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21.2 Brings Armor CrossFit Back Together

 
Morning Chalk Up

March 22   |   POWERED BY

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

  • Armor CrossFit experienced tragedy and loss during 17.1, but honor their fallen friend for 21.2.
  • How Earned Athletic became Asia’s first CrossFit apparel success story.
  • Meet Laurie Page, cancer survivor, eight-year CrossFit veteran.
  • Do you know someone who has done an exceptional job embodying and capturing the essence of the CrossFit community? Find out how you can nominate them for a Morning Chalk Up Community Choice Award.

We love seeing your story tips, quotes and PRs roll in. Keep sending them to [email protected].

 
QUOTE OF THE DAY + Send us a Quote

“It's not the daily increase but the daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential.” - Bruce Lee

 
CROSSFIT OPEN 2021

  • REMINDER: Score submission for 21.2 is due by 5 PM PT (8 PM ET) today.
  • MUST WATCH: Tia-Clair Toomey and Chandler Smith take on 21.2.
  • Here’s what the 21.2 leaderboard looks like right now (all scores unofficial):
    1. Cory Emrick (9:06) | Emily Webb (9:37)
    2. Luka Dukic (9:13) | Valentina Rangel (9:45)
    3. Stas Solodov (9:20) | Bianca Savarese (10:00)
    4. Patrick Vellner (9:27) | Sydney Michalyshen (10:11)
    5. Chandler Smith (9:32) | Shelby Neal (10:15)
    6. Noah Ohlsen (9:33) | Julia Blazejowska (10:16)
    7. Jake Berman (9:43) | Simone Arthur (10:19)
    8. Ryan Van Patten (9:45) | Lauren Lovick (10:24)
    9. Brenden Willis (9:45) | Lauren Weeks (10:28)
    10. Eric Carmody (9:49) | Carol-Ann Reason-Thibault (10:29)
    11. Thor Hajnal (9:49) | Nandi Mehta (10:30)
  • This Week: The 21.3 live announcement will take place earlier, at 12:00 PM PT/3:00 PM ET on March 25. Scott, Saxon and Spencer Panchik will face-off at CrossFit Home Office in Scotts Valley, CA.

Here are a couple more Speeds Reads:

  • Mattie Rogers has partnered with Working Against Gravity.
  • Noah Ohlsen appeared the Training Think Tank podcast to talk about Fraser’s Retirement, Gerard Returning, PEDs and more:
    • Ohlsen on his relationship with Fraser: “Pretty neutral, I would love to be friends with him, but I think just like personality-wise we never super clicked. I think because we were always competitors, we rarely had opportunities where we were outside competition hanging out.”
 
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GOOD
  17.1 Took Their Friend, 21.2 Brings Armor CrossFit Together to Heal and Honor Him  

17.1 Took Their Friend, 21.2 Brings Armor CrossFit Together to Heal and Honor Him

Four years ago, 24-year-old Octavious King finished his final burpee box jump over during CrossFit Open workout 17.1 and dropped to the ground.

  • At first, nobody at Armor CrossFit in Apopka, FL was concerned. They were used to seeing him be the hardest worker in the gym and crash after the workout. This time, though, was different. It quickly became clear that King was in medical distress.

What happened next: Two members rushed over to King, who was semi-conscious, and began CPR, as Jeremy Brassard, the owner of the gym, cradled his friend’s head in his hands and stared into his eyes, “trying my best to comfort and communicate with him as best as I could,” Brassard said. Moments later, King stopped breathing and was soon pronounced dead.

  • “It seemed impossible. None of us could believe it…This was Octavious, the guy who would wear a weight vest in every WOD if he could. The guy who would march three miles around the block with 135 pounds on his back just because. The guy whose smile lit up everything,” Brassard said.
Continue Reading...
 
INDUSTRY
  How Earned Athletic Became Asia’s First CrossFit Apparel Success Story, During a Pandemic and Protest Movement in Hong Kong  

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

How Earned Athletic Became Asia’s First CrossFit Apparel Success Story, During a Pandemic and Protest Movement in Hong Kong

One of Eric Roza’s first large scale interviews after being named the new CEO of CrossFit LLC was with the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post. The English language daily sits on the edge of the Chinese mainland, and regularly covers the sport of CrossFit, branding itself as the authoritative source on information related to China.

Roza made a bold declaration: CrossFit would have 20,000 boxes in China by 2040. The company is clearly salivating at its largest untapped market, the burgeoning, image obsessed Chinese middle class, who now number somewhere well above 700 million and have almost unfiltered access to Western media and culture given the rise of technology and international travel.

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PROFILE
  Told She’d Never Workout Again, Cancer Survivor Laurie Page Begins Her Ninth Year of CrossFit  

Told She’d Never Workout Again, Cancer Survivor Laurie Page Begins Her Ninth Year of CrossFit

In 2002, 40-year-old Laurie Page was diagnosed with leukemia. Because of her age and the type of cancer, doctors didn’t think they could find a cure.

Today, almost 20 years after the initial diagnosis and being told she would never work out again due to complications from treatment, now 61-year-old Page is an avid CrossFitter at CrossFit Perimeter in Georgia.

Her story: Page was always active; the morning of her diagnosis, Page said she probably ran 8 miles. She ran road races on the weekends, completed a triathlon, and helped train clients at a gym.

  • “Then all of the sudden, you’re knocked off your pedestal,” Page says, noting that she was quite sick for two years, eventually having a bone marrow transplant.
  • Page’s treatment and medication destroyed her bone density, turning her bones into “goo,” and damaged her kidneys, leaving her with chronic kidney disease.
Continue Reading...
 
THINGS TO...
 

...WATCH

The Return of Ro vs. Boz

Fans have missed the friendly rivalry between Rory McKernan and Adrian Bozman since 2018, but it's back for the 2021 season. Check who went up 1-0 in this year's competition last week.

RO VS. BOZ.
     

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...DO

Optimize Your Open With $50 from O2 and The Ready State

It's the last week to claim your FREE $50 gift card from O2 and The Ready State! Optimize your 2021 Open with $25 to spend on O2 Recovery drinks and $25 for The Ready State's best-selling protocols. This offer is for EVERYONE -- no Open participation is required.

GRAB YOUR FREE $50 NOW.
     
 

...KNOW

Should You Squat with Your Toes Forward or Angled?

Should you squat with toes relatively forward or angled to the side? If angled, how far should you angle them? The answer is often, "It depends." Check this case study from Squat University about an athlete who developed hip issues from squatting with his feet in a position that was not optimal for his body.

FIX YOUR FEET.
     
 

...MASTER

Double Unders

Did double unders trip you up in 21.1? Check out this six-week double-under program with Brent Fikowski.

GET SKIPPIN'.
     
 

...MAKE

Crispy Bacon Jalapeño Popper Stuffed Chicken Breast

Give this one a try. It's a crispy jalapeño popper stuffed chicken breast stuffed with crispy bacon and green onion cream cheese! This dinner makes a fun, surprisingly easy dinner that the whole family will love! It has layers of melted cheese, a crispy, crunchy exterior and is packed with protein. Plus a little kick from the jalapeño.

DIG IN.
 
HIGHLIGHTS...

Chalk Up Highlights is our section dedicated to celebrating our community’s wins in the gym. Follow @ChalkUpHighlights and submit your highlight to [email protected] to be featured.

 
LOCAL COMPETITIONS + Submit an Event
3/23: Masters Distinguished Games (Fort Wright, KY)
3/23: CFL Teen Take Over (Lorton, VA)
3/23: The Phoenix hosts Hero WOD “Dork” (Boston, MA)
3/23 - 3/24: Beach Brawl (Spring) (Pensacola Beach, FL)
4/6: Two Peas in a Pod: Mixed Gender Partner Comp (Burlington, MA)
4/6 - 4/7: SeaDog Summer Showdown (Jupiter, Florida)
4/6: Girls Gone Rx Minnesota (Austin, Minnesota)
4/6: Girls Gone Rx Kentucky (Richmond, Kentucky)
4/6: Girls Gone Rx Ohio (Lancaster, Ohio)
4/6: Best Babes Decatur (Decatur, Alabama)
4/6: Best Babes 608 (Janesville, Wisconsin)
4/6: Best Babes South Carolina (Beufort, South Carolina)
4/6: Best Babes Houston (Houston, Texas)
4/6: Best Babes Wyoming (Cheyene, Wyoming)
4/6: War Off I-4 (Deland, FL)
4/6 - 4/7: No Pain No Game (Legnano, Italy)
4/6 - 4/7: Shack Team Edition (Rome, Italy)
4/6: Best Babes South Carolina (Beaufort, SC)
4/6: Best Babes Decatur (Decatur, AL)
4/6 - 4/7: Landifornian Battle (Seignosse, France)
4/6: Best Babes Tampa (Tampa, Florida)
4/13: Queens of Oly East Tennessee (Bulls Gap, TN)
4/13: Queens of Oly Rockledge (Rockledge, FL)
4/13: Fittest on Main (Boaz, AL)
4/19 - 4/21: Crash Crescendo (Spartanburg, SC)
4/20: Barbells For Bullies: Community Workout Savannah (Savnnah, Georgia, US)
4/20: Festivus Games @ CrossFit Plattsburgh (Plattsburgh, NY)
4/20: Festivus Games @ CrossFit Masiphumelele (Kommetjie, Cape Town, South Africa)
4/20: Festivus Games (Goderich, Canada)
4/20: Festivus Games (Clermont, FL)
4/20: Festivus Games @ The Gym – CrossFit Kilo (Cedar Falls, IA)
4/20: Festivus Games @ CBM Sirens (Caledonia, MS)
4/20: Festivus Games @ Coyote Valley (San Jose, CA)
4/20: The Fittest 4 (Sunshine Coast, Australia)
4/20: Embrace the Challenge (Mentor, Ohio)
4/20: Festivus Games @ CrossFit Pagosa (Pagosa Springs, CO)
4/20: First EVER Adaptive Festivus Games Competition (Waterford, United States)
4/20: Festivus Games (WAUKESHA, WI)
4/20 - 4/21: BGR Contest Spring Edition (Bergerac, France)
4/20 - 4/21: Okanagan Valley Throwdown (Penticton, British Columbia, Canada)
4/20 - 4/21: Okanagan Valley Throwdown (Penticton, British Columbia)
4/25 - 5/12: Raised by Grace (Virtual, )
4/26 - 4/28: Crash Crescendo (Spartanburg, SC)
4/27: Cap Crown Throwdown (Gladstone, Australia)
4/28: 249 Spring Throwdown (Sittingbourne, Kent, England)
5/4: CHLKDUP Classic (Nashville, TN)
5/4: Masters Equalizer Co-Ed Team of 4 Comp (Oceanport, United States)
5/4: The Battle on Bedford (Lynchburg, VA)
5/4 - 5/5: Pavia Spring Challenge ’24 (Pavia, Italy)
5/4 - 5/5: Italian Bulls Games (Lido di Ostia, Italy)
5/4: Team Challenge Texas (San Antonio, Texas)
5/4: The Strong and Courageous (Cullman, Alabama)
5/11 - 5/12: Finest City Weightlifting Open – Presented by The Strength Tank (San Diego, CA)
5/11: True Fitness Trials (Cherry Hill, NJ)
5/11: Queens of Oly Hawaii (Wailuku, Hawaii)
5/11: Queens of Oly Hudson (Hudson, NY)
5/11: Queens of Oly Philadelphia (West Chester, Philadelphia)
5/18: Thrive Throwdown (Lynchburg, VA)
5/18: Imperial CrossFit’s Spring Fit Fest (Kent, WA)
5/18 - 5/19: The Rainhill Spring Trials (Manchester, UK)
5/18: Luminate the Day (Nonprofit comp for Windy Willow Foundation) (Grand Rapids, MI)
5/18: Girls Gone Rx Chicago (Alsip, Illinois)
5/18: Girls Gone Rx Wilmington (Wilmington, North Carolina)
5/18: Girls Gone Rx San Antonio (San Antonio, Texas)
5/18: Girls Gone RX Wilmington (Wilmington, NC)
5/18: Code 3 Clash (Eagle, ID)

See all upcoming events

 
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