“If you are working on something that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.”- Steve Jobs
COMPETITION
The Zelos Games Adds Large Prize Purse, Raffle Prizes to Online Competitions
When the calendar turns to October, Games athletes and fitness enthusiasts alike will band together to test themselves physically in the first-ever iteration of The Zelos Games, a new lucrative online-only competition that will also offer raffles and prizes from brands like FITAID, Reebok, Tru Grit, Mayhem Athlete, Xendurance, and Toe Spacer.
The details: The Zelos Games will take place entirely online, a la the CrossFit Open, starting on October 4. There will be three workouts — though the final is a two-parter — each with a seven-day time frame. The cost to participate is $19.99 per workout, but the top 10 athletes win prizes ranging from $50 to $2,000. The overall winner takes home $4,000.
WODProof will play a significant role in the competition. The athletes will film their workouts on the app — preferably with a judge standing by — and submit the videos. The app will also track the calories on Workout 0.3 with the direct connection to the Concept 2 Rower.
A panel of professionals yet to be identified will be in charge of determining the leaderboard. They will examine the videos and confirm each athlete’s time based on the previously released movement standards.
Jared Graybeal, founder of the Zelos Games: “We’ll publish those standards and if somebody loses points or time, then we’ll explain to them why. I’m going to have a panel of judges/analysts watching these videos and scoring them and we’ll identify a true top 10 by the end of October.”
The Zelos Games also offer a scaled option to perform the workouts with participants being eligible for over $10,000 of raffle prizes.
Community members can get an early glimpse of the workouts on Monday, October 4. Bethany Shadburne, Kari Pearce, and Danielle Brandon will go head-to-head at 1:30 p.m. PT on The Zelos Games YouTube channel. The live workouts will continue the following weeks with such athletes as Dallin Pepper, Meg Reardon, Christian Harris, Alexis Raptis, and Baylee Rayl.
The Fit Boxx Teams Up with Born Primitive, CompTrain, and Element 26 For Breast Cancer Awareness Month
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the amazing team at The Fit Boxx is donating all profits from October’s Boxx to BreastCancer.org.
“We are proud to support an organization like BreastCancer.org, who is dedicated to providing the most reliable, complete, and up-to-date information about breast cancer through Breast Cancer awareness and resources,” said Kristen Champoux, Owner, and CEO of The Fit Boxx.
October’s Boxx contains over $175 of value from partners such as Born Primitive, CompTrain, Vital Performance, Element 26, Performix, Klova, and more.
BIG NEWS: Brazilian breakout star Guilherme Malheiros officially signs with CrossFit Mayhem, further deepening their roster of athletes.
Malheiros: “I am very happy to announce and grateful to God, that I am now a Mayhem Athlete. Thank you to everyone who has helped me get here! Time to go #IntoTheStorm.”
Loud and Live, the owners and operators of Wodapaloozaa, West Coast Classic and the Granite Games, was named to the top 100 It List, recognizing the top agencies working in the event industry.
Want to join the Move Fast Lift Heavy games team? They’re still accepting virtual tryout submissions. The team, headed by Christian Harris, is rebuilding for the 2022 season after one of their athletes tested positive for PEDs after qualifying for the Games.
James Newbury launched six non-fungible tokens (NFTs) where 70% of the proceeds will be donated to Adelaide Koala Rescue.
Mark your calendars: Bethany Shadburne v Kari Pearce v Danielle Brandon square off head-to-head-to-head in the first Zelos Games live match-up on YouTube on October 4 at 1:30 PM PT.
Mayhem Desert Heat prize purse is deep, awarding $30,000 to the overall winner, but they will also be paying out every single athlete.
CROSSFIT GAMES
Michelle Basnett: “When I got cut, I don’t think I could have done another day just mentally”
The CrossFit Games is well understood to be the hardest physical test that athletes will undergo with upwards of 15 events over four or five days of competition. But what’s less obvious, are the mental demands of competing against the best athletes in the world where every inch and second counts, and small mistakes can prove costly.
CrossFit Games rookie, Michelle Basnett, sat down with Morning Chalk Up’s Lauren Kalil to recap her first Games appearance, specifically addressing the issue of preparing for the Games and the mental challenges of being a rookie.
“I’ve had this goal in my head for like five years, so you have something up here and you don’t know what it’s like, I don’t know what to expect, it’s brand new,” Basnett said. “So just the experience of it alone was very overwhelming.”
Day one of competition was one of the longest in the Games 15-year history, with four events in total, testing long aerobic swims, heavy thrusters, sprints, gymnastics, and strong man movements.
“I physically was prepped, I physically was very capable of doing all the movements. Mentally though, I burned out pretty fast. By day 2 I was really struggling. I woke day 2 and my head was in a completely different spot. That was very eye opening. It’s not something I really thought of and it’s not something I’d experienced before, but that mentality of being able to push for that long and not burning out too quickly I see now as super important.”
ANALYSIS: Which Number is Really Greater? Toomey’s 33 or Fraser’s 29?
This article is a fallout of the study that was done between Mat Fraser and Tia-Clair Toomey for South China Morning Post now that they have each competed at seven CrossFit Games, have each won five in a row, and prior to that each began their careers with back-to-back second place finishes.
Through seven years of competition Toomey has 33 career event wins to Fraser’s 29; and this alone seems to have been enough for CrossFit to declare Toomey as the most dominant CrossFit athlete of all time (on multiple occasions).
This of course got us thinking, what are the nature of those 33 and 29 event wins? And is there perhaps more to the story than a simple 33 is greater than 29 comparison?
A rip on your hands is a RIP to your workout. Luckily for you, with proper preparation (and the right tools), you can keep your hands safe and smooth. Get all the tips and tricks to keeping your hands rip-free, as well as what to do if you do get a tear, in this video from WODPrep.
The possibilities of what you can do with such a simple piece of equipment are incredible. But no kettlebell WOD feels complete without a few swings. Here are six different variations in KB swings to help you scale your workout up or down.
Today is your last chance to pick up a full new outfit (shoes, bottoms, a top, and face-covering) for just $99 total. Use the link below and code "LOCKERROOM" at checkout to get kitted out.
Cheesy, chickeny, spicy goodness all wrapped up in a delicious chalupa. What's not to love? Oh, and they pack a whopping 37g of protein and are only 250 calories. Eating well has never tasted so good.
Celebrating a PR, hosting a fundraiser, this, that, or otherwise. Send us a tip.
👰🤵Happy anniversary Tia-Clair Toomey and Shane Orr.
Here’s a sneak peak at some of the enchanting photos from Mattie Rogers’ Icelandic wedding.
Happy one year anniversary CrossFit Vastus in Buckingham, England.
CrossFit Central in Austin, TX is up for the Best of Austin Magazine list in multiple categories. Vote and give them a hand in the competition.
Congratulations to Kenneth and Emily Leverich on the baby announcement.
John Haack sets a new world record with a 749 pounds/340kg back squat, 579 pound/263kg bench and a 887 pound/402.5kg deadlift, totaling at 2216.7 pounds/1005.5kg.
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