“To suffer without complaint is the only lesson we have to learn in this life.”- Vincent Willem van Gogh
COMPETITION
Dubai CrossFit Championship Announces Event In Ski Resort in Mall of Emirates
The organizers and programmers of the Dubai CrossFit Championship have long been known to create some of the most innovative and cruel (remember Acid Bath) workouts ever seen. With their announcement on Wednesday that one of their events will be held in the world famous Ski Dubai resort in one of the world’s largest shopping malls, they could have outdone themselves.
Snow in the desert: The Ski Dubai resort is the first indoor ski resort in the Middle East, where temperatures range above 100 degrees celsius throughout the year. With 22,500 square meters of ski area it runs a height of 85 meters (roughly the height of a 25-story building). The park maintains a temperature of -1 degree to 2 degrees Celsius throughout the year which helps it produce snow and near-perfect runs for skiers and snowboarders alike.
One big thing: After having athletes run through the desert in 2018 and swim in the Gulf in 2019, the Dubai CrossFit Championship organizers have been one of the pioneers of the sport when it comes to creativity and incorporating what their region and culture has to offer athletes.
This is not the first time a ski resort has been the host of an event, during the 2020 Games season, the Norwegian CrossFit Championship was held at the Storefjell Resort in Gol and featured a 3.6 km run through the snow and freezing temperatures.
With a field primarily made up of Europeans who are accustomed to training in cold weather and participating in winter sports, the unknown event movements and standards could play in favor of some of them. For podium favorite Gabriela Migała her hopes are that playing with the penguins that call the resort home is one of the events according to a recent Instagram story.
The goal of the Dubai CrossFit Championship organizers every year is to give athletes a unique experience and by having an event in an indoor ski resort in the Middle East they have achieved that.
Three amazing flavors of fully transparent Podium Whey.
Two flavors of Podium Fuse pre-workout.
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A huge retail partnership with GNC.
Premium apparel.
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They’re The Official Sports Supplement of Wodapalooza.
There is no better place to showcase Podium’s slogan “Built from Within” than at the community-driven, premier Functional Fitness Festival, Wodapalooza.
THIS WEEKEND…Tia-Clair Toomey isset to compete in Altenberg, Germany in two-woman bobsled, one of several key qualifying races for the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Something’s brewing over at HSTLE. Made. They’re launching their first brew next Friday, December 10 at 4:00 AM PT/12:00 PM GMT.
The CrossFit scholarship program awards a Level 1 certification to the first Female Navajo coach.
Alleia King: “Fitness is needed on our reservations. We are going to go out there and help.”
In case you missed it…The new CrossFit Games documentary on the 2018 Games is dropping next Tuesday. Our editor-in-chief reviewed the doc (spoilers ahead) and there’s even an exclusive teaser.
Dimitry Klokov, 2008 Olympic silver medalist in weightlifting, competed in the Siberian Showdown and placed 16th overall.
Emma Cary joins the Airwaavteam, joining Danielle Brandon and Rich Froning.
WORKOUT
Chyna Cho’s Workout of the Week
Every Friday, we’re bringing you an exclusive workout challenge programmed by a CrossFit Games athlete or coach that you can take on at home or the gym. You can post your times or scores in the comment section.
Today’s workout of the week is programmed by seven-time Games veteran and fan favorite Chyna Cho. Cho made her Games debut back in 2010, later returning back to the big stage in 2014 where she would then qualify for the Games every year as an individual up until the 2018 Games. In 2019 she switched over to competing on a team with CrossFit Mayhem Freedom who would go on to win the 2019 “Fittest Team on Earth” title.
For Time:
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Power Clean + Push Jerk (175/125)
20-18-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2
GHDSU
Calorie Echo Bike
Time cap: 22 minutes
Some advice from Chyna: “Quick singles on the barbell, move steady through the GHDs, and push the bike more than you want to.”
To inquire about submitting an upcoming workout of the week, shoot us a note.
COMPETITION
Racers Converge on the Desert for 2021 Spartan World Championships in Abu Dhabi
For the first time in over a decade the Spartan World Championships will venture outside the United States with this year’s annual event taking place in the world-renowned Liwa Desert just outside of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Over 70 of the world’s top Obstacle Race Course athletes will take on the Spartan’s latest challenge for the chance at their share of a prize purse of over $100,000 on December 3.
What’s on the line: The total prize purse is worth $115,000 with payouts going to the top-10 in each of the men’s and women’s elite divisions.
Who to watch: A who’s who of past World Champions and up and coming Obstacle Course Racers (OCR) will be vying for this year’s coveted title and prize purse. Last year the World Championships were cancelled due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Women’s Elite Division: Canadian Lindsay Webster is the favorite to win her third World Championship after winning back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018. Zuzana Kocumova also has two World titles (2015 and 2016) and both have formed a rivalry over the last five seasons. Annie Dube is one of the young up and comers who will push the two national champions and fight for a podium spot. The American finished behind Webster in the Spartan US National Series, a qualifier for the World Championships. Emma Cook-Clarke is also new to OCR but teh firefighter has impressed in limited action and is among the contenders in Abu Dhabi. CrossFit athletes Lauren Weeks and Emma Chapman have also earned invites and will be in attendance. Weeks is a three-time regional athlete and competed on a team during the Semifinals, placing 8th with C2X CrossFit at the Atlas Games. She also is the 2020 HYROX World Champion and placed third in last year’s inaugural Spartan Games. Chapman, who competed at the 2019 Games with the Central Beasts, also competed at the Spartan Games, placing seventh. Missing from the field is 2019 champion Nicole Mericle who is still recovering from an ACL injury.
Men’s Elite Division: Ryan Atkins is arguably the greatest Spartan athlete ever and has actually never won a World Championship. The Canadian is a two-time Ultra World Champion though and he’s placed second at the Spartan World Championship five times and is almost automatic when it comes to finishing on a podium. Jonathan Albon is a two-time Spartan World Champion and a three-time Spartan European regional champion has the advantage over Atkins in terms of titles. American Ryan Woods is considered one of the best trail runners in the world and that specialty has made him successful in OCR including Spartan races. Logan Broadbent has made a living off conquering obstacles including a stint on the American Ninja Warrior and that has translated into success in OCR races and on the Spartan Pro Team. Russian Sergei Perelygin leads the group of international athletes that look to challenge the North Americans.
The course and obstacles: The elites will compete in the Spartan Beast race which is a running course that is 13.2 miles long and features 35 obstacles that range from spear throwing stations to climbing walls and obstacles. If an athlete fails an obstacle they are penalized with 30 burpees. This year’s course will for the first time feature a running path that is made up primarily of sand and running up and down the famous sand dunes of Liwa.
The Morning Chalk Up’s Patrick Clark is onsite in Abu Dhabi and will be recapping the Elite race and providing content throughout the weekend.
INDUSTRY
MEMBER EXCLUSIVE
The Hardest Fitness Test on the Planet, and How SmO2, NIRS Wearables Could Inform Training of the Future
Imagine this test:
You warm up for 5-10 minutes at an easy to moderate effort on a bike ergometer, rest for 5 minutes, and then ride for 3 minutes at an all-out effort. Not a “hard effort for 3 minutes,” I mean a 100% effort with every single pedal stroke. An all out 10 seconds that turns into 30 seconds that turns into 90 and then 180. The whole point of the test is that it is an all-out test and it shouldn’t stop being an all-out test until the test is over. It is absolutely one of the most horrendous tests that exists.
At the end of the test, when output is plotted against time, you will end up with a graph like this:
Eight Amazing Accessory Exercises for CrossFitters
CrossFit provides a unique test of athletes' fitness by combining movements that challenge mobility, strength, gymnastics, and multiple energy systems. But you can't do all of them every day. Use some of these accessory drills on light days to make sure you're staying well-rounded.
Beam’s new White Chocolate Peppermint Dream Powder is packed with zzz-promoting ingredients, like nano CBD, reishi, magnesium, l-theanine, and melatonin. Swirls of peppermint mix with creamy white chocolate for the guilt-free hot cocoa of your dreams. It has only 15 calories and no added sugar. Get ready to sleep like a champ.
Strength Athletes Vs. Endurance Athletes: Who Feels More Pain?
We all know an ultra-marathon runner who seems impervious to pain, but how does that compare to someone who regularly lifts the equivalent of a medium-sized adult? See how both of them hold up to pain in this experiment.
Worried you're going to fall off during the Holidays? Grab this free Holiday Survival Guide to get instant access to expert nutrition guidelines and advice, as well as ten bodyweight workouts you can do at home, on the road, or...at the in-laws.
The Open is coming...so it's time to start working on those fundamentals you promised you would last year. Get started today by fixing these two simple issues that stop many people from getting their first HSPU and rising the ranks each year.
Celebrating a PR, hosting a fundraiser, this, that, or otherwise. Send us a tip.
🎁 Happy birthday Joshua Al-chamaa.
🎁 Happy birthday Maddy Curley.
🎁 Happy birthday EC Synkowski (Saturday).
Adaptive athlete, Xabier Osa fromBizkaia, Spain demonstrates how to do a handstand walk obstacle course with only one arm.
Congratulations Dusty Robinson from ReUnited CrossFit from Brevard, NC on the 505 pound/229kg deadlift.
17-year-old Andrei Petcu from Moscow, Russia front squats 352 pounds/160kg for two.
CrossFit Petram in Middletown, DE raised $30,000for The Weekly Fight, a non-profit organization working to serve veterans struggling with combat PTSD through weekly workouts and seminar events.
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