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Why doing Diane unbroken isn’t faster

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is fueled by FNX, the Official Supplement Sponsor of the Morning Chalk Up. All the craze is about macronutrients, but what about those micronutrients? FNX has an easier way to get them in with their Rebalance Super Greens. Their raw greens are locally grown, organic and go from being cut to bottled in 24 hours. 

P.S. Star Wars “The Last Jedi” is now out and that’s a pretty big deal over here at Chalk Up HQ. 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

What you’re going through now is preparing you for what you asked for!” — Unknown

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT 18.4

 

18.4

Diane

21-15-9 reps of:

Deadlifts 225/155 Pounds

Handstand push-ups

Then,

21-15-9 reps of:

Deadlifts 315/205 Pounds

50-ft. handstand walk after each set

9 Minute Time Cap

We highly recommend reviewing the complete workout and movement standards. You can download your scorecards here.

Bjorgvin Gudmundsson v. Scott Panchik

  • FUN FACT #1 — This is Scott Panchik’s fifth live Open announcement. He has appeared in more live announcements than any other CrossFit Games athlete. Bjorgvin Gudmundsson has participated in two, including last night’s. You can see the full breakdown of all five years of Open announcements here.
  • FUN FACT #2 — This is the first time a benchmark WOD has been in the Open, but to be fair chest-to-bar Fran is pretty darn close.
  • This workout is NOT scored separately so it does not matter how fast you finish Diane.
  • Scott Panchik broke up the deadlifts 16 times during the workout, six of those during Diane, and he beat Gudmundsson by 54 seconds. This should tell you something. 

Resources:

  • STRATEGY GUIDE — Brute Strength coaches Nick Fowler and Adrian Conway break down how to tackle 18.4, everything from warming up to cycling through reps to breathing.
  • HANDSTAND PUSH-UP TIP — If you already have a couple handstand push-ups, Kati Breazeal walks through how to attack these for speed vs efficiency
  • HANDSTAND WALK TIP — For the few of you who plan to deadlift 315/225 pounds 21 reps with time to spare, here’s a tip to help you shift your weight while walking from one hand to the next. 

THINGS TO…

 

RE-WATCH: The Live 18.4 Announcement

In case you were tied up yesterday and didn’t catch the action, you can rewatch the entire live event on Facebook.

3, 2, 1…GO.

 

HEAR: Annie Thorisdottir

Iceland Annie needs no introduction. She joins Pat Sherwood and Rory McKernan to talk a lot about owning CrossFit Reykjavik, what it’s like training for the Games while managing an affiliate with more than 1500 members, and why the Open is one of her favorite times of the year.

HERE’S ANNIE.

 

EAT: Flourless Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Thick, chewy peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. These gluten free, flourless peanut butter cookies are made with seven simple ingredients and are full of peanut butter flavor.

P, B AND YAY!

 

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

CHALK UP COMMUNITY

 
  • WELCOME TO CENTRAL STREET — The Saugus, MA Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to approve a special permit which would allow CrossFit Route 1 to move into their desired location. The owner did have to agree not to do any CrossFit outside before 7AM, seriously. 
  • DOWN 80 — At 237 pounds, Valerie Heath of Fit Farm in Council Bluffs, IA was too embarrassed to join a gym. So the mother of four started working out alone until her mother-in-law convinced her to try CrossFit. Two years later and she’s down more than 80 pounds.
  • CAN’T OUTRUN BAD HABITS — Allie Flinn was never much into fitness. But in college, she’d punish herself by grinding out time on the elliptical after eating something unhealthy. This cycle continued and wore down her body image until she found the key to loving exercise and herself. 

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

Chelsea Sellers on taking the top score in 18.2a — “Add pressure make diamonds. I stand humbled and grateful for this life I’ve been given. I was able to hit a 276 lb power clean and take the number 1 spot in the world for 18.2a. Hard work, lonely hours in the gym, persistence and dedication is what it takes to achieve the unthinkable. That and a large group of amazing people who believe in you more than you believe in yourself.”

Inside the Leaderboard — Just cause you went to the Games, doesn’t mean you get to walk into Regionals. After three weeks, former CrossFit Games athlete Dakota Rager is still 20 spots out of Regionals qualification. Brent Fikowski is only safe by one spot, and James Newbury is exactly 30th place, the cut off. Elijah Muhammad is four spots outside and Conor Mooney is eight. 

On the women’s side, Casey Campbell is three spots outside of qualification, Dani Horan is safe by only one spot, and Christina Seeley is tied for fifth. More on this from the CrossFit Games Team.

Reads

CHALK UP READS

“What Would You Pay to Keep Your Sight?” by Andréa Maria Cecil, CrossFit Journal

Marlo Brown was 50 when she first left the United States.

She hadn’t had aspirations of going far. She just wanted to fit in an airplane seat. After losing 196 lb., that became possible.

Once in Mexico, her objective was simple: Go to white-sand beach, stick feet in ocean.

“Getting out of a beach chair, which I could never do before or wouldn’t do before, in Cancún—all that is worth so much to me for any amount of money that I had to pay for a CrossFit gym.”

At the worst of her diabetes, Brown spent as much as US$250 a month for prescription medications that included metformin, as well as glucose test strips. The blood-sugar meter she bought was a one-time expense of $50.

Today she’s off all medications and pays $150 per month for an unlimited membership at Cloud 9 CrossFit in New Jersey. She and husband Phil started training there in September 2013. Three months later, Brown was able to ditch her prescriptions.

Reads

CHALK UP CALENDAR

3/10: Women Who WOD (Barbados)3/15: CrossFit Open 18.4 (Worldwide)

3/22: CrossFit Open 18.5 (Worldwide)

3/23: The Redeemed and the Dominant: Fittest on Earth is released (iTunes)

3/24: 4th Annual St. Paddy’s Day Competition (Norwood, MA)

4/7: Battle of the Badges (Anaheim, CA)

4/7: The Revolution (San Antonio, TX)

4/7: GenX Masters Comp (Salem, MA)

4/7: Lt Col William “Wild Bill” Schroeder Memorial Competition (San Antonio, TX)

4/13 – 4/15: The Railyard Games (Albuquerque, NM)

4/14: Battle for the Mountain (Dawsonville, GA)

4/14: Appalachian Games (Asheville, NC)

4/14: Deuces Wild by Warrior Affiliate League (Baldwin Park, CA)

4/14: Atlas Blarney Stone Competition (Denver, CO)

4/14: RISE of the Masters (Statesboro, GA)

4/14: CrossFit Forte FORCE For Families (Nashville, TN)

4/14 – 4/15: Mid-Atlantic Affiliate Challenge (Columbia, MD)

4/14 – 4/15: WOD Wars Fitfest (Dunedin, FL)

4/14 – 4/15: Funky Town Throwdown (Ft. Worth, TX)

4/19: Teens and Masters Qualifier (Invitation Only)

4/20 – 4/22: Athens Throwdown (Athens, Greece)

4/21: Festivus Games (Nationwide)

4/21: Mayhem for MSR (Cookeville, TN)

4/21: Loganville Lockdown (Loganville, GA)

4/21: FoxWOD (Panama City Beach, FL)

4/21: Swamp Challenge (Gainesville, FL)

4/28: Battleground SoCal (Wimington, CA)

4/28: Girls Gone Rx (Cincinnati, OH)

4/28: Salem Slaughterfest (Salem, OR)

4/28: 3rd Annual Appletown Throwdown (Cornelia, GA)

4/28: Beastette Bash at CrossFit Ananda (Arlington, TX)

4/28 – 4/29: Walter’s Cup Throwdown (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

4/28 – 4/29: Battle of the Bluffs (Council Bluffs, IA)

5/4 – 5/5: Tough As Nails (Lubbock, TX)

5/4 – 5/5: No Gutz No Glory (Denver, CO)

5/4 – 5/6: European Masters Throwdown (Budapest, Hungary)

5/5 – 5/6: Tribal Clash (Quarteira, Portugal)

5/5: Cinco de Mayo Classic (San Antonio, TX)

5/5: The Locomotive Games III (Youngstown, OH)

5/5: Granite Games Throwdown (Southaven,  MS)

5/5: Battle of the Boro (Goldsboro, NC)

5/5: New WODs on the Block (Grand Rapids, MI)

5/11 – 5/12: Beast Mode Games (Greenville, SC)

5/11 – 5/12: Midwest Monster (Joplin, MO)

5/11 – 5/12: Reebok’s Ready for Action – Fittest in Israel (Israel)

5/12: Barbells for Bullies (Danbury, CT)

5/12: The Mountain Meltdown (Park City, UT)

5/12: The 5th Element (Bedford, NH)

5/19: Raising the Bar for Recovery (Medina, OH)

5/19: East Coast Battle (Hanover, MD)

5/19: Barbells in the Burbs (Carol Stream, IL)

5/19: Gladiator Games (Concord, NC)

5/19: The Pillage of Palm Harbor (Palm Harbor, FL)

5/19 – 5/20: GameDay Mankato (Mankato, MN)

5/26: Beauty is a Beast 2 (Indian Rocks Beach, FL)

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