Alyssa Ritchey Clean and Jerked More Than Double Her Body Weight

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Only two more days until Dubai CrossFit Championship begins.

“Stop crying about what happened and take control of what happens next.” — Rachel Hollis

Monday’s WOD: Saving a Couple From a House Fire

The story.

Mat Wildman, a member of Treeline CrossFit, recently put his fitness to the ultimate test when he helped rescue an elderly couple from a house fire in Creswell, OR.

Come again?

Wildman, who was driving back to work last Monday, pulled over when he saw a house on fire. While he was photographing the fire, another man came out and said he needed help. The homeowners, an elderly couple, were still inside.

“I pulled up and I heard a scream for help, so I just ran in there, and the couple were inside next to the fire, actually,” he said in an interview.

The man, who is wheelchair bound, did not want to leave his wife after she had fallen and was unable to get it. Wildman and the other good samaritan, Devin, convinced him they could get her out. First, the two men wheeled the husband outside to safety. Then, the two went back for his wife as promised.

Of course they did.

“So, they actually drug her out to get her out, while they were ducking beneath the smoke,” a family friend, Andy Halvorson said. “It was just kind of a crazy, crazy few minutes.”

Both husband and wife got out of the house safely, thanks to Wildman’s fast thinking and functional fitness. But, he doesn’t consider himself a hero.

“I really don’t consider myself a hero,” Wildman said. “Just, when you get put in that position, you just have to do it.” Our hats off to you, Sir.

GAMES UDATE.

“Five Storylines I’m Watching in Dubai”

By Tommy Marquez, Morning Chalk Up’s Sr. Games Analyst

On Wednesday, the Dubai CrossFit Championship ushers in a new era of the CrossFit Games. With all that will be taking place over four days of competition, here are five major storylines to brush up on before things get going in the desert.

First to Go, First to Show

Being both the first competition to be sanctioned, and the first to take place, the execution on all levels of the Dubai CrossFit Championship stands to be a seminal moment in this new chapter of the CrossFit Games.

All eyes will be on Dubai, and therein lies the potential to either instill faith in the CrossFit community for this new system, or sow seeds of doubt in the viability of Greg Glassman’s new vision for the sport of fitness.

Under the previous format, the CrossFit Games season was a well-oiled machine, so setting a strong precedent after change will be key. Plenty of season details are unclear, but the Dubai CrossFit Championship has the goods for a great first impression.

Past, Present, Future of the Women’s Comp

Perusing over the loaded women’s roster for the competition, I can’t help but pause over the names of three athletes in particular – Sam Briggs, Sara Sigmundsdottir, and Laura Horvath.

Briggs, a critical member of the old guard of the sport, has spent nearly a decade wowing fans with ridiculous feats of endurance and sheer grit. Since winning the Games in 2013, she’s been one of the sport’s best ambassadors, but a string of injuries in recent years has slowed the Engine from England and added obstacles in her training. After competing in the Master’s division in 2018, will Briggs return to top form to teach the young guns of the sport another lesson?

Continue reading…

Coffee Break Conversations

What to say when you see your co-worker double fisting it at the coffee station…

No so fast, champ. Leave some for the rest of us! Not every day can start with pancakes, much to our dismay. So on those mornings when you’ve only got a minute to spare, but you still want to eat something killer for breakfast, grab an extra coffee cup and mix up a meal. 

But the idea of planning my life or my meals ahead of time gives me a migraine…

Then don’t. Let PeakLife and Gavin Tullos, veteran and CrossFit Games Masters athlete, do it for you. They have decided to offer up a free program to five participants and their coaches. They’re looking for coaches, friends, or the athlete themselves to nominate a person who can use the extra help getting on track with their nutrition. Five of those submissions will get a free 12-week session, full programming, no strings attached. Send an email with a paragraph on why you or your nominee could really benefit from focused, personalized nutritional programming by Friday, December 21st to be considered.

Things To…

WATCH: Red Sun CrossFit Special Program 

Red Sun CrossFit in London has partnered with the National Health Service of the UK, using their CrossFit programming to help clients with learning disabilities improve their level of fitness, lead an active life, and better their health overall.

GETTING STRONGER AND STRONGER.

HEAR: Hannah Eden on Brute Strength

Fitspo Hannah Eden joined Michael Cazayoux on the Brute Strength podcast and tells her transformation story from partying to fitnessing, how and why she hustles in silence, and making a transformation from the inside out.

HUSTLE IN SILENCE.

EAT: Grain Free Santa Hat Brownie Cookie Cups

Baking season is upon us. These little festive Santa hats are dairy and grain free and absolutely adorable. Easier to make than they look and so fudgy, they’ll be a hit at home! 

SUPER CUTE.

BUY: Limited Edition Morning Chalk Up Tees

You’ve only got a few more days left to pre-order these limited edition Morning Chalk Up tees and tanks. These limited edition items are only available until Wednesady at noon PT.

GET EM HERE PEOPLE. 

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

Chalk Up Community

• BACKPACKS FOR THE HOMELESS — Emiy Bridgers has been collecting gear to pass out in backpacks for the homeless and over the weekend she did just that. CrossFit Terminus passed out over 125 backpacks full of essentials to the homeless in their community. 
• ROOTS FOR BOOTS — CrossFit Hanover and Roots for Boots hosted a fitness fundraiser to help support veteran Jeremy Jacoby on Saturday. The 23-year-old veteran was paralyzed from the waist down from chemical exposure while on duty. The proceeds of the fundraiser are going toward an “action-track chair” to help Jacoby play with his three-year-old son.
• WWII MEMORIAL WOD — More than 50 people gathered at Train Waco Saturday to pay tribute to Doris Miller, a local World War II hero, with a memorial WOD. “It was great to have this be folks very first workout, have multiple CrossFit gyms represented, and a big turn out from all our Train Waco athletes. Also, thanks to Doren Ravenscroft of Waco Cultural Arts and Andrea Barefield of Waco City Council speak to us about the Doris Miller Memorial Project,” they posted on their Facebook.

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

It’s gonna be a boy for Quiana Welch • Congratulations to Dani Horan and Justin Jenny who got married over the weekend • Sage Burgener got a 205 pound snatch PR • Coach Chase Knight got to train a group of future US Marines over the weekend • Jamie Hagiya does five touch and go cleans at 200 pounds • Mathew Fraser does 30 rounds of Macho Man at 205 pounds.

…and this pup is the one thing that can make Monday and bar over burpees better. 

American Open Finals — It was a great weekend in Milwaukee for Team USA weightlifters at the American Open Finals. 

— USA Weightlifting and Cal Strength member Christian Rodriguez Ocasio got a 145kg/320 pound snatch and 176kg/388 pound clean and jerk to take all three gold medals in the 81 kg category.

— Kristin Pope took 3rd place with her 88kg/194 pound snatch after coming back from an injury.

— LIFT OF THE WEEKEND…Came when Alyssa Ritchey took the show with this 105kg/231 pound clean at only 107 pound body weight, then she proceeded to happy cry for hours. 

Dubai CrossFit Championship — Dubai CrossFit Championship, the first sanctioned event of the 2019 CrossFit Games season, kicks off in just two days. Over the weekend they announced two more WODs.

WOD #4: Max Snatch

Score: maximum weight in KG

WOD #7: Gymnasty

9 Rope climbs

40m Handstand walk 

6 Rope climbs

40m Handstand walk 

3 Rope climbs

40m Handstand walk

WOD # 9: Lift Off

For time:

15 Snatch at 198/132 pounds

15 Clean and Jerk 243/176 pounds

No Invites for Mid-Atlantic Sanctioned Event — The Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge, whose online qualifiers begins January 2, announced that there will be no invites to bypass the qualifier, writing on Instagram: “Every year since the MACCs creation, our team has opened the competition stating the goals and purpose. That goal has always been to enhance the athlete experience, regardless of division. We want to treat every athlete competing like they are a Regional level athlete. The game has changed, but our goal and
purpose has not. Our Elite Division will NOT be giving away any invites, and every team/athlete will need to earn their place at the competition.”

— As far as we know, this is the only sanctioned event not giving out any invites. 

How Kids Can Benefit From CrossFit — Tia Sapienza runs the teens program at CrossFit Florian in Norwood, MA. She started the program three years ago with only a handful of girls. They now have around 100 girls in the program. “In today’s world, young females are constantly bombarded with thoughts, images and ideas of what external beauty is. They need strong, healthy, confident, independent, passionate women in their life that are going to lift them up…If I could provide this safe space for them to
exercise, build each other up, forget about everything else in their world for 60 minutes a few times a week, then I was really on the path to starting something incredible.”

Aaron Hinde on Starting LIFEAID — Hinde sat down with Joe Desena, founder of the Spartan Race, to tell his story of starting LIFEAID. “Our first can of FITAID was almost undrinkable. It was disgusting. You gotta remember beverage has a 99% fail rate and our first production was a tiny production. It cost us almost $5 a can to make and we were selling it for $2 a can just to get some proof of concept. People liked it.

 — “It was tough. Those were tough times for a while. But [my wife] was supportive. I can’t believe what I put us through. You’ve gotta have alignment. Alignment with my wife was very important. And alignment with my business partner, making sure that we’re both focused on the future of this company. So we try to operate as though everything we did was put on the front page of the newspaper. How would that look?

— “I started hanging around with people that were at much higher levels than I was. And looking at that mindset, creating a morning ritual was a game changer for me, focused on what we’re becoming, stay focused on that trajectory. We just focused on trajectory for the longest time.

— “The way I look at it, we have 72 employees. Every single employee is 1/72 of the brand. I don’t give a shit if you’re in the warehouse, or logistics, or customer service, or in sales, you are representing the brand. How you hold yourself, how you present yourself, how you treat other people, is a direct representation of us and what we stand for  as a company so we don’t put up with any bullshit, negativity, or anything.”

“Regular Exercise May Keep Your Body 30 Years ‘Younger'” by Gretchen Reynolds, the New York Times

The muscles of older men and women who have exercised for decades are indistinguishable in many ways from those of healthy 25-year-olds, according to an uplifting new study of a group of active septuagenarians.

These men and women also had much higher aerobic capacities than most people their age, the study showed, making them biologically about 30 years younger than their chronological ages, the study’s authors concluded.

All of us are aging every second, of course, which leads many of us also to be deeply interested in what we can expect from our bodies and health as those seconds — and subsequent years and decades  — mount.

Worryingly, statistics and simple observation suggest that many elderly people experience frailty, illness and dependence.

But science has not established whether and to what extent such physical decline is inevitable with age or if it is at least partially a byproduct of our modern lifestyles and perhaps amenable to change.

There have been hints, though, that physical activity might alter how we age. Recent studies have found that older athletes have healthier muscles, brains, immune systems and hearts than people of the same age who are sedentary.

But many of these studies have concentrated on competitive masters athletes, not people who exercise recreationally, and few have included many women.

So for the new study, which was published in August in the Journal of Applied Physiology, researchers at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., decided to look at a distinctive set of older men and women.

12/12 – 12/15: Dubai CrossFit Championship (Dubai, UAE)

12/15: Masters Mania (Oklahoma City, OK)

12/15: Team Luke Fundraiser (Marlboro Township, NJ)

12/15: Santa Slam Toy Drive and Community WOD (St. Petersburg, FL)

12/15 – 12/16: Nightmare Before Christmas CrossFit Competition (Albuquerque, NM)

12/22: The Flanders Throwdown (Zedelgem, Belgium)

1/10 – 1/13: Feats of Strength Online Meet (Online)

1/19: New Year New Throwdown Event (El Mirage, AZ)

1/27: Big Dawgs Athlete Development Camp (Letchworth, England)