Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. In today’s edition:
Equip Products makes CrossFit accessible for the adaptive community.
CrossFit Open 21.1 vs 19.1: A tale of two workouts.
OpEd: COVID, Community, and Holding Companies to a Higher Standard.
Do you know someone who has done an exceptional job embodying and capturing the essence of the CrossFit community? Find out how you can nominate them for a Morning Chalk Up Community Choice Award.
We love seeing your story tips, quotes and PRs roll in. Keep sending them to [email protected].
“The same boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg. It’s what you’re made of. Not the circumstances.”- Unknown
COMMUNITY
Equip Products Make Exercise Accessible for Athletes of All Abilities
At the CrossFit Games in 2016, Dana Askew-Harris and Mark Harris talked to CrossFit adaptive athlete Kevin Ogar. At that time, Ogar was still newly-injured, learning the best practices of working out from a wheelchair.
“My husband talked to him and asked, ‘What do you need?’” Dana says. “He said, ‘I need something for my legs, because I’m bringing the barbell [down], and it’s hurting my legs.”
Dana and Mark left the competition and went to their drawing board, creating the lap mat, a piece of equipment designed to protect seated athletes legs during training.
And with that, Equip Products, one of the only adaptive athlete-devoted equipment manufacturers, was born.
The company: Dana and Mark officially incorporated in July of 2017 and now offer a wide range of equipment for people of differing abilities, with categories for seated athletes, the visually impaired, and athletes with varying upper extremity ability.
The duo has collaborated with a handful of other manufacturers – Victory Grips, Concept 2, RX Smart Gear, and Rogue – working with them to make all exercises inclusive.
At O2, we are quietly building the “Patagonia of hydration.” If you identify with our values, have a passion for brand marketing, and are fed up with the status quo in consumer goods, join us as we build something that matters.
Get to know Christin Panchik, CrossFit athlete, coach, mom and wife of Scott Panchik (who also finished 21.1 in 14:59).
Panchik, on CrossFit promoting a positive body image for women: “Since starting CrossFit I have been more confident in my body and my strength. I feel so empowered by what my body is capable of and how I am able to push myself every workout.”
MUST READ:Q&A with Dr. Kelly Starrett— O2 and The Ready State have partnered this Open season to reward community members with gift vouchers from both companies and recently Dr. Starrett sat down to talk about his career, the gym he and his wife, Juliet founded, CrossFit San Francisco, and their best-selling book, “Becoming a Supple Leopard.”
Starrett: “One of the reasons we really loved the leopard idea was they have this amazing ability to have full, instantaneous access to their “leopard-ness”; their ability to attack and defend. We liked the idea that humans should also strive to have that instantaneous, full range of motion.”
Steven Herrera is taking on the Guinness World Record for heaviest weight lifted by kettlebell swing in an hour. The attempt will take place on March 27 at 2 PM PT. Herrera has partnered with the American Diabetes Association for the event.
The Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge has opened up Vendor Village registration. The Semifinal will be held in Knoxville, TN on May 28-30.
CROSSFIT GAMES
MEMBER EXCLUSIVE
21.1 vs 19.1: And What it Means For the Rest of the 2021 Open
In certain circles of the sport of CrossFit, the conversation about how advantageous height and weight are for various workouts has long been a topic of discussion. Some workouts throughout the sport’s short history have highlighted this rather clearly. One of the most notable Open workouts when it comes to this topic is 19.1, a 15 minute AMRAP of wall-ball shots and calories on the rowing machine, which is quite clearly going to favor the taller, heavier athletes. It looks like we can add 21.1 to the list, only this time, the shorter, lighter athletes had the edge.
OpEd: COVID, Community, and Holding Companies to a Higher Standard
Stop me if you’ve heard this one.
About a year ago, I thought COVID was going to destroy my business.
I was concerned about losing my job, but as a business owner I was more worried about my team. My failure would ripple through dozens of lives, some with devastating consequences, and I would be left with hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.
Scary. But, sadly, not unique.
My team and I make O2, a hydration and recovery drink born in fitness from my roots as a CrossFit coach. This time last year, over fifty percent of our revenue came from sales in CrossFit gyms, and many of those gym owners had become like family.
Then, those gyms started to close. COVID was here, and gym owners faced an even greater threat than we did.
I didn’t know what to do, so I defaulted to what felt right: we’d split our profits from online sales with gym owners 50/50. Right down the middle.
The Beginner's Guide to Writing Workouts that Don't Suck
There are plenty of places you can buy programming, but the skill of writing your own workouts is not only harder to find, but it's also more valuable. This course from Armen Hammer will give you the tools and mental models necessary to write your own workouts and analyze the intention and efficacy of any training session.
One short for every sport, the Kore Shorts have a classic athletic fit, falling just above the knee with an anywhere and everywhere versatility. Go commando in confidence with the breathable, boxer-brief liner. Great for training, running and chilling.
Rory McKernan Talk About His CrossFit Journey and Career
On the Cleared Hot podcast with Andy Stumpf, Rory McKernan, host of the CrossFit Games and director of business development for Rich Froning, Haley Adams and Mayhem Nation, stops by to talk about his life and career.
There’s only one thing better than getting new gear — and that’s getting a deal on new gear. No code needed but order but shop now to get up to 40% off NIKE gear including select NIKE Metcons.
Chalk Up Highlights is our section dedicated to celebrating our community’s wins in the gym. Follow @ChalkUpHighlights and submit your highlight to [email protected] to be featured.
This email may contain affiliate links. We make a small commision off of purchases made via our affiliate links to help support this newsletter. If you no longer wish to receive the Morning Chalk Up newsletter, unsubscribe here.
