Another Hidden Camera Case

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is powered by RP Strength.



The RP Diet App is here! The RP Diet App will customize and build a personalized diet based around your schedule, goals, and the specifics of your body’s needs on a weekly basis. Built by PhDs, Registered Dietitians, and Data Scientists, the RP Diet App is revolutionary, including new patent-pending technology. Available on the Apple and Google store, try it out today for your two-week FREE trial.

“Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.” — Stephen King

Never Fear Shins, the RPM Exobox is Here

We’ve all been there. You get off the assault bike wobbly legged, teeter on over to start your box jumps, bound up there to land and the next thing you know half of your shin is dangling from the edge of the box.

Enter RPM Training’s newest product, the RPM Exobox.

• It’s got an aluminum frame with rounded edges: “Exobox’s patent-pending aluminum frame reduces box jump misses, has no sharp edges, and can handle in excess of 10,000 workouts, as shown by our prototype that has been in use in at our HQ gym for 3+ years,” the website reads.
• It’s super durable: “You kind of notice these pain points as an affiliate owner. The jump rope was one of them and the box is another one of them. It’s that one injury that kind of creeps up on you, so we started thinking about it in those terms and it was the one piece of equipment we started replacing so much, so it was a durability factor, and a risk factor, but also fear motivated for some people,” Co-Founder Shane Rogers told us.
• You’ll be able to choose a design to cover your panels or, for affiliate owners,  you can personalize them with your own design. “At RPM, design and expression through art is at the core of everything we do, and we just uncovered the biggest unused canvas in the industry… completely reinventing an outdated, inherently flawed tool in the process,” said Co-Founder Josh Rogers.

You can reserve yours now with a $100 deposit. Then, as you get closer to the launch late summer, you’ll be able to choose your panel or send in your custom design for your affiliate. Save your shins and pretty up that home gym.

Coach Fired After Being Arrested for Filming Gym Members in the Restroom

Over the weekend, news broke of another unfortunate incident involving a hidden camera in the bathroom. This time it was at CrossFit Allen in Allen, TX.

Coach and business partner Eric Bedunah had allegedly been recording members of CrossFit Allen via a hidden camera in the restroom.

• Police found the hidden camera after executing a search warrant stemming from a complaint made by a teenaged girl to a school resource officer. 
• Bedunah had been texting the young girl for months before allegedly sending her a nude photo of himself, prompting the girl to report the incident to the school officer. 
• He was arrested last week and charged with online solicitation of a minor and invasive recording.
• He was fired from CrossFit Allen as soon as the accusations arose.
• CrossFit Allen partners told local news: “Our hearts go out to everyone who was affected by his conduct, as we remain committed to the safety and unity of our entire CrossFit Allen community.”

This is not the first time we’ve had to tell this story. It’s actually the fourth and none of them end well for the accused. Every time we write this story, we hope it is our last. Out of respect for the communities who’ve already had to go through this, we’ve decided to withold the names of these affiliates. 

• The bottom line: As there are more than 10,000 individual affiliates reading our newsletter, please share this article with others so they know what to look for and hopefully would-be peeping Toms will think twice too.

Things To…

WATCH: Why Rich Froning Won’t Go Individual

Four-time champ Rich Froning sits down with Craig Richey to discuss how he gets through terrible WODs, how he always manages to stay in his own lane and why he won’t compete as an individual again.

BE A BETTER ATHLETE.

HEAR: No Rep Podcast

Seth and Tony, hosts of the No Rep podcast, welcome guest Pamela Gagnon, former D-1 gymnast, three-time masters Games athlete and a Lead CrossFit gymnastics coach. Pamela has been flipping, twisting and somersaulting for decades, but she still loves to teach beginners the progressions they need to achieve their individual goals.

GYMNASTICS ARE FUN.

GET: Yourself a Limited Edition Tank or Tee

You’ve only got until Friday to get your mitts on one of these limited edition Morning Chalk Up tanks and tees. You’ve got choices between blue, black, white or all go crazy and get all three.

ALL THE COOL KIDS. 

EAT: Spring Minestrone Soup

Spring can’t always make up its mind. Sometimes sunny, sometimes rainy. But this spring minestrone soup is just right all the time, with it’s bright but light broth with scallions, half a serrano chile, and lemon zest. Serve up a spring soup that’s full of texture, with crunchy snap peas and whisps of spinach.

SOUP’S ON.

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

Chalk Up Community

• EVIE STRONG — Baby Evie was recently diagnosed with Pompe disease. CrossFit Conjugate in Cincinnati, OH is hosting a community event on Friday, May 3 to support her and her family. They will be collecting donations, have a community WOD and a cookout after.
• GRAND OPENING — CrossFit Hydrogen in Fishers, IN is holding a grand opening on May 4 with a tour of the new box, vendors and a raffle. 
• OUTWOD IN LA — OUTWOD Showdown CrossFit Partner Competition is coming to Los Angeles, CA. Teams of two will compete in the 6th annual competition at Brick Los Angeles on June 8. All funds raised will support the OUT Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to removing the barriers that block LGBTQ+ individual’s access and participation in health, wellness and fitness to ensure their success.

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

Katrin Davidsdottir and BK Gudmundsson got a little shooting practice in this weekend • Jamie Hagiya got a 205 pound snatch + five overhead squats • Leah has added 55 pounds to her back squat in five weeks • Synne Krokstad snatched 176 pounds for a PR • Will Georges cleans 375 pounds • Adrian Conway jerks 345 pounds • Tim Paulson narrowly misses a 302 pound snatch • Bethany Shadburne push
presses 180 pound doubles • Happy birthday Alex Cardenas • Blair Chapman clean and jerks 345
pounds for a PR • Rachel Garibay front squats 275 pounds for three.

French Throwdown Online Qualifier — The week two WODs of the CrossFit French Throwdown online qualifier have been released. Registered athletes have until May 1 at 11:00 AM PT to get their scores in. 

Reykjavik CrossFit Championship — Paul Tremblay is confirmed to compete at the Reykjavik CrossFit Championship next weekend. 

Brazil CrossFit Championship — Individual Event 1 and Team Event 1 were announced for the BCC, which kicks off May 17 – 19. 

Sara Sigmundsdottir to Morning Chalk Up: “I’ve definitely got my groove back.” — Sigmundsdottir sat down with our Editor-in-Chief Justin LoFranco last week to discuss how she’s pivoting her training for the Games, how she felt about wining the 2019 Open, and getting ready for the Rogue Invitational.

— “Rogue is going to be a very interesting competition. I’ve competed at Miami and Dubai and they’ve all been competitions previous years, so we know a little bit what to expect. Well Rogue is a little bit like, is it going to be Games competition, is it going to be Regionals style, what’s it going to be… it’s just like preparing for the Games almost. You don’t know what you’re expecting and like, I mean they provide all the equipment and everything for the Games, they might as well.

— “Of course you never want to go into a competition to lose, but I want to peak at the right time, so I’m gonna peak at the Games, but I would like to do very well at Rogue. I’m gonna train as hard as I can without it affecting the Games later on.”

2019 Pan American Championship Team USA Results — The weekend saw the end of the 2019 Pan American Championship. Jason Bonnick made four of his six lifts. Jenny Arthur made four of her six lifts, sweeping second in the 76kg category. D’Angelo Osorio swept gold in his division as did Sarah Robles. Wes Kitts made five of his six lifts, taking silver in the sntach and gold in both
clean and jerk and the total, setting a new Pan American and American record with his 223kg/492 pound clean and jerk. His total of 299kg/ 880 pounds broke the long standing American record held by Wes Barnett.

— All in all, Team USA ended Pan Ams with 43 medals, including 22 gold, and won best male and female team.

— Full Video.

Winners of the Asia CrossFit Championship —  Asia CrossFit Championship wrapped up early this morning. Here is who took the leaderboard:

— Men: 1.) Brent Fikowski, 2.) Josh Woodhull, 3.) Ant Haynes.

— Women: 1.) Kristin Holte, 2.) Eik Gylfadottir, 3.) Alethea Boon.

— Teams: 1.) Mayhem Freedom, 2.) Team Invictus Grown Strong, 3.) Torian Black.

— It was a busy weekend: Day one got the competition rolling while day two saw Mayhem Freedom, Brent Fikowski and Kristin Holte at the
top of the leaderboard.

Winners of the Italian CrossFit Showdown — Here is who took the Italian CrossFit Showdown. More on who is getting the men’s invite tomorrow.

— Men: 1.) Roman Khrennikov, 2.) Scott Panchik, 3.) Noah Ohlsen.

— Women: 1.) Erin Vandendriessche, 2.) Feeroozeh
 Saghafi, 3.) Steph Chung.

…oh and by the way, Feeroozeh
 Saghafi just won the Rogue Invitational qualifier.

Sean Sweeney on Cheating in the Open — Sean Sweeney, the CrossFit Cowboy who earned his ticket to Madison at Fittest in Cape Town, took to his outdoor office on Friday to discuss the recent Devin Ford controversy.

— “If you get super strong off drugs, you get a four-year ban. And right now you can officially, blatantly cheat to get to the Games through the Open and get a couple seconds added to your time. That’s a problem for me. I think we all got into and we love the sport of CrossFit, this way of life, because we challenge ourselves day in and day out and we hold ourselves accountable to progress and when we come in and do a workout, whether that’s a high-level competition or an everyday Joe.

— “Would you rather do 18 thrusters instead of 21 in Fran? You bet your ass you would. Who wants to do those last three thrusters? But we do it because we want to progress throughout our fitness and throughout our life. So we hold ourself to that standard and we do that stuff that’s a little uncomfortable.

— “Now when we’re talking about the sport, I feel like it should be held to an even higher standard and if there’s any sort of foul play and cheating that way, those guys need to be gone. See ya later, man.”

Why Coaches Should Never Work For a Percentage,” by Dr. Sean Pastuch, Morning Chalk Up 

One of the most common questions I get asked by Gym owners and the coaches who work for them is “What is a fair split between the gym and the coach?” They want to know what percent the coach should make and what percent the gym should make on a given session.

This question gets asked so often because gym owners and managers want their coaches to be incentivized to work hard and earn a living, and they also have to be cognizant of their own expenses and financial needs to stay solvent.

While the coach shows up to work and the rent is paid, the utilities are paid, the gym is cleaned, the weights are there, the heat works, etc., all of these items and many more, including customer acquisition, fall onto the gym owner’s or manager’s plate.

A common theme in the micro gym community is to pay the coach 4/9ths of the cost of a session; I’ve heard it go as high as 100%, but the common settling point seems to be around 44%.

Here is the problem.

Setting a percentage rate for coaches to be paid does not take into consideration how much a coach needs to make to live a fulfilled life. Let’s say you live in America as you read this. How much money does an American in a suburban area within 40 miles of a major city have to make annually to live a financially free life?

There is an answer to this question and based on most research it currently sits around $75,000/year. It is important for me to note here, I believe the number is far higher than this, but this is what the “research” has shown.

If we agree that burnout happens when a coach works more than 25 training hours per week, and if we agree that everyone should have two weeks of vacation per year, then we have some easy math to work with.

5/2 – 5/6: Age Group Online Qualifier (Online)

5/3: Lift For Lee (Williamston, MI)

5/3 – 5/4: Tough As Nails (Lubbock, TX)

5/3 – 5/5 The Fittest Experience (Austin, TX)

5/3 – 5/5: Appalachian Games (Asheville, NC)

5/3 – 5/5: Reykjavik CrossFit Championship (Reykjavik, Iceland)

5/4: 2nd Annual Heavy Day Morgan (Oak Ridge, TN)

5/4: Battle at the Lab 2019 Cinco De Mayo (Clarksville, TN)

5/4: Border Open Part V (El Paso, TX)

5/4: Desert Warrior (Scottsdale, AZ)

5/4: The Jurassic Classic (Kennewick, WA)

5/4: Lifto De Mayo 2019 (Eagan, MN)

5/4: Rookie Rumble Pittsburgh at Arsenal Strength (Pittsburgh, PA)

5/4: Girls Gone RX Delaware (Middletown, DE)

5/4: Girls Gone RX DC (Alexandria, VA)

5/4: Black and Brewed 2019 (Huntsville, AL)

5/4: Row for Wishes (Telluride, CO)

5/4: The Locomotive Games IV (Youngstown, OH)

5/4: Breaking Boundaries Competition (Greer, SC)

5/4: Cura Sapulpa Fundraiser (Sapulpa, OK)

5/4: Bow Wars 4 (Columbus, GA)

5/4: NYC Heart Health and Nutrition Seminar (New York, NY) 

5/5: Cupid’s Spring Fling (Medina, OH)

5/10: Beast Mode Games 2019 (Greenville, SC)

5/11: 2019 Moco Throwdown (Bethesda, MD)

5/11: Butchertown Cleaver Classic (Louisville, KY)

5/11: Girls on Girls X (Bridgeport, PA)

5/11: Battle of the Gulf Coast (Port Neches, TX)

5/11: Femme Royale So Cal (Orange, CA)

5/11: Squat for Guate (Hickory, NC)

5/11: Southside Showdown (Jenks OK)

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

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)

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

5/31 – 6/1: The Rockwell Championship Series Main Event (Woods Cross, UT)