Brooke Ence is Getting Shorty

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is fueled by ButcherBox, your neighborhood butcher for the modern world. 

Want to know how to cook the perfect bacon? We’re not talking that burnt-to-a-crisp or flimsy floppy stuff, but the real deal evenly cooked still moist but just crispy enough bacon goodness. ButcherBox’s Chef Yankel shows you the six steps to cooking the perfect bacon. 

“You build inner strength through embracing the totality of your experience, both the delightful parts and the difficult parts.” — Pema Chodron

A NEW BEGINNING AT CROSSFIT FRESHKILLS.

The story.

It’s no secret that CrossFit is the fitness regimen of choice for many of our military and first responders— functional fitness comes in handy even more so for these folk in roles of emergency response.

A new beginning.

Doug Dicks, a 19 year veteran of the New York City Fire Department, draws the parallel between CrossFit’s style of training and his long time career as a firefighter. “The philosophy and training protocol is always something different,” said Dicks. “CrossFit, like what I do everyday as a firefighter, teaches you to be ready for anything.”

The passion Doug has for the methodology lead him to open CrossFit FreshKills in Staten Island in the beginning of 2018.

What’s up with the name?

He sees a gym as a place of rebirth, and FreshKills Park was formerly the world’s largest landfill. Kind of poetic, huh?

The brotherhood.

The camaraderie his team has developed through the process is much like that of the brotherhood at the fire department. So far the most rewarding part of being an affiliate owner is watching the community he’s created blossom and grow.

Their main goal at CrossFit FreshKills is to show people that CrossFit isn’t just a sport for athletes. It’s a regime that is created for literally anyone– and that really is what CrossFit is all about.

HEY SHORTY.

Who you calling shorty?

Not that kind of shorty, and we’re definitely not talking about the 1990’s cult classic “Get Shorty” starring John Travolta. 

We’re talking about the 10th annual Shorty Awards, recognizing the best in class on social media.

Oh thaaaat Shorty. What’s that got to do with CrossFit tho?

Cause our very own Brooke Ence was nominated in the Sports category. She’s going up against JJ Watt, Katie Ledecky, Kevin Durant, Laila Ali and Serena Williams. 

True story…Brooke was actually nominated way back on January 16th and voting closed on February 22nd, the day the 2018 Open started. Somehow we completely missed that. Sorry Brooke. 

So when do we find out who won?

That would be this Sunday streaming live on YouTube. We don’t know the time yet, but if we had to guess we’d say 6PM Pacific. 

And yes, Brooke Ence plans to be there in New York City so follow her on Insta so you can watch her story from the red carpet.

THINGS TO…

HEAR: Nadia Shatila 

The Pat and Ro Show is back for another episode, this time interviewing long long time affiliate owner (nearly 10 years) Nadia Shatila of CrossFit Belltown in Seattle, WA. Nadia has been CrossFitting for well over a decade, competed at Regionals, the American Open and she’s one of the few coaches to have her Level 4 certification. 

TUNE IN.

EAT: 13 Make-Ahead Breakfasts

Whether it’s 5 AM for a WOD or just plain old dark o’ clock, sometimes you just don’t want to make breakfast, and for that occasion iT pays to plan ahead so you don’t get hangry by 9AM.

IT PAYS TO PLAN.

BUY: The Big Flavor, Zero Fat eCookbook

These 50 non-fat recipes pair perfectly with the RP Diet Templates for fat loss or for when you’re looking for a great non-fat meal.

ADD TO CART.

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

CHALK UP COMMUNITY

• TICKETS, GET YOUR TICKETS — Here’s everything you need to know about grabbing tickets for the 2018 CrossFit Games. Affiliate pre-sale starts April 20th, and Festival + Coliseum tickets will range from $225 – $500. Festival only tickets are $99 like last year.
• SUPPORT FOR REBECCA — We’ve written about Rebecca Shingledecker from Panther City CrossFit before. She’s the athlete who found out she had a brain tumor but decided to do the Open anyways, then went into surgery. Her friends and family have organized a Caring Bridge page to support her during intense rehab, like learning to walk again. 
• BRIEF HISTORY OF FOOD AND CROSSFIT — Even at such a young age, the CrossFit industry has gone through a few nutrition fads — bacon everything people. TJ Belger catalogues the wild world of CrossFit and weight loss. 
• GRAND OPENING — The mayor and members of the Westfield Chamber of Commerce joined CrossFit 908 Central in Westfield, NJ for a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the grand opening of their second location.

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

There are only three days left to pre-order one of these Morning Chalk Up muscle tanks and tees, which one reader recently described as “the softest shirt he’s ever felt” • Here’s a look at the custom-made trophies for the Mayhem for MSR competition next weekend • Annie Thorisdottir got a puppy • CrossFit Poipu raised more than $88,000 in their fundraising campaign to open a second completely free location to serve the kids of the Kekaha community • Mobility WOD’s Kelly Starrett is doing a live Instagram Q&A today at 9AM Pacific.

…and this usher for the Houston Rock is the basketball equivalent of when your coach is a CrossFit Games athlete.

Now Sending — The video review process for athletes who qualified for Regionals has concluded and invites will now be sent out. All athletes who qualified for Regionals will receive an invitation. If he or she declines for any reason (competing on a team, or otherwise) the invitation will go onto the next athlete. 

— What does that mean exactly? In the Central East Region there are 20 spots to the Central Regional. If Kristin Miller (6), Tasia Percevecz (8), Lindy Barber (13) and Elly Kabboord (15) all decline their individual invitations to compete with CrossFit Mayhem, then their invitations pass on to female athletes ranked 21 – 24. 

— FUN FACT: In the South West Region in 2017, Amanda Goodman placed 34th out of 20 qualifying spots and received an invitation to Regionals. 

“Change Your Life in 24 Hours” by Kai Rainey, CrossFit Journal

You’ve almost decided to try CrossFit.

You’ve picked out the gym. You’ve been to the website to get familiar with the trainers. Maybe you even walked past during a class and admired what appears to be choreographed chaos.

You have one step left, and it’s through the front door.

I know you have a dozen reasons why you think you can’t do it. Running and jumping aren’t in your wheelhouse at present. You’ve surmised that those things appear regularly in CrossFit, as do pull-ups and burpees. A voice is telling you that you can’t do it.

But I know another voice is urging you to try CrossFit—and you need to listen.

One thing is certain: If you don’t try it, you definitely won’t create the body you envision. The path to that body—that healthy, capable and fit body—runs directly away from your sofa.

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)

4/15: The last day to sign up for Croatia with VoyEdge RX

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)

4/21: Mucctown Throwdown (Winnemucca, NV)

4/21: Famously Hot Showdown (Columbia, SC)

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: Brew-N-Brawl 2018 (Lenoir, NC)

4/28: CrossFit Cheltenham Throwdown (Gloucestershire, United Kingdom)

4/29: Three of A Kind (Gloucestershire, United Kingdom)

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

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

4/28 – 4/29: King City Throwdown (Tupelo, MS)

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

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

5/4 – 5/5: Throwdown in Joe Town (St. Joseph, MO)

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

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

5/5 – 5/6: Barbell de Mayo (Woodbridge, VA)

5/5 – 5/6: Manila Throwdown (Manila, Philippines)

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)

5/5: The Crawfish Challenge (Columbia, SC)

5/5: Masters of the Shed (Roxbury, NJ)

5/9 – 5/10: The Heartland Games 2018 (Chicago, IL)

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)

5/12: Soho Brawl (Tampa, FL)

5/12: Fallout in the Falls (Wichita Falls, TX)

5/18 – 5/20: East Regional (Albany, NY)

5/18 – 5/20: Europe Regional (Berlin, Germany)

5/18 – 5/20: South Regional (Salt Lake City, UT)

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: Spring Fling Partner Throwdown (San Anselmo, CA)

5/19: SilverFox Masters Competition (San Clemente, CA)

5/19: Ultimate Fitness Championship (Kennewick, WA)

5/19: Warriors Hope 2018 (Greenwood, IN)

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

5/25 – 5/27: West Regional (Del Mar, CA)

5/25 – 5/27: Central Regional (Nashville, TN)

5/25 – 5/27: Latin America Regional (Rio de Janiero, Brazil)

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

6/1 – 6/3: Atlantic Regional (West Palm Beach, FL)

6/1 – 6/3: Meridian Regional (Madrid, Spain)

6/1 – 6/3: Pacific Regional (Sydney, Australia)

6/2: Kegs and Kilos (Manhattan, KS)

6/9: Beastette Bash at CrossFit Ananda (Arlington, TX)

6/16: Battle on the Creek (Johns Creek, GA)

6/16: Full Battle Rattle (Robinson, IL)

6/23: Garage Girls CrossFit Grit (St. Simons Island, GA)