CrossFit Games’ General Manager has a few things to say

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“To live is the rarest thing in the world, most people just exist.” — Oscar Wilde

Logan Aldridge Can Single Handedly Outlift You

Who’s Logan Aldridge?

With a 315-pound front squat and a 455-pound deadlift, Logan Aldridge is strong. Like, really strong. He’s also only got one arm. 

Wait, what?

Logan was just 13-years-old when a rope he was handling was caught in a boat propeller, severing his left arm. His dad tied a tourniquet and called an ambulance. When Logan asked his mom, what will happen if he lost his arm, his mom said, “Logan, It’s just an arm.” 

Her response was his most important lesson.

Logan says her comment is what solidified his perception to this day. “At the end of the day, I’d still have my life. Whatever happens, we’re going to make it through this.”

Moms are the best. 

Being left-handed, Logan had to learn how to write, how to tie his shoes, how to button his pants, all with one hand. “I knew I had to move forward,” he says. “I immediately went into problem-solving mode, started to learn how to write with my right hand, make the best of a less-than-ideal situation, and embrace my situation.”

And embrace it he did. Just two years later, Logan was the youngest competitor at the 2006 O&P Extremity Games for amputees, taking second place in wakeboarding.

That’s rad.

He still wakeboards, but now you’re more likely to find him in a CrossFit gym, training and competing, and generally slaying everyone in WODs.

An instructor on the CrossFit Adaptive Staff, Logan keeps on motivating others. “We hear inspiration a lot, especially in the case of active amputees. Inspiring is cool, and I’m grateful to do that, but motivation is different than inspiring. You can be inspired sitting on the coach, but when you’re motivated, you’re ready to take action and still change. Something has happened that’s made you ready to move. And I say hey, let’s move together.”

Logan is out there every day, in CrossFit gyms, running Spartan Races and triathlons, and competing in things like the WheelWod Adaptive Championship.

“My life’s purpose now is to motivate others,” he says. “To try and show a kid out there that’s just suffered an accident, an injury, or illness that they can pursue whatever it is they’re passionate about.”

Coffee Break Conversations

What to say to your friend who has recently lost a ton of weight…

Nothing. Abby Langer, a registered dietitian, says that complimenting people on their weight is actually super intrusive. She doesn’t think that comments on anyone’s weight, whatever they may be, are complimentary even when they’re intended to be. Instead, try complimenting someone’s character, on what a good friend they are or that they always make you laugh.

What to tell your friend who’s car window got smashed in…

Vandals suck. Yesterday, we caught wind that Lt. Mike Murphy’s memorial was smashed to pieces. Yes, the same Mike Murphy for which “Murph” is named after. It looks like a GoFundMe page is in the works and we’ll be sure to share as soon as it’s up. 

Things To…

WATCH: Unconquerable Women of Invictus

The third episode of Road to the Games shows the women of Invictus, Kristin Holte, Kristi Eramo, and Camilla Salomonsson Hellman, train for the CrossFit Games. They’re covering all the bases, including bouldering and track sprints.

LOOKS LIKE FUN.

HEAR: Emily Schromm on Authenticity

On her latest Meathead Hippie Podcast, Emily addresses all things authenticity. Hear why she thinks the best people are the ones who have paved their way in life and how she learned to be aware of all the things that make her life good.

TUNE IN.

DO: RSVP for Hunter McIntyre Does Regionals Live on Facebook

OCR champion Hunter McIntyre thinks he’s fit enough to go to the CrossFit Games competing in the South Regional. We’re heading to Kansas to live stream Hunter as he takes on all six Regionals events. 

RSVP HERE.

EAT: Ramen with Steak and Sesame-Ginger Dressing

This cold noodle situation is the only pasta salad you’ll want for the rest of summer. Bring back the glory of college budget ramen with this adult version with steak, cashews, and a zesty dressing.

UM, YES PLEASE. 

BUY: EPIC Performance Bars

Buy one box, get one free on EPIC Performance Bars with code “FITBOGO”. Simple, non-GMO ingredients, and cage-free egg whites for about a buck a bar.

CAN’T BEAT THAT. 

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

Chalk Up Community

• CROSSFIT GM ON DRUG TESTING — General Manager of the CrossFit Games Justin Bergh sat down with Sean Woodland to discuss athlete drug testing and the most recent sanctions given to those found to be in breach of CrossFit’s Drug Policy during Regionals. 
• GET CASTRO’S GLASSES — The glasses Dave Castro wore during the 2017 CrossFit Games are for sale on eBay. You too can own them for only $200. 
• FUNDRAISER FOR SGT. CHESNA — Yesterday, all classes at CrossFit Marshfield in MA did a dedicated hero WOD and fundraiser in honor of Sgt. Michael Chesna, who was killed in a shooting while in the line of duty on Sunday.
• WODAPALOOZA HITS THE ROAD — Throughout 2018, WZA will visit select cities as they are expanding to 20 cities next year! Want to bring WZA City Series to your city? Tag them with #WZAinmycity and tell them why! 

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

Darren Hunsucker and wife Jessica are having a baby •   Congratulations Agustin Rios on losing 30 pounds in your first three months with Celebration CrossFit • Lucas Parker will be swinging by Reddit’s CrossFit page for an AMA thread next Tuesday • Roman Khrennikov says he won’t be able to go to the CrossFit Games because he can’t get a travel
visa, but CrossFit isn’t going to backfill his position • Four-year-old Hudson Stuart rows in a WOD • Nicole Roggow (Capurso) pulls 315 pounds for three sumo deadlifts • There’s still room on Christmas Abbott’s Bad Ass Body Cruise • Sage Burgener gets a 77kg/170 pound snatch PR. 

Food For Thought…Kids are working out at boutique gyms like CrossFit and SoulCycle. Is that a good idea? Children and teens are now doing yoga, spin and strength-training classes in place of traditional organized sports. A recent article shows the number of boutique gym members under 18 grew from 2.1 million to 3.7 million from 2013 to 2016. In theory, anything that gets kids moving is good, says David Berkoff, a sports medicine doctor and professor of orthopedics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, because “we have such a crisis of overweight and under-exercised kids.” But experts
have some caveats when it comes to group fitness classes designed for adults. 

In theory, anything that gets kids moving is good, says David Berkoff, a sports medicine doctor and professor of orthopedics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, because “we have such a crisis of overweight and under-exercised kids.” But experts have some caveats when it comes to group fitness classes designed for adults.

Emily Bridgers is posting her favorite CrossFit memories from her eight-year career over the next twelve days…“Number One: 2014 Garage Games. After almost four years in the sport, I finally claimed my first victory. Being a local competition, the win may have seemed trivial, yet this gave me a new confidence that built momentum for the rest of this breakout year. Also, while prize money isn’t everything, it was the first time I earned a dime in four years and let me tell you, that $4000 went a loooong way!”

Craig Howard on the Recent Athlete PED’s…“With every announcement of PED use and cheating, the significance of past victory is diminished. So, to those athletes who are considering PEDs or, any type of supplementation: your decision has a much larger impact than just on your performance in a competition. You represent our community, our sport, our legacy. Please, be mindful of all of the great things that CrossFit has done for so many people in our community. Read labels. Ignore bad advice from coaches or friends. Seek better counsel. And, dismiss insecure thoughts of ‘everyone else must be doing it.’ Everyone else is NOT. But, you put their reputations and accomplishments at risk with your decision. Finally, to those who have cheated: you owe me, my wife, and all the other hard-working athletes, the volunteers and employees a big fucking apology for tarnishing the CrossFit brand, the CrossFit Games, and our legacy.”

Vanessa Bennington Gives a Reminder on Perspective — “We lose perspective often times when we’re too ‘close’ to something. When it comes to us personally, we often can’t ‘see’ our truth because we’re so consumed by thoughts and emotions that cloud our mind and often our actual vision. What helps? Time and separation. If I find myself having issues ‘seeing’ a situation or my physical self accurately, I know I need to breathe, go do something else for a while, give it some time and get myself and my thoughts focused on something else. It’s a huge clue that I need to: sleep, eat, do what I can to relieve work-related stress, meditate, do some yoga, do some basic self care. Talk to someone you really trust. If you’ve done all the above and you’re still struggling, reach out to someone you trust for honest feedback. Sometimes you need a gentle but firm reminder that you aren’t seeing things correctly.”

“Why Men and Women Are Always Equal in CrossFit” by Mike Warkentin, CrossFit Journal.

Nicole Carroll was an athlete and coach at CrossFit Founder Greg Glassman’s original gym, and she was featured in the “Nasty Girls” video many women have pointed to as their reason for starting CrossFit. Carroll is now CrossFit’s Co-Director of Certification and Training. She said equal prize money came about because equality was always part of CrossFit.

“During each seminar, my job was to beat the men using the same loading,” Carroll said. “The bigger, the fitter, the more alpha those men were, the better.

“The idea behind this—and this is important—was not to shame men or anyone else. These men often held jobs where a lack of fitness could cost their lives or the lives of others, and we wanted to shame the damn PT they were wasting their time with. It was effective. It was not uncommon to hear things like this: ‘I cannot believe a 5-foot-2 pottery teacher from the hippie high school in Santa Cruz just overhead-squatted more than me.’

“From there, it was very difficult for them to deny that what we were doing was more effective than what they’d been doing.”

It was clear, even in those early seminars, that CrossFit culture places respect and hard work above all else.

For years, Glassman and his staff never posted “women’s weights” to CrossFit.com. CrossFit.com only recently started posting loads for women, but that was in response to requests for help with scaling. The women’s loads are guidelines only. Strong, fit women are more than welcome to go head-to-head with their male counterparts in any workout.

Go ahead. Beat the boys. We encourage it.

7/21: Second Annual Summer Showdown (Nicholasville, KY)

7/21: Swole Wars II (Burleson, TX)

7/21: Sacred Pines Invitational (Ladson, SC)

7/21: Battle at the BallPark (Peoria, IL) 

7/21: Summer Partner Throwdown (Hammond, LA)

7/21: The Freedom Games (Greenwood, SC)

7/21: The Duel: Competitor vs. Cancer (Nevada, IA)

7/21 – 7/22: The Rubicon (Centerton, AR)

7/21 – 7/22: Fit Nation Thunderdome (Fort Myers, FL)

7/22: Iceland with VoyEdge RX

7/22- 7/24: LIVE: Hunter McIntyre Does Regionals (Facebook Live)

7/24: Lucas Parker MMA Thread (Reddit) 

7/27-29: CanWest Games (Coquitlam, BC)

7/28: Garage Girls Hard Core Fit (Watkinsville, GA) 

7/28: Garage Girls CrossFit HardCore (Boca Raton, FL) 

7/28: AZ FitCom Competition (Phoenix, AZ)

7/28: Summer Knights Showdown (Springfield, IL)

7/28: Savage Wolves CrossFit Classic (Nazareth, PA)

7/28 – 7/29: CF Summer Circus (Des Moines, IA)

7/29: Summer Sizzle (Wadsworth, OH) 

7/30: Legends of Lebo (Pittsburgh, PA)

8/4: Lumberjack Lift Off (Buckley, WA) 

8/4: G-Town Throwdown (Georgetown, MA) 

8/4: US National Parks Tour with VoyEdge RX

8/4: War at the Shore (Neptune City, NJ)

8/5: Sure Shot Shootout (Greenville, OH)

8/11: Red Raider Backyard Brawl (Coatesville, PA)

8/11: 2018 Rimrock Ruckus (Billings, MT)

8/11: Survival Games 2018 (Wooster, OH)

8/11: The Warhorse Games (Kansas City, KS)

8/11: War of the Roses (Pasadena, CA) 

8/18: Bladium CrossFit Fossil Games (Denver, CO) 

​8/18: The Revolution: Articles of Confederation (San Antonio, TX)

8/18: Summer Slam Royal Rumble (Oakdale, CA)

8/18: CrossFit Krypton’s Compete for a Cure (Chesapeake, VA)

8/18: CrossFit Endure Granite Games Throwdown (Windsor, CO)

8/18: MKT CrossFit Granite Games Throwdown (Columbia, MO)

8/18: Rocky Mountain Throwdown (Fort Collins, CO) 

8/18: Crossfit Krypton’s Compete for a Cure (Chesapeake, VA)

​8/18: Mayhem on the Mountain (Pelham, AL)

8/18: Crossfit Charlevoix Granite Games Throwdown (Charlevoix, MI) 

8/18: Battle in the Boro (Washington, NJ)

8/18: Troy CrossFit Granite Games Throwdown (San Diego, CA) 

8/25: Iron Belle and Femme Royale Women’s Competition (Austin, TX) 

8/25: Susaponte Slam ( Raleigh, NC)