18.5 is 11.6

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is built by Brute Strength, the Official Online Training Sponsor of the Morning Chalk Up. Interested in strength training that doesn’t suck? Grab four weeks of free accessory workouts from Brute Strength when you download their PDF playbook: 32 Warm-Ups & Workouts to Strength Train Smarter.

“If I pass out, please note my time.” — Unknown

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT 18.5

18.5

Complete as many reps as possible in 7 minutes of:

3 thrusters

3 chest-to-bar pull-ups

6 thrusters

6 chest-to-bar pull-ups

9 thrusters

9 chest-to-bar pull-ups

12 thrusters

12 chest-to-bar pull-ups

15 thrusters

15 chest-to-bar pull-ups

18 thrusters

18 chest-to-bar pull-ups

If you complete the round of 18, go on to 21. If you complete 21, go on to 24, etc.

Men use 100 pounds

Women use 65 pounds

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

Thorisdottir v. Davidsdottir v. Sigmundsdottir

• VOTE TALLY — 50% voted for 11.6; 43% voted for 14.2; and 7% voted for 13.5.
• PAYBACK IS A B**CH — Remember what happened in Double DT/Heavy DT at the CrossFit Games? 14.2 has already been repeated, so next year we’re doing 13.5. You’ve been warned. 
• FUN FACT #1 — Four of the last seven champions have been from Iceland. 
• FUN FACT #2 — At least one Icelandic woman has been in the top 10 at the CrossFit Games seven of the last eight years.
• FUN FACT #3 — Annie Thorisdottir is the only athlete among the three to have completed 11.6, 12.5 and 18.5 (for those that don’t know, they’re all the same WOD). In 2011, Annie completed 144 reps, 147 reps in 2012, and 178 reps yesterday. Katrin Davidsdottir completed only 119 reps in 2012 and 176 reps last night. 
• FUN FACT #4 — Once you finish the round of 15 chest-to-bar pull-ups you have finished chest-to-bar Fran. Just keep going!

Resources:

• STRATEGY GUIDE — Brute Strength coaches Nick Fowler and Adrian Conway break down how to tackle 18.5, everything from warming up to cycling through reps to breathing.
• BUTTERFLY CHEST-TO-BAR TIP — We know this is totally on your mind right now. Kati Breazeal walks you through how to actually use your legs so your arms don’t do all the work. 
• GRIP TIP — If you’re planning to do butterfly pull-ups, Kati recommends adjusting your grip slightly so you can move through these more comfortably. 

THINGS TO…

RE-WATCH: The Live 18.5 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.

WATCH: Sara Sigmundsdottir — Perseverance EP. 1

Episode 1 of the much anticipated docu-series following Sara Sigmundsdottir is finally here. It follows Sara as she heads back to Iceland after the Invitational and trains through recovering from a fractured rib.

MUST WATCH.

EAT: Easter Waffles, Three Ways

Easter is just a week away and if you’re looking for a healthier spin on your traditional breakfast, Working Against Gravity has got you covered.

GET THE RECIPES.

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

CHALK UP COMMUNITY

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

Mobility WOD is heading to Viva Las Vegas to teach their MWOD 102 course right off The Strip • Andrea Montalvo chops off 17 inches of hair to donate to make wigs for people with cancer • The CrossFit Games store is now shipping to Iceland • Ben Bergeron and Katrin Davidsdottir tour the largest fish oil producer in the world which is in Reykjavik, Iceland.

The LA Times offers a lackluster review of The Fittest on Earth — Describing it as a two-hour “advertisement” for CrossFit in a way only someone unfamiliar with the sport of fitness could, the LA Times was somehow able to say no more than “what makes ‘The Redeemed and the Dominant’ so engaging isn’t the hulking specter of steroids; it’s the competitors’ feats of strength and speed and their powerful personalities to match.” 

— NOW SHOWING: The Santa Ana, CA Frida Cinema just added The Redeemed and the Dominant for a one-day showing on Wednesday, March 28 at 7:30 PM. 

“She Is Not the Product of Her Circumstances” by Emily Beers, CrossFit Journal 

For years, her doctors called her a liar.

“They told me I was just tired because I was really overweight and that people don’t just become overweight as fast as I said I did. They told me there was no way I was eating what I said I was eating,” Tory Boucher said of conversations with multiple health professionals.

Boucher, now 32, hadn’t always been overweight. It wasn’t until giving birth to her third child in 2006 that her weight started escalating no matter what she ate, she explained.

“I didn’t think my weight gain was just post-baby weight because even after my first two kids, I still weighed 135 pounds, but after my third I got up to 205,” said the 5-foot-7 Boucher.

She added: “My face was all swollen and red, and I didn’t even have elbows anymore. I was tired all the time, and the doctors made me feel so bad.”

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)

3/30: Last Day to Sign Up for Northern Italy w/ VoyEdge RX

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)

4/21: Mucctown Throwdown (Winnemucca, NV)

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)

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

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

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

5/5: 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)

5/11 – 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)