Redemption and Recovery in Brazil

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“You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.” — George Lorimer

SANCTIONALS.

Redemption and Recovery in Brazil

The busiest sanctioned event weekend of the season is on the horizon, with three competitions on tap for athletes and teams trying and lock down an invite to the 2019 CrossFit Games. Time is starting to run out, and after this weekend only three more Sanctionals remain on the calendar.

For a handful of athletes and teams descending on the Brazil CrossFit Championships, the competition floor at the Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil presents an opportunity beyond the surface goal of earning a spot to Madison. It’s a chance to recoup past accomplishments, and rebuild careers that were derailed by injury, illness, and adversity.

Redemption for Invictus X

Less than one month ago, things looked a lot different for the team from one of the most storied gyms in CrossFit Games history. Invictus X had just won the Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge, beating out a talented MisFit team, and one of their team members, Chantelle Loehner, was in line to qualify through the Open for her first CrossFit Games as an individual.

Then it all came crashing down.

Loehner tested positive for PEDs, her spot to the Games gone pending a B sample test, and along with it Invictus X’s invite from the MACC. Suddenly the team that finished second at the 2018 Reebok CrossFit Games was left scrambling for a backup plan.

Continue reading…

WE LOVE DATA.

Brazil CrossFit Championship Power Rankings

Scott Henderson and Justin LoFranco:

Welcome​​ to The​​ Morning Chalk Up’s​​ Brazil CrossFit Championship (BCC) power​ rankings.​ In order to establish these power rankings, we analyzed major CrossFit competitions since 2017 based on an athlete’s placement and level of competition, factoring in how long ago the competition occurred.

Here are the top ten athletes ranked going into the 9th Sanctional of the 2019 CrossFit Games season.

Continue reading…

Things To…

WATCH: Jacob Heppner is Going Back to the Games 

Fan favorite Jacob Heppner is officially going back to the CrossFit Games for the first time since he took 7th in 2016. Morning Chalk Up’s Editor-in-Chief sits down with the three-time Games veteran.

WE’LL WATCH WINSTON.

HEAR: Mike Burgener on the Best Hour of Their Day

Jason Ackerman welcomes guest Mike Burgener to the Best Hour of Their Day podcast. Coach Burgener is a Level 5 Senior International Weightlifting coach, a graduate of Notre Dame with an MS degree from the University of Kentucky, and a former Captain in the United States Marine Corps. He was also just inducted into the USA Weightlifting Hall of Fame.

GEEZERS RULE.

WIN: Black Rifle Coffee Company Fit to Fight Kit

Enter to win two all-access Coliseum tickets to the 2019 CrossFit Games and a Black Rifle Coffee Company fit kit featuring ghee, fit fuel coffee and morning glory protein creamer. Contest runs through May 26.

BE FIT TO FIGHT.

GET: Your New Favorite Jeans from Revtown

What makes Revtown the best jeans of 2019? Mobility, mobility, and… you guessed it, mobility. Like, enough mobility to squat 405 pounds in them, just like one Revtown customer did last week. These super comfortable jeans are made by a few ex Under Armour guys who took everything they knew about performance apparel and applied it to your new favorite jeans.

GOOD LOOKIN GAINZ.

EAT: Blender Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hold the phone. This super simple recipe for blender chocolate chip cookies are egg-free and gluten-free, not to mention insanely delicious and easy to make, with minimal clean up. It’s the dream come true cookie recipe we’ve all been waiting for. 

JUST EAT THE COOKIE.

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

Chalk Up Community

• PRO-TIP: BEGINNERS ON THE ROWER — Dark Horse Rowing shares some important tips for coaches, including the first two things you should teach your clients to do on the rower. 
• MURPH FOR SEALS — CrossFit Full Potential in Newburyport, MA will be partnering with the Navy SEAL Legacy Foundation for Memorial Day Murph on May 27.  All proceeds will go to the foundation, founded by SEALs and run by SEALs.
• OUT FOUNDATION PATCH FOR MURPH — This Memorial Day, the OUT Foundation and the Modern Military Association of America are teaming up to celebrate U.S. service members that have made an impact in the LGBTQ+ community. Anyone who donates $20 or more to the OUTMemorial fundraising campaign will receive a limited edition patch that says “WE HONOR ALL” to add to their gear or wear proudly however they wish.
• STEM STRONG — This Saturday, May 18, Back Country CrossFit in Highlands Ranch, CO will do a hero WOD to honor Kendrick Castillo, a student that was shot and killed at the STEM school shooting in Highland Ranch, CO on May 7. All funds raised will support the Kendrick Castillo Memorial Fund.

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

Bartek Lipka deadlifts 635 pounds • Happy 13th birthday Oliver Danger • Adaptive athlete Logan Aldridge deadlifts 425 pounds for four • Mitch Barnard
gets a power snatch + snatch at 245 pounds • Tommy Vinas does a clean complex at 295 pounds • Ashley Carrigan gets her first set of kipping pull-ups.

…and get yourself a hype squad as pumped as this group. 

Greg Glassman Says Hunter Should Get the Blowhard Card — Over the weekend, Armen Hammer sat down with Greg Glassman to discuss what Greg’s up to. But during the course of the interview, Greg tells Armen that Hunter McIntyre will get a 2019 CrossFit Games “blowhard card.”

— Greg: “I’ve still got the, what was it, the wildcard we had? What was the name of it?”

— Armen: “The blowhard card…Hunter McIntyre is your man….500 pound plus deadlift, five-minute mile. He’s the guy.”

— Greg: “He’s gonna kick ass. Send him. I’ll be rooting for him….I’ll hire a camera man and a sound guy just for Hunter…Alright, get me with my people and we’ll just announce…the blowhard card has been sealed.”

Royce Dunne Joins Mayhem — Yesterday, Royce Dunne announced that he will be competing on Team Mayhem Independence this weekend at the Rogue Invitational. 

Gabrielle Kassel on Becoming a CrossFit Trainer — Gabrielle Kassel, writing for Shape Magazine, lists five things that she learned after getting her CFL1. 

— “Confidence and a strong mental game won’t help you do something you’re not physically capable of — but being in the wrong mental state when you’re lifting something crazy heavy or doing a high-pressure set can definitely interfere with your ability to fully show up in that workout.

— “The goal should be to come back the next day and the day after that — not to be so sore (or worse, injured) that you have to take a rest day. Just because you can scrape through a move doesn’t mean it’s the right choice for you; scaling back (whether that’s reducing your weight, dropping your knees in a push-up, or resting for a few reps) can help you stay safe, strengthen with intention, and actually be able to walk the next day.”

“Hunter McIntrye Thinks He Deserves CrossFit Games Wildcard,” by Jessica Danger, Morning Chalk Up 

Hunter McIntyre is known for talking a good game. He’s also known for backing it up.

“They’re scared. I don’t give a damn,” McIntyre told our Editor-in-Chief Justin LoFranco in an exclusive interview. He’s referring to the legion of CrossFit Games athletes who’ve called McIntyre out on social media for saying he’s got what it takes to take on the world’s fittest athletes at the Games.

“I’m not an idiot. I’m not a CrossFit Games champion in this shape right now. But at the same time, a wildcard presents an amazing opportunity,” McIntyre said. “Greg Glassman suggests that he thinks this sport is the definite for the fittest athlete on earth…if you suggest that, then let us in.”

McIntyre means the four wildcard invitations recently introduced to the CrossFit Games process. He thinks he should get one and he’s training hard to prove that he can hang with the fittest, even knock a few athletes down the leaderboard.

The world champion obstacle course racer was named one of the top 50 fittest athletes by Sports Illustrated in 2017. He’s been the undefeated champion of Broken Skull Ranch for three years, the OCR world champion six times and OCR national champion four times.

He’s also the 2017/2018 Tough Mudder X Undefeated Champion.

But McIntyre is looking to branch out into the sport of competitive CrossFit.  “I’ve been doing this obstacle course racing for eight seasons now. I need more purpose in life. I need to challenge myself and know that when I leave this career behind as an athlete, that I’ve tested all the boundaries,” he told LoFranco.

“I know I’ve got the talent, I’ve got the strength, I’ve got the capacity, I’ve got the tenacity, I’m focused. A real true champion athlete can walk in different directions and pretty much nail the spot if they want to,” Hunter said.

5/17 – 5/19: ACA Throwdown 2019 (Johannesburg, SA)

5/17 – 5/19: Down Under CrossFit Championship (Wollongong NSW)

5/17 – 5/19: Brazil CrossFit Challennge (São Paulo, Brazil)

5/18 – 5/19: Big Impact Games (Kaukauna, WI)

5/18: 2019 Barbells in the Burbs Team Comp (Carol Stream, IL)

5/18: 2019 Tough Temple CrossFit Super Total (Bethseda, MD)

5/18: Mad Hatter Games (Danbury, CT)

5/18: Rookie Rumble at CrossFit Chester Springs (Chester Springs, PA)

5/18: Rookie Rumble at CrossFit PTV (Redmond, WA)

5/18 – 5/19: Shred Fest (Orlando, FL)

5/18: Cindy-a-Thon (San Leandro, CA)

5/18: Fallout in the Falls (Wichita Falls, TX)

5/18: East Coast Battle ( Hanover, MD) 

5/18: Meshugge CrossFit Summer Melee 2019 (Overland Park, KS)

5/18: Backstreet Brawl 3 (West Bend, WI)

5/18: Flower City Throwdown Women’s Division (Rochester, NY)

5/18: Warriors Hope (Greenwood, IN)

5/18: WODding to Hear (Elizabethton, TN)

5/18: Fifth Annual Guns N Hoses Competition (Anaheim, CA)

5/18: Barbells and Beers (Berkeley Heights, NJ)

5/18: OUTWOD Morristown (Morristown, NJ)

5/18: 2019 Triton Spring Throwdown (Wallingford, CT)

5/18: 6th Annual Murph for Mutts (Peachtree Corners, GA)

5/18: Fire & Ice Competition at WildFire CrossFit (Phoenix, AZ)

5/18: Battle of the Ages (Bensenville, IL)

5/18: Tribal Clash USA 2019 (Huntington Beach, CA)

5/18 – 5/19: Rogue Invitational (Columbus, OH)

5/18 – 5/19: Beach Town Throwdown (Myrtle Beach, SC)

5/19: Heroes and Heroines Team Throwdown (Pawtucket, RI)

5/21: Brady’s Border2Border Ruck March (Beach, ND)

5/24: 24 Heroes in 24 Hours (Ardmore, PA)

5/25: Battle of the Barn 2019 (Bright, ON)

5/26: 24 Heroes in 24 Hours 2019 (Southborough, MA)

5/27: ValorFit Community Murph (Urbandale, IA)

5/30 – 6/2: Granite Games (St. Cloud, MN)

5/31: OUTWOD at Roy CrossFit (Roy, UT)

6/1: Warrior Affiliate League Terrible Two (Murrietta, CA)

6/1: Warrior Affiliate League Terrible Two (Victorville, CA)

6/1: The Burn Out 4 Person Team Competition (New Bern, NC)

6/1: Battle of the Vikings (Frederick, MD)

6/1: The Hound and The Mountain Team Competition (Sudbury, MA)

6/1: 2019 Hammy (Hudson, OH)

6/1: Rise of the Masters (Statesboro,GA)

6/1: 7th annual Battle Beyond the Barbell (Sudbury, ON)

6/1 – 6/2: River Ruckus VI (Asheville, NC)

6/7 – 6/8: Bricktown Throwdown 2019 (Bricktown, OK)

6/8: The Mountain Meltdown (Park City, UT)

6/8: Battle In The Basin 2 2019 (Joshua Tree, CA)

6/8: Battle on the Creek (John’s Creek, GA) 

6/8: Supergiant Meltdown (Westerville, OH)

6/8: Double Down Skylands Showdown (Sparta, NJ)

6/8: CFE’s Summer Sizzler 2 Masters Competition (Burlington, MA)

6/8: The Charlotte Throwdown for Mental Health Awareness (Charlotte, NC)

6/8: 3rd Annual WODing for SuperTy (Pawling, NY)

6/8: OUTWOD Showdown at Brick (West Hollywood, CA)

6/8 – 6/9: CFCC Triple Threat (Denver, CO)

6/14 – 6/15: CanEast Games (Hamilton, ON)

6/15: Best of the Midwest Team Series (Greenwood, IN)

6/15: AZFITCOM (Phoenix, AZ)

6/15: Rep Your Box 8 (Jacksonville, FL)

6/15: Rookie Rumble at CrossFit Mercenary (Owings Mill, MD)

6/15: SweetTatas (Newtown,CT)

6/15 – FireTeam 4 Challenge and Fundraiser (Wheaton, IL)

6/15: Gameday (Rochester, MN)

6/16: Three Fathers RCMP Memorial Challenge (Bedford, NS)