Read the latest Morning Chalk Up articles on BarBend
Your Coffee is ready.

Annie Thorisdottir Had a Minor Surgery

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is powered by Rx Smart Gear, crafting the the best fitness gear on the planet.

“Elbow back” is the best cue for double-unders. A lot of coaches will say “elbows in” when coaching double-unders. But elbows back helps pull the hands in closer to your hips, which creates more space between your toes and the rope. See how else we cue athletes in double-unders with Rx Smart Gear’s Online Coaching. 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don’t try to forget the mistakes, but you don’t dwell on them. You don’t let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.” — Johnny Cash 

Building Healthier Communities with Brighter Bites

 

What is it?

Brighter Bites is a nonprofit delivering fresh fruits and vegetables to families that might not otherwise have access to them, while teaching them how to use and choose a different kind of fast food.

How do they do it?

Easy. Three simple steps.

Step one: Fill the plate. Every week Brighter Bites goes into local schools armed with fresh fruits and vegetables. Families and teachers are free to take two bags. That’s about 50 servings of fruits and vegetables, each week.

Step two: Educate. During the distribution, and sometimes even in classroom presentations, Brighter Bites team members teach the families how to prepare and serve the produce, as well as ways the teachers can incorporate the fruits and vegetables into class breaks when possible.

Food in the class? Yes please.

Step three: Make it great. Each visit the Brighter Bites volunteers come armed with nutrition books, tip sheets, recipes, and stickers. With exciting names like Hulk Smoothie, X-Ray Vision Smoothie, and Sunshine Baby Puree who wouldn’t want to try them?

You had us at stickers. 

Sourcing manager Jennifer Boone said “At Brighter Bites, our goal is to change behavior among children and their families to prevent obesity and achieve long-term health. We operate an evidence-based elementary school, preschool, and summer camp program that utilizes reliable access to fruits and vegetables, nutrition education, and consistent exposure to recipes and messages that feature fresh food.”

And there was a whole lot of fresh food featured this Thanksgiving. Over 300 families at one school in NYC had healthier options like sweet potatoes, onions, green beans, spinach, and apples thanks to Brighter Bites.

Right now Brighter Bites has programs in Texas, DC, New York, and Florida. Each program runs for 16 weeks during the school year and eight weeks over summer. That’s an A+ from us.

Coffee Break Conversation

 

So you want to impress that gym cutie today at the 5:30 class…

What better way to do that than with all the up to date CrossFit news from On the Minute with Morning Chalk Up and Armen Hammer TV. Impress her with the fact that you know what Mat Frasers 2019 plan is. Or wow him with your Jacob Heppner knowledge. Episode 2 aired last night but you can still get caught up before you head into the gym. 

P.S…

Which design is your favorite? We’re dropping our next limited run tee and tank next week (just in time for Christmas BTW) and we want to know which you like the best. And YES, these will come in tanks too. 

Things To…

 

WATCH: A Day in the Life of Kara Saunders

Craig Ritchey spent the day at CrossFit Kova with Kara Saunders. They chat about how she came up with the name Kova, get a WOD in, and played some basketball outside. Also, there’s a few coffee deabucles that will break your heart.

SOUNDS PRETTY DREAMY. 

 

HEAR: Noah Ohlsen on AMRAP Podcast

Five time CrossFit Games athlete Noah Ohlsen talks to AMRAP Podcast host Will Edmonds about the ups and downs of his 2018 Games, how he felt about his unfavorable portrayal in ‘The Redeemed and the Dominant’, and how the changes to the CrossFit Games season briefly made him consider hanging up his wrist wraps for good.

ALSO HE WANTS NEW FRIENDS IN MIAMI.

 

EAT: Honey Sesame Crock Pot Chicken

This macro friendly Crockpot Sesame Honey Chicken is sweet, savory and a little spicy. It’s perfect to put over a bed of rice, cauliflower rice, or into a lettuce wrap.

TURN IT ON AND LEAVE IT.

 

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

Chalk Up Community

 
  • PRO-TIP: DAMPER SETTING — Damper setting may be one of the most confusing parts of the rowing machine. Here’s a quick explanation from Dark Horse Rowing of what damper setting is and how to chose it on your rower.
  • PANCHIK BROTHERS IN BUSINESS — Saxon and Spencer Panchik just opened a new box, CrossFit Cliffside. 
  • CROSSFIT AND SOBRIETY — David Wray of CrossFit 1811 has started coaching PowerCLEAN, a yearlong pilot program offering CrossFit to low-income recovering addicts. Anyone who is at least 48 hours sober is welcome.
  • MARATHON ROW FOR MENTAL HEALTH — Seventeen teams from CrossFit Minerva each rowed more than 42,000 meters to raise money and awareness for mental health last weekend. The full marathon effort took more than 3.5 hours, raising more than $5000 for the Black Dog Institute.
  • GYMNASTICS SEMINAR — Jenny Borda is hosting a gymnastics seminar at Friendship Fitness in Columbus, OH December 15th. This seminar will focus on introductory skills and strength basics for all levels as well as coaches who want to improve their gymnastics knowledge. 

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

Hafthor Bjornsson got a 539 pound bench press PR • Vickie Embrey back squats her granddaughter • Men’s Health listed five reasons men should take up CrossFit • Heber Cannon teaches his son box jumpsKate Vibert got a 257 pound snatch balance PR • Alan Stengel gets a 400 pound back squat PR • ISF CrossFit is opening January 1st, in Prescott Valley, AZ • Dakota Rager will be competing at Wodapalooza in January • Happy third wedding anniversary to Emily Bridgers and Ben Benson

…and this CrossFit cat is going to put the dogs of CrossFit trend to rest. 

Annie Thorisdottir Had Surgery — Thorisdottir revealed on her Instagram that she had surgery Monday to treat her heart arrhythmia. “I have had a heart arrhythmia for the past six years or so. It has not bothered me that much in daily life, as it only happens every two or three months or so. This year it happened for the first time during competition – the Chaos event – so I decided to have someone take a look at it. This is something I have dreaded to do for a long time now so it was a big step for me to take. I went for a ‘surgery’ this Monday. We did find out where my extra beats are likely
getting produced but it is in a spot where I am not sure if I’m willing to take the risk to get it fixed.

— “Everything went really well and we found out I have extremely strong heart. I am so incredibly grateful for the doctors and the nurses how sweet they were and safe they all made me feel.

Now it’s back to full training in only five more days! This won’t slow me down. I got my eye on first place.”

Sneak Peak: Australian CrossFit Championship Teases Events — Event directors revealed that Event 1 of competition will kick off on the beach and we also learned that Concept2 will reveal “new race technology” at the event. 

Location, Location, Location — CrossFit Strength in Depth officially revealed the Royal Victoria Docks as the London venue which will play host to the sanctioned event at the end of February. Online qualifiers are taking place now and the deadline to submit scores is Wednesday, December 5th at Noon PT/8:00 PM GMT. 

Reader Spotlight: Mikela from CrossFit Paladin in Lubbock, TX — “When I started CrossFit in 2016, I couldn’t do even one pull-up. Jumping pull-ups were taxing and banded pull-ups were a struggle. Today I did a set of two weighted pull-ups with 20 pounds, and one with 25 pounds.

— “It’s not perfect, but it’s significant progress. Two years ago, I was obsessed with being as skinny as possible; now, I’m obsessed with becoming comfortable with and proud of the women I see in the mirror. I’m never going to be an elite athlete, but I can strive to be the best me that I can be. The best me I can be is a strong example for my lil’ bit. She’s my WHY. What’s yours?”

For His 60th Birthday, She Got Him NOBULL Trainers — Anita and Mike Garner have been married for 31 years. Mike turned 60 this year and his wife did something super awesome. She lined up 60 days of gifts for her husband. Here’s day 37: “Anita and Mike are into a fitness program called CrossFit. On Day 37, a pair of matching Nobull training shoes arrive, one for him and one for her. She snaps a photo of Mike kissing his pair. Nine days
later, she arranges an hour-and-a-half personal training session for him with a weight training coach. For nearly the whole time, they worked on techniques that will help Mike lift more weight. That, he says, was one his favorite gifts. ‘For an old man like me,” he says, “you have to be careful.'”

Reads

CHALK UP READS

“How One Woman Came to Terms With Her Exercise Addiction,” by Lara Ceroni, MSN Health.

It’s hard for me to reconcile in my mind that something I love so much can actually be hurting me. I fell in love with fitness when I was just 15. It was the early ’90s, the heyday of step aerobics and Spandex, and I was obsessed. I’d drag my mom out of bed before 6:00 AM so she could drive us to the club for our early morning class, rain or shine. My 20s were devoted to running races and adventure racing; my 30s to duathlons and triathlons. I turned 40 in October and nowadays it’s HIIT classes, boxing, more running, more weight training, more everything.

But, most mornings getting out of bed is not only a practice in patience, it’s one of resolve. I hurt everywhere: My knees are shot and my back has become the most spontaneous thing about me lately. My shoulders are wrought with tendonitis, as are my ankles. People in my gym tribe joke I’m ‘The Modifier’ because if injuries prevent me from lunging, OK then, I’ll squat. If I can’t run, I’ll row. There are days I know I should stop but I don’t, and classes I should just skip but I stay.

Why? Because I like reaching a peak and knowing it’s not the top of the mountain; I relish the pain as much as I do the pleasure, and failure is my greatest turn-on: If I fail today, you can bet I won’t do the same tomorrow. Fitness is my therapy, and I would feel lost without it. You may be thinking: Lara, do you do this every day? No, not exactly. I have sat on the sidelines when I know a particular injury will only heal with rest, and I’ve skipped out on a workout to drink wine with my girlfriends instead. So does this still mean I’m addicted? Maybe.

Addiction is a strong word, and when we think about what that definition means it’s natural for our minds to go straight to drugs, food — even sex. It’s when we add exercise into the mix that stuff starts to get controversial. For the most part, research on the topic is minimal, and most experts will say that only roughly three percent of the overall population suffers from an exercise addiction.

Reads

CHALK UP CALENDAR

11/30 – 12/16: Naughty or Nice Toy Drive (Online)

11/30 – 12/2: Rogue Winter Classic (Cleveland, OH)

12/1: Rock It CrossFitMas Classic (Fort Worth, TX) 

12/1: Barbells For Bootstraps (Beverly, MA)

12/1: Bro Down Throw Down for Cancer Awareness (Bridgeport, PA)

12/1: Push/Pull for Pancreatic Cancer at CrossFit Pawling (Pawling, NY)

12/1: Winter Throwdown 2018 (New York, NY)

12/1: Reindeer Games 2018 (Medford, OR)

12/1: Heroes Challenge (Dallas, TX)

12/1: Vekter Games (Columbia, MD)

12/1: New England Co-Ed Classic (Bedford, NH)

12/1: VoyEdge RX Costa Rica (Costa Rica)

12/1 – 12/12: Swan Strong 12 Days of Fitness (Online)

12/8: Fittest Alive in the 845 (Poughkeepsie, NY)

12/8: The 2018 Reindeer Games Finale (Del Mar, CA)

12/8 – 12/9: WOD Godz (Shreveport, LA) 

12/8: Rampage Christmas Throwdown (Murfreesboro, TN)

12/8: A Very Krampus Kilofest (Hickory, NC)

12/8: CrossFIt Raeford 3rd annual WOD for Dogs (Raeford, NC)

12/8: Reindeer Games at CrossFit 321 (Topsham, ME)

12/8: Candor Power Hour Reindeer Games (Tuscaloosa, AL)

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

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

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

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

+ Send us an event
Is there something we missed? Email us at [email protected].
Your Coffee is ready.