossFit HQ moving into a trailer.”
TELL ME MORE.

DO: Jackie, But with Kettlebells
Ever done Jackie before? Back in 2013, it was a Regionals WOD and since then the times have only gotten ridiculous fast. So if you’re doing it nearly unbroken, take MisFit’s twist on this classic benchmark WOD for a try and grab some kettlebells instead.
IT’S GONNA HURT.

EAT: Your Recovery Chain Smoothie of the Week
If you love smoothies as much as we do, then you need to checkout Paleoethics’ Smoothie of the Week recipes. How does organic cinnamon and coconut milk, blended together with banana and a hint of cinnamon sound? Yeah, we thought so too.
START BLENDING.

CHALK UP AFFILIATES

During the summer of 2015, he gave up. 

“I took a bottle full of painkillers while she was in the restroom, she had no idea. That was it for me, I attempted to overdose,” he says. “I attempted suicide.”

Troy Peterson would have been one of the 22 veterans who commit suicide every day on average. Except he didn’t die.

With nothing left, he walked into CrossFit Waukee, where his wife had tried months earlier to drag him. This time it stuck and he began a months long journey out of drug and alcohol addiction to rehabilitate and get his family back.

This weekend Troy’s hosting an event with Leah Casciano, Daniel Tyminski and Melisa Alonso to raise money for Mental Kilter, a non-profit which provides a safe environment on Saturday evenings for people struggling with substance addiction to attend a class/lifting session.

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WHAT TO TELL YOUR FRIEND WHO’S LOOKING FOR A GOOD CAUSE TO SUPPORT…

First, see above. With 44,000 deaths yearly, suicide is the second leading cause of death for young adults between the ages of 15-24. Meanwhile, 22 veterans take their own lives daily. As September is National Suicide Prevention Month, WOD&DONE is donating 25% of sales for the rest of the month to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Just use code “AFSP” at checkout.

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