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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is fueled by Puori (formerly known as PurePharma), a health supplement company that believes in a preventative lifestyle and a holistic approach to health. Where the modern diet falls short in nourishing us with the nutrients we need, they provide the purest natural supplements for people, for ourselves, and for a healthier future.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I hope you are blessed with a heart like a wildflower. Strong enough to rise again after being trampled upon, tough enough to weather the worst of the summer storms, and able to grow and flourish even in the most broken places.” — Nikita Gill
CHALK UP IN 2 MINUTES
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU HIT THE BOX
PREDICTING THE GAMES…It just dawned on us that Dave Castro’s July 4th event announcement, makes it really unlikely there will be a repeat of any kind of triathlon event like 2012. There has never been more than one swimming event at the CrossFit Games and typically only one long running event, though there are exceptions. Back in April, we staked our entire reputation on the prediction that there would be a biking event at the 2017 CrossFit Games. Come on Dave, don’t let Madison’s bike paths go to waste!
Morning Chalk Up t-shirts are shipping out today! RxBar just added more locations like Kroger and Fred Mayer where you can pickup their bars. Check out the CrossFit Games vendor list. Reebok and Stacie Tovar teamed up to put together a workout you can do while watching Wimbledon. Maddy Myers hits a 203 pound snatch. Alec Smith and Alyssa Ritchey take on this handstand challenge. Alessandra Pichelli climbs the pegboard in her weight vest. Emily Abbott did a sprint triathlon.
DISCOVERED…Further evidence that Camille Leblanc-Bazinet and Dave Lipson are the strangest couple on the planet.
WHAT TO TELL YOUR FRESHMAN WHO JUST STARTED GOING TO THE GYM…
Lift heavier cause somewhere there’s a girl who’s warming up with your 1 rep max and that girl is named Marya Drabicki. She works out at CrossFit Henderson just outside of Las Vegas, NV, oh and she snatches 182 pounds. When Marya was about 9-years-old, she was really overweight and her tennis instructor suggested she try out CrossFit to improve her tennis game. We’re not sure how tennis is going but Marya dropped 65 pounds then set the youth American record for the snatch at Nationals. She’ll also be competing at the CrossFit Games in Madison next month.
THINGS TO…
WATCH: Games Life with Tennil Reed
Episode one in this four part documentary following OPEX Athlete, Tennil Reed as she prepares for the 2017 CrossFit Games. Tennil qualified for her second CrossFit Games after beating Camille Leblanc-Bazinet to win the 2017 South Regional.
WATCH.
WATCH.
HEAR: Chris Spealler on Training for Longevity
Chris Spealler is heading to the CrossFit Games for the first time as a masters athlete. Julie Foucher sits down with the 8x Games athlete as he talks about how to stay fit for the next fifty years.
LISTEN IN.
LISTEN IN.
EAT: Grilled Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus Skewers
Good morning sunshine. It’s grill season. We know nothing can beat “bacon wrapped” anything but this is so delicious you can’t afford not to give it a try.
GRILL ON.
GRILL ON.
CHALK UP AFFILIATES
75-Years-Old and Breaking Records…Every morning at the crack of dawn, 75-year-old Susie Rose gets out of bed, makes herself a cup of ginger tea, heads to CrossFit Operation Underground Railroad and deadlifts 200 pounds with her son Paul. Last month, Susie set a new deadlift record at an American Powerlifting Federation competition in Utah by raising 209.4 pounds in the Women’s 65-and-over age group, qualifying her to compete in the Amateur World Powerlifting Congress (AWPC) World Cup in August in Idaho.
On Saturday night, athletes at Australia based Woolgoolga CrossFit slept outside to raise awareness of the growing issue of homelessness. Overnight temperatures dipped into the mid-40s.
Update on Lindsay Hassell, owner of CrossFit The Club, who underwent a kidney transplant on June 29th. His wife provided the live kidney transplant. According to a Facebook post, both Lindsay and Julie have returned home.
The Effingham County Chamber of Commerce recognized CrossFit Effingham as the business of the month for July.
FOR FURTHER READING, OPEX Fitness on leadership lessons and how to lead your gym.
CHALK UP READS
“An Open Letter to the ‘Big Dogs'” by Mike Warkentin, CrossFit Journal
We’re well aware of your snatch PR. We can indeed hear you grunting as you rep out. We know you hold the top spot on the squat leaderboard. And yes, we know all about your big bag of supplements, your special gear, your amp-up music and your pre-lift routine. But a great many of us really don’t care about your strength numbers. Here’s why: You’re in a CrossFit program.
This, of course, is not to throw shade at those who are specifically training for powerlifting, weightlifting or strongman. You guys and girls are cool. We’re thrilled to watch you clean and press our deadlift PR. We’ll gladly lend our car if you need something to pull around the block. Have at that 700-lb. yoke with our complete blessing. We respect you and your goals.
We’re also down with strong guys and girls who bust their asses all week in workouts that include heavy barbell work, long runs, gymnastics and everything in between. You guys are A-OK.
“The How of Mental Strength: 3 Core Principles to Use Every Day” by Gameplan A
Too often leaders (coaches, parents, teachers, and bosses) tell us WHAT mindset we should have rather than focusing on HOW best to use it.
It’s easy to tell someone to be confident, move on to the next play, lock in, don’t over-think it, don’t fear failure, or any of the many other mindsets we casually demand that our athletes perform. However, it is quite another to actually teach them how to go out and implement those skills when they need them the most.
I am fortunate to work each day with Division I student-athletes, US National Team members, and professional athletes. I’d like to share two clear truths from that work. First, while these individuals are highly skilled at their sport they are simply human and have the same moments of mental hurdles and challenges that everyone else has. The second is that conquering these challenges is skill based and can be learned in a similar process to how we learn our physical talents.