CF HQ continues shake-up with more layoffs

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“Confidence is about believing in your ability today and believing in your potential tomorrow.” — Kate Woods

McKernan, Oldroyd Among HQ’s New Wave of Layoffs

The news.

In a continued effort to shift the direction of CrossFit Inc., the company executed another sweeping round of layoffs Tuesday at their office in Scotts Valley, CA, the Morning Chalk Up has learned.

Through conversations with former employees, we have confirmed that 21 of in-office employees across publishing, health, video, writing, IT, e-commerce, project management, QA and operations departments were laid off effective immediately.

This is the third round of layoffs the company has gone through in the past six months. Key figures like Rory McKernan and Tyson Oldroyd were included in this round of layoffs.

McKernan, the host of the CrossFit Games and a former L1 Seminar Staff member, was one of the CrossFit media team’s first hires a decade ago. He was an integral member of Games media broadcasts that streamed across the globe, and landed on networks like ESPN and CBS Sports.

Oldroyd, also a former member of the L1 Seminar Staff, had a hand in coordinating and producing a significant portion of CrossFit Inc.’s media efforts during his tenure, ranging from core instructional content to the Fittest on Earth documentaries.

CrossFit HQ declined to comment for this story.

The future of the CrossFit Games.

With the latest changes, the total number of CrossFit employees laid off over the past half year is approaching 100, according to our best estimates, leaving a skeleton crew to execute on the CrossFit Games vision which kicks off in a little more than five months.

Continue Reading. 

GAMES NEWS

Sigurdardottir Shares Advice for Training Through Injury, Discusses Games Changes

In this exclusive interview, CrossFit Games team athlete Sol Sigurdardottir joins the Morning Chalk Up opens up about training and trying motivated through injury and how she’s going to tackle the new CrossFit Games season format.

Sigurdardottir competed at the CrossFit Games twice with Icelandic teams, placing 38th in 2017 and 34th in 2016. In 2018, she qualified for European Regionals as an individual. However, Sigurdardottir suffered an elbow injury during training in the lead up to Regionals. The injury left her unable to perform many of the basic CrossFit movements she’d need to train to be competitive against a strong European field.

“I was unable to hold anything overhead or pull anything from the floor for weeks,” Sigurdardottir said. “I couldn’t walk on my hands, do pull-ups, toes-to-bar, or muscle-ups.”

With limited training options, she was forced to find new ways to adjust her training.

“Just be patient. I know it’s hard, because I’ve been there,” Sigurdardottir offered as advice for athletes working through injuries. “You feel like you’re not doing anything because you can’t do certain things. But in fact you can do a lot of things, you can do so much. Be patient don’t force it, don’t nag it. Be kind to yourself and let it heal because it’ll take more time if you’re always nagging on it. Write down what you can do and do that. Don’t focus on what you can’t do.”

Continue Reading. 

Coffee Break Conversations.

What to tell your friend who isn’t in the know…

You need to get on that. The Morning Chalk Up topped the list of WODprep’s top resources for CrossFit, but you already knew that cause you’re a subscriber. Help your friend out and send them here.

What to say when Bae asks you out to the movies…

No thanks, I’m good right here. Last week Jillian Michaels had a few “interesting” things to say about CrossFit. The Internet came through for us all with commentary like this one from Jacob Heppner. Grab some snacks. 

Things To…

WATCH: Brooke Ence in Brazil 

Brooke Ence got to visit a private ranch on the outskirts of São Paulo. She does a fitness workshop with local attendees, goes to a waterfall and then there’s a surprise engagement. 

AN EPIC RETREAT.

HEAR: David Goggins on Mental Toughness

Former Navy SEAL David Goggins has spent the past two decades exploring the outer limits of human performance, both in the armed forces and as an endurance athlete with more than 60 ultra marathons under his belt. But what makes Goggins unique is the hardship he faced long before he began his athletic career and how he relied on mental toughness to find his way through.

USE THE PAIN FOR GOOD. 

KNOW: What is the Keto Diet?

High carb, low carb, high fat, low fat, keto. There are so many different diet trends out there and it can be confusing to keep them straight. The ketogenic diet has been getting a lot of attention recently, and you may be wondering what it is and if it’s a good option for you. Lucky for you, Working Against Gravity is trying it out and they made a handy little guide.

IS IT RIGHT FOR YOU?

EAT: Chicken Waldorf Salad

This Whole30-friendly chicken Waldorf salad is an old-school dish made modern, quick, and easy. With tarragon, grapes, apples and chunks of roasted chicken in creamy mayo, it makes for a great dish to have on hand during busy weeks.

A CLASSIC SALAD. 

Today’s edition of the Morning Chalk Up is brought to you by

Chalk Up Community

• PRO-TIP: WARMING UP — Have you been looking for a pre-workout routine to help you stretch and prep your body for rowing? Dark Horse Rowing designed a complete routine you can follow to get nice and warm for your next rowing workout.
• ROPE CLIMBS FOR A CAUSE — George Haughie, a coach at CrossFit Faber in Kenilworth, UK climbed a 13-foot rope repeatedly until he reached the height of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles, which stands at 4,413 feet. For you non math majors out there, that equals 339.5 rope climbs and it took him just under seven hours. He did it to raise funds for Anthony Nolan, a non-profit assisting people with a blood cancer or blood disorder.

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

Cody Anderson gets a 3RM front squat at 390 pounds • Congratulations to Maddy Curley on the birth of her daughter Katarina • Taylor Galadyk got
a three mile PR • Mitch Spjut does 505 pound deadlift for five • Ben Alderman gets a 562 pound
deadlift PR • Congratulations to CrossFit No Boundaries on being voted the best gym in San Clemente, CA • Wolf Critton gets a 200 pound thruster PR • Leah Casciano deadlifts 385 pounds for four • Alexandra LaChance gets a 220 pound snatch. 

…and here is the number one WOD Sean Sweeney hopes to see at the 2019 CrossFit Games. 

Stay Up to Date — Episode 10 of On the Minute with Armen Amirian of ArmenHammer TV and our Editor in Chief, Justin LoFranco goes live tonight at 5:00 PM PT. You can get caught up on last week’s episode and watch today’s on our Facebook page. 

Northern California Classic Commentators — Bill Grundler and Chase Ingraham will be the commentators during the livestream broadcast for this year’s NorCal Classic June 28 – 30 in Sacramento, CA.

CrossFit L-1 Training Guides Revamped — The CrossFit L-1 Training Guide has just been released in two new and four revised languages: Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Polish and Russian.

Reykjavik CrossFit Challenge Live WOD 3 — Today at Noon PT, BK Gudmundsson, Haraldur Holgersson and fifteen-year-old Brynjar Ari Magnusson will be doing the third online qualifying WOD for the Reykjavik CrossFit Challenge live on the Reykjavik CrossFit Championship Facebook page.

Strength in Depth WODs Released — Yesterday, Strength in Depth released every event, across all division, planned for their sanctioned event in two weeks in London. 

On Starting CrossFit in Middle Age — Traci Clarida is a coach and speaker who started CrossFit at 40-years-old. Nearly a decade later, she has some tips for those who might be wondering how to keep enjoying it as you age and how to thrive and not just survive at your box. 

“You Don’t Need Sports Drinks To Stay Hydrated,” by Christie Aschwanden, FiveThirtyEight

​In the early 1990s, Gatorade ran a television commercial featuring Michael Jordan called “Be Like Mike.” It featured slam dunks by Jordan interspersed with footage of kids shooting hoops and, of course, Jordan and other happy people drinking Gatorade.

Stuart Phillips remembers that ad campaign well. As an aspiring athlete, he, too, wanted to be like Mike. “Michael Jordan drank Gatorade, so I drank Gatorade,” Phillips says. Despite guzzling the sports drink, Phillips never did make it to the pros, but instead grew up to become the director of the Centre for Nutrition, Exercise, and Health Research at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.

The Jordan ad taught him a lesson about the power of marketing, though: “If you can get an endorsement from an athlete that everybody recognizes, then who needs science?”

Scientific facts don’t sell products; stories do. Jordan was already a basketball superstar by the time Gatorade came calling, and the public was eager to experience something of his greatness. Enter Gatorade — Michael Jordan drank it, and young Stuart Phillips could too.

To drink Gatorade wasn’t just to mimic a sports hero, it was to imagine a causal relationship — Jordan drank Gatorade and then made all those slam dunks, so the one must have had something to do with the other.

2/15 – 2/16: 2nd annual Tough Love Competition (Louisville, KY)

2/16: Valentine’s Day Massacre (Kilgore, TX)

2/16: Masters of Fitness ( Cape Coral, FL)

2/16: The Garage Games Xs & Ys (Valdosta, GA)

2/16: Couples Clash 2019 (Pensacola, FL)

2/16: Tuff Love (Boulder, CO)

2/16: Valentine’s Day Massacre (Selma, TX)

2/16: Winter War Games (Spanish Fort, AL)

2/16: Vicious Valentine’s Partner Throwdown (Carlisle, PA)

2/16: Ice Breaker 3 at Unbreakable Athletics Academy (Plainfield, IN)

2/23: Amicus Ambush: Mixed Teams (Dickinson, ND)

2/23 – 2/24: Strength in Depth (London, England)