“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.”- A.A. Milne
NEWS
New Book on Greg Glassman Promises Not to “Shy Away from the Controversies”
Calum Marsh’s The Fittest People on Earth: The Rise and Fall of a Fitness Phenomenon, the “never-been-told true story” of the origins of Greg Glassman and CrossFit, Inc. is currently slated to come out sometime this year.
“After the events of the summer of 2020, the journalist in me knew that this was a dramatic, complex story that deserved to be told in full,” Marsh said.
The book follows the sport’s early days getting kicked out of globo gyms to becoming a global brand, all the way to Glassman selling of the company amid controversy and the firing of Dave Castro.
Marsh is a regular long-form writer for The New York Times, whose pieces have also appeared in The New Yorker, The Guardian, The Atlantic, Playboy, Esquire, GQ, The New Republic, and New York Magazine.
It’s worth noting: One key difference between the myriad of long-form journalism profiling Glassman and CrossFit previously is Marsh has been a CrossFitter for the last three years. He currently trains at a Toronto affiliate six days a week.
Marsh started in early 2018 during the height of the CrossFit Games and watched while the Games season was changed, COVID-19 permanently closed many gyms and the controversial summer of 2020 that ended with Glassman selling CrossFit to Eric Roza.
Most, if not all, journalism on the subject has come from non-CrossFitting authors.
“At the same time, as a dedicated CrossFitter myself, I’ve seen how much the sport has been misunderstood and mischaracterized in the media, and I wanted to approach the story with an insider’s perspective,” added Marsh. “One that could show what’s great about CrossFit as a sport while digging into CrossFit’s dark side as a company.”
One big thing: No published book has yet to exhaustively cover CrossFit’s extensive and controversial history. More than a year-and-a-half after Roza bought the company, there are now even more former staffers to interview.
Marsh has already conducted hundreds of hours of interviews with a who’s who of CrossFit’s past and present and said the book “includes new revelations about Glassman and never before heard stories about CrossFit’s early years.”
Marsh: “It won’t shy away from the controversies that have dogged Glassman and the company since the beginning, and will offer a fair and accurate account of this sport’s incredible history.”
Anyone who has a relevant story to tell can reach out to Marsh directly.
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…22 days until the 2022 CrossFit Open kicks off. Register today.
How can CrossFit professionalize the sport more? Morning Chalk Up’s Lauren Kalil talks to Jason St. Clair, Justin Cotler and Patrick Clark about this on the latest edition of The Bottom Line.
Our very ownBrian Friend, Morning Chalk Up’s all-knowing stats guru, has joined the WODProof Team. 💪
“Brian represents one of the hardest working and most humble people we know. He has cemented himself as one of the most analytical people in the sport of CrossFit. He represents the passionate CrossFit community so well by bringing to light some of the lesser known athletes in the sport.”
U.S. Army Warrior Fitness has released its first tryout workout. Hope you like rowing and thrusters, lots and lots of them. 🥵
10 min AMRAP
1000m row
75 thrusters (75/55)
Any active member of the U.S. Army can try out for the team. Tryouts end on February 12.
For two CrossFit seasons we have asked our expert analysts to share with us who are the next new up-and-coming stars. A “young gun” is someone who comes out of nowhere, makes their mark on the sport and gets people discussing when they will be contending for a podium spot at the CrossFit Games.
We asked our team of expert Games analysts – Tommy Marquez, Patrick Clark and Brian Friend – who they predict will be the next breakout star for the 2022 Games season.
A look back at past Young Guns: In 2021 Brian and Patrick got one of their selections right as Sydney Michalyshen and Ellie Turner each made it to the Games, finishing 25th and 26th respectively. All three of our analysts’ six selections made it to a semifinal with four of them moving onto the Last Chance Qualifiers (Michalyshen, Dallin Pepper, Cole Greashaber and Anikha Greer). Back in 2019 Tommy advised us to keep an eye on six “Young Guns”, among that group of athletes were Justin Medeiros, Gabriela Migala and Emma Cary.
Our criteria: We kept the criteria pretty simple, the athlete must be 23-years-old or younger and have no previous individual Games experience. We asked our analysts to pick one man and one woman and why they think that athlete is a name to keep an eye on this year.
Missing the thrill of CrossFit competition? Rogue now has the CBS recap broadcast of both the male and female competitions up on their site. Perfect entertainment while you're doing your mobility work tonight.
Over $100,000 raised. The 2022 RPM 10k Challenge wraps up this week for the thousands of athletes who accepted the challenge: 10,000 double-unders in 30 days in support of brighter futures for at-risk youth. There’s still time to contribute: donate to the Iron Compass now to support fitness, mentorship, and community for kids.
Why is it that as soon as the rope needs to go under us twice, we lose all coordination and technique and end up looking like a high school cheer squad? Well, before the Open begins, check out three shapes you should not be making during your dubs.
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This incredible buffalo cauliflower mac and cheese uses sharp cheddar and buffalo sauce to give you a boost of veggies that never tasted so good. Super easy to make, baked to perfection, and a crumbly topping will make this a firm family favorite.
Congratulations Yvette Buenaventura from CrossFit 990 in Oakville, Canada on the 80 pound/36kg snatch PR.
Thuri Helgadottir hits a 231.5 pound/105kg clean at the Reykjavik International Games.
Congratulations Jordan Walker from Muskegon CrossFit in Muskegon Heights, MI on two PRs: power clean at 305 pounds/138kg and overhead squat at 295 pounds/134kg.
In less than one month (and thanks to many Morning Chalk Up readers!), Cumming Strength and Fitness in Cumming, GA raised $14,000 of their to help long-time member Rachel and her family with medical expenses after her diagnosis of brain cancer.
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