Brooke Ence’s $20,000 donation

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is powered by Utzy Naturals. If you’re not sleeping, then you’re not recovering. With all that Open prep you’re doing you need to make sure to get a good night’s rest. This week, Utzy is offering 50% off your first bottle of natural sleep aid products to help fuel your recovery.

“You are not thrown into the fire – you ARE the fire.” — Unknown

$20,000 FOR CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING

The story.

Last week, you read this story about how six NOBULL athletes got to use their bodies, and a few pieces of equipment, as paintbrushes, to create six one-of-a-kind pieces of art.

They turned each one of those canvases into a limited edition pair of NOBULL trainers, which launched last Friday in London.

With you so far. So what happened now?

Along with the launch party, NOBULL decided to auction off the original canvases from each athlete, with 100% of the proceeds going to a charity of the athletes’ choosing. A total of $38,316 was raised and one of those pieces went for a very pretty penny.

Oh lemme guess!

Correct. It was Brooke Ence’s canvas that sold for a whopping $20,000. She announced that the big check was going to OURescue, a non-profit that actively works to rescue children from sex slavery, rehabilitating and caring for them once they’re free. They also operate CrossFit OUR (Operation Underground Railroad), a non-profit CrossFit Affiliate that uses all profits to fund rescues.

“It was so cool to see NOBULL start this initiative to give CrossFit a deeper cause,” said Taylor Richard-Lindsay, Manager of CrossFit OUR. “With this $20,000, Operation Underground Railroad will be able to find, rescue, rehabilitate and prevent human trafficking. For example, we can rescue a child for approximately $2,500. We are so grateful that the community is using CrossFit as a platform to fight against human trafficking.”

As Brooke said, “help make a differENCE,” and here’s where you can join the cause.

COFFEE BREAK CONVERSATIONS

What to tell your friend who currently has nothing to do at work right now…

Have you ever wondered how much Olympic speed skaters squat? Well, you are now. In related news, these men are woking their butts off hoping to be the first Afghan skiers at the Olympics.

What to tell your friend who just got permission to bring her dog to work…

Have you tried puppy pilates yet? What started out as a tongue-in-cheek comment, CrossFit Eclectic in Derby, KS is now turning into an actual class. “I said it jokingly and everyone got super excited about the idea of puppy pilates, so here we are! We’re going to try it out,” said co-owner Melanie Emond. We’re not exactly sure how they managed all those dogs but it looked like everyone had a good time.

THINGS TO…

WATCH: WAG Docu-Series with Justin Holt, EP 4

The final episode of this WAG docu-series following film maker Justin Holt, dives into Justin finally developing a sense of nutrition freedom, not only with what he eats but his body composition as a whole. 

FREEDOM IN NUTRITION.

KNOW: 10 Tips for Your Best Night Sleep

Utzy teamed up with former CrossFit Games athlete and sleep expert, Dr. Allison Brager to help you improve not just the quantity but quality of your sleep. They even included a handy sleep diary to help you track your sleep progress. 

GET THE SLEEP GUIDE. 

HEAR: The Attitude of an Athlete and Entrepreneur

Winemaker and 5x CrossFit Games athlete, Margaux Alvarez joins the Brute Strength podcast and shares some of the productivity and time management skills that she has had to develop as both an elite athlete and an entrepreneur.

MEET MARGAUX. 

EAT: 63 Healthyish Super Bowl Snacks

Cause Sunday is the big game and you’re not down with Tostitos, rolled tacos and the seven layer dip. Bon Appétit has literally every craving covered.

BRING ON THE MUNCHIES.

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

CHALK UP COMMUNITY

• GOLF PRO — Michael Dennington, a 29-year-old professional golfer from York, England has decided to open his own affiliate, CrossFit YO4, with his wife. P.S. They met at CrossFit. 
• CAN CAMILLE COME BACK? — Camille Leblanc-Bazinet’s CrossFit Games was cut short after dislocating her shoulder in event 1. Weeks away from the CrossFit Open, Reebok follows the perennial Games competitor on her road to recovery as she tries to make it back.
• THE 393 MILE ERGATHON — When the local Tinton Falls, NJ rowing club needed a space to go ham on the rower for a few hours, Monmouth CrossFit stepped up. Get this: 29 rowers logged a jaw-dropping 393 miles in four hours. Several completed more than a marathon. 
• MOVING OUT — After eight years at their current location, CrossFit Bath in England is leaving their home for a new spot after the building owner decided he wanted to remodel. They’re moving in with the Bath City Football Club. 

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

Twelve-year-old Zane Bowers of CrossFit Devastation got his first muscle-up • Aleksey Torokhtiy’s training camp looks like a vodka-infused Russian
male-bonding retreat • Kara Webb is probably one of five people who find that journaling in this position is comfortable • Jamie Hagiya hit a 220 pound thruster PR • The Nike Romaleos 3 now come in Halloween colors • Seventy-year-old Gerry from CrossFit Helena deadlifted 205 pounds.

THE CROSSFIT OPEN — There are 23 days, 16 hours until the CrossFit Open kicks off and here are your live announcement matchups.

Week 1: Feb 22 — Samantha Briggs vs Kristin Holte (Rematch from 2017)

Week 2: March 1 — Patrick Vellner vs Noah Ohlsen

Week 3: March 8 — Kyle Kasperbauer vs Neal Maddox

Week 4: March 15 — BK Gudmundsson vs Scott Panchik

Week 5: March 22 — Annie Thorisdottir vs Katrin Davidsdottir vs Sara Sigmundsdottir

Fast Facts on Live Open Announcements

— We thought it intersting that Week 1, hosted in São Paolo, Brazil doesn’t include any athletes from the new Latin America region.

— This is the first time since Mat Fraser’s 2014 rookie year that he hasn’t competed in a live Open announcement. Our take: he was asked and declined. 

— Scott Panchik has competed in a live Open announcement every year except 2016. He has the most appearances. 

— This is only the second year a Masters athlete has appeared. The last time was Shawn Ramirez in 2016. 

— This is the first year the Fittest Man and Woman on Earth didn’t compete. 

“Doctor Feels Good” by Hilary Achauer, CrossFit Journal

It was 2010, and 38-year-old Dr. Neil Kanterman had been trying to get into shape since 2004. He’d join a gym, and once inside he’d run on the treadmill and make an attempt to use the weight machines. He didn’t know what he was doing and nobody was there to help him, so he usually stopped after a month or two.

Nobody noticed.

And he was adding a few extra pounds each year.

Kanterman was already on blood-pressure medication in 2010 when his cholesterol got high enough that his doctor prescribed statins to bring it back to normal.

At 5 foot 9 and 220 lb., Kanterman wasn’t obese, but the number on the scale was rising each year. Not yet 40, he was already on two different medicines he knew he could avoid with better lifestyle choices.

“I am a physician,” said Kanterman, a pediatric ophthalmologist. “I (was) familiar with what was going on. I really wanted to try to do something to stop this from going down that road.”

1/29: Facebook Live Q&A with Brooke Wells (Facebook)

2/3: No Weak Links “V” (Whitesboro, NY)

2/3: Caution Grounds 7 (Hialeah Gardens, FL)

2/3: Output Fitness Trials (Miramar, FL)

2/3: 6th Annual Women’s WOD Jam (Broomfield, CO)

2/3: 5th Annual Golden State Games (Stockton, CA)

2/3: Garage Girls Tour (Milton, GA)

2/10: Mirror Image CrossFit’s Cupid’s Clash (Panama City, FL)

2/10: New WODs On the Block – The Third Wheel (Nationwide)

2/10: Tuff Love (Boulder, CO)

2/10: A League of Their Own: A Women’s Only Challenge (San Antonio, TX)

2/10: Mayhem Showdown 2018 (Cookeville, TN) 

2/17: Lovers and Lifters (Springfield, KY)

2/17: Steel Rail Shootout 2018 (McComb, MS)

2/17: Wynwood Throwdown (Miami, FL)

2/22: CrossFit Open 18.1 (Worldwide)

3/1: CrossFit Open 18.2 (Worldwide)

3/8: CrossFit Open 18.3 (Worldwide)

3/10: Women Who WOD (Barbados)

3/15: CrossFit Open 18.4 (Worldwide)

3/22: CrossFit Open 18.5 (Worldwide)

4/7: Battle of the Badges (Anaheim, CA)

4/7: The Revolution (San Antonio, TX)

4/14: Battle for the Mountain (Dawsonville, GA)

4/14 – 4/15: Mid-Atlantic Affiliate Challenge (Columbia, MD)

4/21: Festivus Games (Nationwide)

4/28: Battleground SoCal (Wimington, CA)

4/28: Girls Gone Rx (Cincinnati, OH)

4/28 – 4/29: Walter’s Cup Throwdown (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

5/4 – 5/6: European Masters Throwdown (Budapest, Hungary)

5/19: Raising the Bar for Recovery (Medina, OH)