Crashing prom with a kettlebell

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is powered by SteadyMD, the world’s first online medical practice pairing you with a doctor who does CrossFit.

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16 days until Regionals starts.

“What’s up with people saying they had an ‘ok’ meet when they hit 10-20-30lb PRs!? Guys, if you do 1lb above your PR that is THE BEST YOU HAVE EVER DONE, give yourself some credit.” — Stefi Cohen

RIDING THROUGH THE OC SWINGING A KETTLEBELL

The story.

Over the weekend, Ryan Fischer rode around Orange County in the back of a pickup truck doing kettlebell swings. He rode through a Newport Beach Whole Foods, a senior prom and around local neighborhoods.

Ryan Fischer is a four-time Regionals athlete and owner of CrossFit Chalk in Costa Mesa, CA. Great name huh?!

That’s a lot of swinging of ‘the bell’.

About 70-100 reps each time with a 53 pound kettlebell. Don’t forget it was in the back of a moving truck so bonus points for using those stabilization muscles.

So why’d he do that?

Ryan read a study about how doing kettlebell swings is as aerobically effective as running a mile at high speed. So he decided to do something to inspire others to workout.

Pretty genius actually.

THINGS TO…

HEAR: Back on Track with Carleen Mathews

Three-time CrossFit Games athlete Carleen Mathews joins Julie Foucher on the Pursuing Health Podcast to talk about overcoming disordered eating and addiction to become one of the Fittest on Earth.

TUNE IN.

EAT: Jalapeño Sweet Potato Black Bean Tacos with Avocado-Lime Crema

We shared this a few weeks ago, buuuuuut Cinco de Mayo is this weekend so we’re sharing it again. 

YOU’RE LITERALLY WELCOME.

BUY: 20% Off Barbell Apparel

Our super sweet spring shopping 20% off deal ends tonight at midnight. So stock up on all the new jeans, shorts and polos you can before it ends with code “CHALKUP20.”

START SHOPPING.

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

CHALK UP COMMUNITY

• NEVER TOO LATE — John LeRoy is 81-years-old and a member at CrossFit Las Cruces in New Mexico. He started CrossFit in his late 70s cause he said it looked fun. Fun he said. 
• PARALYZED, LOOKING FOR STRENGTH — A few years back, 36-year-old Angela Vernet contracted Guillain Barre Syndrome and was paralyzed from the chest down. Guillain Barre Syndrome is a condition where the body’s immune system attacks the nerves. She joined U-Town CrossFit to help get her strength back. 
• PARTY TIME — During all nine regional events, Affiliate owners and one guest will be treated to a special reception on Saturday afternoon. RSVP if that’s you. 

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

Fourteen-year-old Morgan McCullough hits a 275 pound snatch PR • Last weekend, 12-year-old Shiloh Ellis was the youngest CrossFit athlete to participate and compete the L1 Training Course at Reebok CrossFit ONE. He’s too young to take the written exam but he still got a course participation certificate. 

Launched — CrossFit Invictus Boston coach and athlete Kelsey Kiel partnered with Ladder App to start offering customized remote coaching for any athlete. Download the iOS app from the store and enter code “Kels200” to get started. 

Fact Check: Is Sequoia Barrera the youngest athlete to qualify for Regionals? — We saw an article where 18-year-old CrossFit athlete Sequoia Barrera was quoted saying, “I am the youngest girl to qualify for the Cross Fit Regionals,” and it peaked our interest so we wanted to find out. Sequoia is the 8th Fittest 16-17-year-old.

— Fact: She is not. Both Haley Adams and Kaela Stephano are 17-years-old. However, in reading the article, it appears she really means in the West Region, which is accurate. 

Happy 44th Birthday Shawn Ramirez — “Today is not special because I’m a day older. It’s special because I feel better, stronger and fitter everyday! Yes, there are days that I feel old, slow, joints ache and I don’t want to get out of bed. Not every day can be a PR. But I will say sticking with CrossFit over the last 10 years, chasing around my 3 boys daily and doing what I love everyday at work has dunked me in the fountain of youth. Do what you love and love what you do and you’ll have more Personal Best days than you can imagine.” 

“CrossFit Gave This Athlete Fitness & Community Amidst Adversity” by Maureen Quirk, Reebok

CrossFit athlete Jamie Moore was two years old when his family first learned he was deaf. While he was too young to remember his parents’ reaction, he is told they were shocked at first. “They didn’t know what an opportunity was in front of them.”

Since then, Moore has never backed down from a challenge, not in his life and not at the gym. He feels comfortable amongst the concrete and ropes at his local CrossFit box in Newton, Massachusetts. And while some may wonder what hurdles a man who was born deaf faces in the gym, Moore feels his biggest challenge lies in pushing himself to – and overcoming – failure.

“You just lay it all out on the mat, and through that failure you learn,” says Moore, who speaks to us through his interpreter. “You walk out with your head held higher than when you walked in.”

Since his youth, Moore has been an avid athlete. Throughout high school he played on various varsity teams, ranging from baseball to lacrosse. Hockey, however, had been his biggest sport growing up (an obvious product of his Canadian lineage, he notes).

5/4 – 5/5: Tough As Nails (Lubbock, TX)5/4 – 5/5: No Gutz No Glory (Denver, CO)

5/4 – 5/5: Throwdown in Joe Town (St. Joseph, MO)

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

5/5 – 5/6: Tribal Clash (Quarteira, Portugal)

5/5 – 5/6: Barbell de Mayo (Woodbridge, VA)

5/5 – 5/6: Manila Throwdown (Manila, Philippines)

5/5: Cinco de Mayo Classic (San Antonio, TX)

5/5: The Locomotive Games III (Youngstown, OH)

5/5: Granite Games Throwdown (Southaven,  MS)

5/5: Battle of the Boro (Goldsboro, NC)

5/5: New WODs on the Block (Grand Rapids, MI)

5/5: The Crawfish Challenge (Columbia, SC)

5/5: Masters of the Shed (Roxbury, NJ)

5/5: Never Forgotten Games (Redding, CA)

5/5: Burpees de Mayo (Phoenix, AZ)

​5/5: Cinco de Rowing Half Marathon (Sikeston, MO)

5/11 – 5/12: Beast Mode Games (Greenville, SC)

5/11 – 5/12: Midwest Monster (Joplin, MO)

5/11 – 5/12: Reebok’s Ready for Action – Fittest in Israel (Israel)

5/12: Barbells for Bullies (Danbury, CT)

5/12: The Mountain Meltdown (Park City, UT)

5/12: The 5th Element (Bedford, NH)

5/12: Soho Brawl (Tampa, FL)

5/12: Fallout in the Falls (Wichita Falls, TX)

5/12: Unfinished Business – The Lift Off (Pottstown, PA)

5/12: Masters of the Universe (Horsham, PA)

5/18 – 5/20: East Regional (Albany, NY)

5/18 – 5/20: Europe Regional (Berlin, Germany)

5/18 – 5/20: South Regional (Salt Lake City, UT)

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

5/19: East Coast Battle (Hanover, MD)

5/19: Barbells in the Burbs (Carol Stream, IL)

5/19: Gladiator Games (Concord, NC)

5/19: The Pillage of Palm Harbor (Palm Harbor, FL)

5/19: Spring Fling Partner Throwdown (San Anselmo, CA)

5/19: SilverFox Masters Competition (San Clemente, CA)

5/19: Ultimate Fitness Championship (Kennewick, WA)

5/19: Warriors Hope 2018 (Greenwood, IN)

5/19: T-Town Throwdown (Tifton, GA)

5/19: Murph for Muts (Peachtree Corners, GA)

5/19: Firehawks Scorch Trials (Rio Rancho, NM)

5/19 – 5/20: GameDay Mankato (Mankato, MN)

5/25 – 5/27: West Regional (Del Mar, CA)

5/25 – 5/27: Central Regional (Nashville, TN)

5/25 – 5/27: Latin America Regional (Rio de Janiero, Brazil)

5/26: Beauty is a Beast 2 (Indian Rocks Beach, FL)

5/27 – 5/28: 24 Heroes in 24 Hours (Southborough, MA)

6/1 – 6/3: Atlantic Regional (West Palm Beach, FL)

6/1 – 6/3: Meridian Regional (Madrid, Spain)

6/1 – 6/3: Pacific Regional (Sydney, Australia)

6/2: Kegs and Kilos (Manhattan, KS)

6/2: Long Island Masters (Hauppauge, NY)

6/2: Texas WOD Fest (Houston, TX)

6/2: Tacos and Tequila Throwdown (Highlands Ranch, CO)

6/2: Meshugge CrossFit Summer Melee (Overland Park, KS)

6/3: Summer Sizzler Individual Masters Competition (Burlington, MA)

6/9: Beastette Bash at CrossFit Ananda (Arlington, TX)

6/9: Gulf Coast Games (Mandeville, LA)

6/9: WOD Wars 6 (Humble, TX)

6/9: Big Orange Brawl (Knoxville, TN)

6/9: Heroes of the Platform (Meridian, ID)

6/9 – 6/10: The Heartland Games 2018 (Chicago, IL)

6/9 – 6/10: Alaka’i SUPER Summer Slam (Kapolei, HI)

6/16: Battle on the Creek (Johns Creek, GA)

6/16: Full Battle Rattle (Robinson, IL)

6/16: East Coast War (Wilmington, NC)

6/23: Garage Girls CrossFit Grit (St. Simons Island, GA)

6/23: 2018 Summer Swolestice (Gresham, OR)

6/23: HAMCO Heat (McLeansboro, IL)

6/23 – 6/24: Asbury Park Summer Games (Asbury Park, NJ)