CrossFit Games Rulebook Nowhere in Sight

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is powered by Rx Smart Gear, the official jump rope of serious athletes.

Double-under crosses are tough, but our lead instructor Nate KG has a few tips to help you. Click here to watch and learn.

The Dubai CrossFit Championship begins tonight at 8:00 PM PT. 

“Work is doing it. Discipline is doing it every day. Diligence is doing it well every day.” — Dave Ramsey 

DEEP DIVE.

CrossFit Games Rulebook Won’t be Released in Time for Season Kickoff

By Justin LoFranco, Editor-in-Chief

The 2019 CrossFit Games season officially kicks off tomorrow, but there won’t be an official rulebook for the season opener in Dubai, a fact which has alarmed top athletes and coaches trying to plan for the season.

The only clear indication CrossFit HQ has given regarding the release date is before the 2019 CrossFit Open.

“How will nationality be determined for national champions in the Open?”



“What happens when an athlete qualifies on a team via a sanctioned event and then as an individual in the Open? If that athlete accepts their individual invitation, who takes that team’s place?”



“If an athlete wins two sanctioned events, who does the next invitation pass to?”



“Who is handling drug testing at these sanctioned events?”



“As it’s been stated previously, will the top 20 athletes worldwide in the Open qualify for the Games or will that number change?”

These are just a few of the questions we’ve heard athletes, coaches and event organizers vocalized in the three-and-a-half-months since we broke news of the changes.

“Nothing is set in stone until we have the rulebook,” said one top CrosFit Games coach, who asked to remain anonymous.

Continue reading…

Forget Hot Yoga, Try Smart Yoga

The story.

We’ve all heard of smart phones and smart cars. But now a company called Pivot Yoga has come out with a line of “smart clothes.”

I’m sorry. What clothes?

Smart clothes, a new clothing line that claims to help you get your yoga moves right at home, on your own, no instructor needed. You can use their online Yoga classes to get you started while your Pivot outfit gives feedback on your positions through small sensors on the clothes that tell you whether you’re in the right position or not.

The sensors connect wirelessly to a mobile app with voice controls. So, you can ask the app, “Pivot, how’s this look?” and the app will respond to correct your posture with cues like, “Move your right knee about six inches.”

We need to try this.

Pivot costs $99 for the top and pants, are available in XS-XL, and are even machine washable. The subscription, which includes online yoga videos to follow, is $19 a month. Pre-orders are now available and are expected to ship in spring 2019.

Now if only we could actually nail that crows pose…

Coffee Break Conversations

So, what are you wearing to the ugly sweater party?

Not a sweater, that’s for sure. Break the mold on this one and shoot for ugly holiday leggings. Instead of wearing the same old hideous yet hilarious holiday sweater again this year try one of these pairs of leggings. Which, we might point out, you can wear all season long. Tis the season to be WODding. 

Things To…

WATCH: Everything You Need to Know About the SkiErg

Dark Horse Rowing breaks down the SkiErg quickly and easily in this demo video that covers how to be most efficient when using one, how to improve your technique, and how to get the most benefit from you SkiErg. 

NOT JUST UPRIGHT ROWING. 

HEAR: Redefining Your Fitness

Julian and Miranda Alcaraz of Street Parking online programming joined the Mind Muscle Project podcast to discuss how they re-evaluated their priorities now that they have a family and how they made the big transition from professional athletes to business owners. 

FAMILY FIRST AND ALWAYS. 

EAT: Best Paleo Meatloaf

For those of us that follow the Paleo diet, meatloaf feels like the one thing you can eat because it’s, well, a loaf of meat. But there are a handful of  ingredients in traditional meatloaf that are not actually paleo-friendly, like breadcrumbs and most ketchups. So, lets try this one instead. 

MA! THE MEATLOAF!

SUPPORT: The Morning Chalk Up 

Tomorrow is your last day to buy our limited edition Morning Chalk Up tees and muscle tanks. Then that’s it, they’re gone. We mean it. On the last round of designs, our Founder and CEO Justin LoFranco forgot to order one and even he doesn’t have one. It breaks his heart daily.

DON’T BE LIKE JUSTIN.

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

Chalk Up Community

• WILL BURPEE FOR FOOD –– All November, the athletes at CrossFit Eastern Ridge and CrossFit Western Ridge donated canned goods into individual coaches bins. One can equals one burpee. By the end of the month, the two gyms collected 2000 pounds of food and $1300 to help fight hunger throughout their county. All that equated to 5940 burpees which the coaches knocked off last weekend, together.
• GETTING SO FIT — Twice a week at the Simon Family Jewish Community Center in Virginia Beach, VA volunteer coaches Wade and Diane Crawford host the Get SO Fit class. The SO stands for Special Olympics, and the class helps children and adults with disabilities learn to exercise, achieve personal fitness goals and make healthy food choices.
• GIFT DRIVE FOR BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB — Bring a toy to donate to the Boys and Girls Club to OC Athletix in San Clemente, CA and get to WOD for free. 
• CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP — CrossFit Athena in Brush, CO is now being owned and operated by Travis and Katie Varelman. 
• THE ARMY WANTS YOU — The U.S. Army Recruiting Command is setting up an all-Army functional fitness team that will showcase the Army’s most elite athletes for the purpose of connecting the Army to the fittest people in the community. The soldiers that make it will be sent to Fort Knox for three years for “constant competitive training, recruiting engagements and interaction with the public on a daily basis.”

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

19-year-old Jacob Hamby hits a 280 pound snatch PR • CrossFit Seminar Staff member Chad Theron’s 94-year-old grandmother did Fran • Congratulations to Jen Dieter who set a Masters American Record last weekend with a 75kg/165 pound snatch and a 90kg/198 pound clean and jerk • Jena Pantano gets a 300 pound deadlift PR • Congratulations to Melody on getting her first bar muscle-up • Selene Fuentes hits a 165 pound clean PR • Kelsey Moore survived her first day of CrossFit.

…and maybe dog curls will be a thing soon? 

Dubai CrossFit Championship Kicks Off Tonight at 8:00 PM PT — Tonight here in California, but Wednesday at 8:00 AM in Dubai, the first official sanctioned event of the 2019 CrossFit season starts tomorrow. We’ve got Tommy Marquez out there so we can bring you all the info as it happens. Here’s five storylines he’s keeping an eye on and here’s how you can watch on your own. 

Roster Update — Sara Sigmundsdottir is confirmed for the Rogue Invitational, and Lindsey Valenzuela, Saxon Panchik and Elliot Simmonds are confirmed for Wodapalooza.

Stacie Tovar on Being Pregnant — Stacie Tovar, who just announnced she is expecting her first child, just shared a list of “10 things I know about being preggo so far.”

1.  I have no core. That left me about six weeks ago 
2. There’s three other pregnant women in my gym at the moment…and every woman’s body is different and reacts to pregnancy in a different way. But each of us should continue to workout if we’re feeling well and modify accordingly.
3. My boobs hurt!
4. I should stay below 80% of my max when lifting heavy. I keep forgetting I don’t have a core.
5. Shopping for car seats earlier today was excessively overwhelming.
6. Baby T is growing fast and is currently the size of a tomato!
7. My heart rate shoots through the roof simply carrying laundry up and down our stairs at home.
8.  So far Baby T has enjoyed everything I’ve been feeding it.
9. I can’t wait to continue to share my experience with all of you and hope I can help provide more information and education to all CrossFit coaches, athletes, and moms to be!
10. I love everything about being pregnant…so far.

“Five Storylines I’m Watching in Dubai,” by Tommy Marquez, Morning Chalk Up

On Wednesday, the Dubai CrossFit Championship ushers in a new era of the CrossFit Games. With all that will be taking place over four days of competition, here are five major storylines to brush up on before things get going in the desert.

Being both the first competition to be sanctioned, and the first to take place, the execution on all levels of the Dubai CrossFit Championship stands to be a seminal moment in this new chapter of the CrossFit Games.

All eyes will be on Dubai, and therein lies the potential to either instill faith in the CrossFit community for this new system, or sow seeds of doubt in the viability of Greg Glassman’s new vision for the sport of fitness.

Under the previous format, the CrossFit Games season was a well-oiled machine, so setting a strong precedent after change will be key. Plenty of season details are unclear, but the Dubai CrossFit Championship has the goods for a great first impression.

Perusing over the loaded women’s roster for the competition, I can’t help but pause over the names of three athletes in particular —  Sam Briggs, Sara Sigmundsdottir, and Laura Horvath.

12/12 – 12/15: Dubai CrossFit Championship (Dubai, UAE)

12/15: Masters Mania (Oklahoma City, OK)

12/15: Team Luke Fundraiser (Marlboro Township, NJ)

12/15: Santa Slam Toy Drive and Community WOD (St. Petersburg, FL)

12/15 – 12/16: Nightmare Before Christmas CrossFit Competition (Albuquerque, NM)

12/22: The Flanders Throwdown (Zedelgem, Belgium)

1/10 – 1/13: Feats of Strength Online Meet (Online)

1/12 – 1/13: Scaled Flames (Amsterdam)

1/19: New Year New Throwdown Event (El Mirage, AZ)

1/26: Lost River Rumble (Bowling Green, KY)

1/27: Big Dawgs Athlete Development Camp (Letchworth, England)