Your Coffee is ready.
Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is fueled by FITAID, the Official Recovery Drink of the CrossFit Games. FITAID is fueling your passion with our clean and refreshing nutritional blends. Can you say the same about those other one-dimensional products whose “blend” is a bunch of additives, sugar, & added caffeine?
Want to win your own $15,000 custom built garage gym just for you? All you need to do is add your name.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“If you want something you’ve never had you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.” — Thomas Jefferson
REGIONALS IN 2 MINUTES
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW.
Interesting observation…Meridian Regionals athletes on Event 1 did not need to crawl under the plexiglass after completing the 1200m run.
BLEACHER REPORT
- Christy Adkins’ team CrossFit Balance sits in 4th place overall.
- CrossFit Krypton has six individual athletes competing at the Atlantic Regionals.
- Sixteen-year-old Haley Adams took seventh in Event 1, her first Regional event ever.
- Emily Bridgers racked up her 13th career Regionals win.
Ben Smith’s Path to the Games…
The Scenario. Ben Smith had his worst Regionals start in his entire career. NOT ONE ATHLETE in 2017 has gone from 19th after day 1 to qualify for the CrossFit Games.
The Numbers. Each of the 25 athletes who’ve qualified for the Games thus far has averaged 478.44 points. The lowest cumulative total to qualify is 394 points by Jeff Patzer, which is likely due to Christian Lucero taking 375 points off the leaderboard after he withdrew.
How He Gets There. Ben Smith currently has 100 points. With four events remaining, he’d have to average 94.61 points per event or 2nd place to tie the average. He’d have to average 73.5 points or 6th place to tie Jeff Patzer’s 375 points.
PEC INJURIES
Dave Castro on pectoral injuries…“I hate to see all the injuries..it’s very unfortunate, that being said…I don’t regret programming it. I think we possibly might have exposed some deficiencies in training. We actually even did the ring dip a few years ago at Regionals 2014 with the same standard. It really pains me to see people getting injured on it but it doesn’t make me think we made a mistake.”
Julien Pineau, Coach at CrossFit Invictus, on the pec injuries…“It’s not Dave Castro’s programming…that was a test and it’s not Dave Castro that failed, it’s the athletes. What we saw basically is…there is no pec work in CrossFit anymore. So what happened was an undertrained muscle that has to go from relaxed to fully contracted in a hurry, for time, very very fast and just could not handle the load.”
30 — The unofficial number of male competitors who’ve withdrawn due to some kind of pec injury, either before or during competition. That is 9% of all male competitors.
CHALK UP IN 2 MINUTES
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU HIT THE BOX
Hey Pat Sherwood, ever tried a front rack yoke carry? Just released, the trailer for CrossFit Media’s newest documentary “OGAR: Will of Steel,” which follows Kevin Ogar on his journey to become the first adaptive athlete to get L1 certified. Jamie Hagiya, it’s a good thing the iPhone 7 is waterproof-ish.
FEATURED: “Why Mat Fraser Is the World’s Fittest Man” by Men’s Health.
REGIONALS REFLECTIONS
Lindsey Valenzuela on Competing Again…“A year ago, I had just given birth to our awesome son and along with that came the very long and emotional recovery process of a c-section…My ‘season’ started in October, still 40lbs heavier and I could barely hang from the pull-up bar. I had nights where I would look at my husband and say “what the f**k I’m I doing?”…I can say without a doubt this weekend will go down as the best and one of the most life changing experiences as an athlete I have ever had…nothing compares to the love I felt by those close to me and by the entire crowd, and the spark that was reignited this weekend. I used to go into competition with a ‘prove those people wrong’ kind of attitude, but now I have love and joy in my heart that drives me to be not only a better athlete, but woman all together…”
WHAT TO TELL YOUR FRIEND WHO THINKS JUST BECAUSE THEY DO CROSSFIT THEY’RE AUTOMATICALLY READY FOR EVERYTHING ELSE…
Your friend is kinda right. Five average CrossFitters walked into a ballet class hosted by Isabell Boylston, Principal Dancer with the American Ballet Theatre in New York. Don’t let this headline fool you though, these guys who’ve never danced before actually did a decent job handling the fitness; not so much the dancing. For their next episode, we think SELF should invite the ballerinas over to the box for a metcon…Ballerinas meet Helen.
THINGS TO…
HEAR: Turning Setbacks Into Successes
Sitting in first place, Christian Lucero was two events and a hundred reps away from making it back to the CrossFit Games when he felt his left pectoral pop. Lucero joins The Art of Fitness Podcast to share his thoughts.
TUNE IN.
TUNE IN.
DO: Awaken Your Core with BIRTHFIT
On Monday, BIRTHFIT is hosting their first summer webinar series. This episode will focus on your core to end pelvic floor dysfunction through training complete core (trunk) function.
ADD TO CALENDAR.
ADD TO CALENDAR.
EAT: Two Fish Oil Salad Dressings
Sounds a little off, we know. But Puori (PurePharma) just released their new citrus infused fish oil that doesn’t come with any of that fishy aftertaste but with all the nutrients. It’s the perfect way to get everything you need in one meal.
OMEGA 3S.
OMEGA 3S.
CHALK UP READS
“Changes Comes” by Andréa Maria Cecil, CrossFit Games
The CrossFit Games were growing. So much so that they had to add Regional qualifying events to whittle down the increasing number of athletes who wanted a shot at the title of “Fittest on Earth.”
From 17 regions around the globe, Games organizers narrowed the pool of competitors to 146. That year, Tanya Wagner and Mikko Salo won the Games, which were hosted for the third and final year at The Ranch in Aromas, California, also known as home to Games Director Dave Castro.
It was 2009—one year before the Games would outgrow its digs in Northern California and move to the then-Home Depot Center, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy, and two years before CrossFit HQ would introduce the Open to the world.
“Get on the Casein Train” by Athlete Daily
If you’re a lifter of any kind or a CrossFit athlete, chances are you’re familiar with protein powder. Maybe you carry it in your gym bag to fix up a post-workout shake, or like to have it on hand to add to smoothies or carry on travel trips.
But while most people are familiar with the ultra-popular whey protein, it’s casein protein that can be a true game-changer for athletes. Want to build muscle, lose weight or curb hunger? Consider adding casein protein to your daily regimen.
What makes it different then whey protein, pea protein or even a protein staple like chicken breast? The timing.
While whey is a fast-acting protein, which is why it’s ideal for post-workout when your body needs to quickly replenish energy stores, casein has a much slower absorption rate. That means there’s a much longer time its amino acids stay in your bloodstream. Because of this, your body’s muscles have more time to use those free amino acids for repairing and growing your muscles.