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Selfies Are Healthy

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is fueled by RP Strength, the leader in strength sports nutrition, working with high-level CrossFit Games athletes, record holding powerlifters, weightlifters and Olympic athletes. 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I’m going to work so that it’s a pure guts race at the end, and if it is, I am the only one who can win it.” — Steve Prefontaine

WHERE FITNESS MEETS FOREVER.

 

Background.

’Tis the season for romance. You’re standing stag under the mistletoe and you just struck out at the CrossFit Singles Holiday Mixer. Now you’ll have months stuck out in the cold watching your newsfeed fill up with happy couples staying warm together from now through the CrossFit Open.

OK, that just sounds depressing.

Wh know how you may be feeling: “My committed relationship with my CrossFit box is hindering me from finding bae.”

Wrong.

The answer.

TrueSwolemates.com — Where fitness, love and a love for fitness come together to match you with your new life-WOD partner.

P.S. We swear this isn’t an advertisement, and it’s totally a real thing.

They always say couples who workout together stay together. True Swolemates can help you find the girl or guy of your dreams without interrupting your WOD schedule.

Cheers to that!

CHALK UP IN 2 MINUTES

 

Roundup — Katrin Davidsdottir is heading back to Iceland to compete in a Spartan Obstacle Race. Alex Vigneault, Alec Smith and Albert-Dominic Larouche will be competing at WOW Stronger in Reykjavik, Iceland. Dane Smith hits a 370 pound clean PR. Jamie Hagiya hits a 185 pound snatch for two down in Cancun, Mexico.

Rich Froning trolled us a bit over getting second place this weekend at Ragnar Relay, writing “#WhoTheHellIsMorningChalkUp” on an Instagram post. All we have to say is, now we know how you must have felt 🙂 

With your second cup of coffee…how to make banana pancakes in 60 seconds with Brent Fikowski.  

Colleen Fotsch confirms her intention to compete as an individual…“I felt like if I really wanted to get to the games as an individual, I’d be kidding myself…I feel like I’ve trained going to the games in the past but I haven’t aligned everything else in my life to do that. I was like you know what let’s just go for it.” She’s relocated to Phoenix, AZ  this fall and trains with OPEX after placing fourth with NorCal CrossFit at the 2017 CrossFit Games.

Michele Letendre on managing expectations after retirement, and an important reminder for any athlete getting older…“I haven’t been up to my standards in fitness and strength in the past few months for many reason…Retirement has been great but I had a real tough time recently coming to terms with my expectations and my current level. Goals are getting more difficult to set and it’s difficult to juggle life goals with certain fitness and weightlifting goals but I’m all in for this challenge.”

COFFEE BREAK CONVERSATIONS

 

What to tell your friend who’s always taking selfies…

Can you film this lift? Believe us, we know all the CrossFit jokes about selfies and filming your lifts. We even lost some Facebook friends cause of it — not kidding. It turns out that the social media highlight reel might actually be good for your health, says a new study from American University in Washington, D.C. After tracking two groups of people attempting to lose weight for four years, the study gound that “the process of sharing the triumphs and setbacks of their weight loss journey in online communities was a key contributor to reaching their weight loss goals and staying motivated.” Oh snap, time for another selfie.

What to tell your dad friend who’s upset that Baby Björns don’t come in desert camo…

Time to take matters into your own hands like Julian Alcarez, who was walking around Disneyland this weekend carrying little Knox in a tactical baby carrier made by Mission Critical. #DadLife

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Team Morning Chalk Up placed 7th overall after running 120 miles through the rain, mud and cold. Pictured from left to right: (top) Travis Williams, Angelo DiCicco, Aaron Hanna, Peter Montalvo, Justin LoFranco; (bottom) Margaux Alvarez, Carleen Mathews, Andrea Montalvo, and Jenny LaBaw.

THINGS TO…

 

WATCH: Rory in Ireland, Ep. 2

In the second installment of “Rory in Ireland,” CrossFit Games host Rory McKernan learns more about the country’s deep history as he tours Dublin and travels to Belfast.

SLÁINTE.

 

HEAR: Coach Mike Burgener

Legendary weightlifting coach Mike Burgener joins the CrossFit Podcast and shares his lifelong experience coaching some of the most elite weightlifters in the country. They also touch on topics like Ricky Garad getting popped for using PEDs, his time serving in the United States Marine Corps, and playing football at Norte Dame. 

LISTEN TO THE LEGEND. 

 

DOWNLOAD: A Free Chapter from Four RP Strength Books

As the official dietitians of USA Weightlifting, RP Strength is coaching their athletes to maximize performance through nutrition. Now you can dive into the science behind effectively and efficiently fueling your body for improved performance and a better physique.

START READING.

 

EAT: Curried Lentil, Tomato, and Coconut Soup

Winter is for warm, colorful and flavor-filled meals like this one from Bon Appétit. You can make it mild or spicy, your call, just make enough for leftovers. 

GET COOKING.

 

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

CHALK UP AFFILIATES

 
  • KIDS WITH CANCER — CrossFit Homebase in Canton, MA has teamed up with Cops for Kids with Cancer to raise money for families with kids who have cancer. The event takes place on January 13. 
  • HEART ATTACK — After a CrossFit WOD, Axel Siverts from Fort Collins, CO suffered a heart attack while driving his two daughters to school. The two daughters were able to stop the car and call 911. Axel’s heart stopped for 25 minutes until doctors were able to resuscitate him. 
  • AMPUTATED — On July 20, 2012, a gunman opened fire during the premiere of the Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, CO. Joshua Nowlan, a Navy veteran, hopped on top of his friend’s wife to shield her from gunfire. He was shot in the leg. Years later, after seven surgeries, this single father of two boys still suffers from chronic and irreversable pain. On January 5th, 2018, Josh will amputate his left leg below the knee. Last weekend, the Lone Tree CrossFit family gathered together to WOD for Josh and raise money to help
    his months-long recovery and medical bills. 
Reads

CHALK UP READS

“How Ron De La Torre Won at Life” by Emily Beers, CrossFit Journal

He had a plan: bariatric surgery.

At 5 foot 11 and 300 lb., Ron De La Torre said he was at the end of his rope.

“I had been overweight for 30 or 40 years. It’s all I ever knew,” said De La Torre, now 56. “I had the conversation about bariatric surgery with my wife. I couldn’t even walk up the stairs without stopping, and my grandkids wanted to play with papa, but I couldn’t.”

Surgery seemed like the best option to help him lose weight and become healthier, he explained.

But then he saw an advertisement for a New You fitness program at CrossFit 116 in Haslet, Texas.

“I decided to try that first, and if CrossFit didn’t work, then I’d have surgery. In my mind, surgery was still the backup plan,” De La Torre said.

Reads

CHALK UP CALENDAR

12/9: Ho Ho Ho CrossFit Kids Competition (Riverside, CA)

12/9: The 2017 Reindeer Games (Del Mar, CA)

12/9 – 10: WOD GODZ 2017 (Shreveport, LA)

12/18 – 20: 6th Annual CrossFit Invictus Online Competition (Online)

1/6: BrickYard Brawl (South Windsor, CT)

1/11 – 14: Wodapalooza Fitness Festival (Miami, FL)

1/11: Row’d Royalty (Worldwide)

1/13: Abominable Snowdown II (Orem, UT)

1/13 – 14: War of the Wods (Greensboro, NC)

1/20: Winter WOD’rland 2018 (Bend, OR)

1/27: Winter Chiller (Fairmont, WV)

1/27: NorCal Masters 2018 (Richmond, CA)

1/27 – 28: The Fittest Experience (Austin, TX)

2/3: No Weak Links “V” (Whitesboro, NY)

2/3: Caution Grounds 7 (Hialeah Gardens, FL)

2/3: Output Fitness Trials (Miramar, FL)

2/22: CrossFit Open 18.1 (Worldwide)

3/1: CrossFit Open 18.2 (Worldwide)

3/8: CrossFit Open 18.3 (Worldwide)

3/15: CrossFit Open 18.4 (Worldwide)

3/22: CrossFit Open 18.5 (Worldwide)

see full calendar  |  + Send us an event
Is there something we missed? Email us at [email protected].
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