“Where there is love there is life.”- Mahatma Gandhi
COMPETITION
Dubai Fitness Championship: Men’s Preview
The men’s field at the 2022 Dubai Fitness Championship will feature some of the biggest names in the sport, with half of the competitors bringing CrossFit Games experience to the competition floor. Joining these fan-favorites are six athletes that could provide an upset at Dubai, along with ten competitors looking to take the big step in qualifying for their first CrossFit Games in 2023.
The big names:
Brent Fikowski: Coming off a win at ELFIT, Fikowski has finished on the CrossFit Games podium twice and inside the top five in four of his seven appearances. He won the Dubai Fitness Championship back in 2019 and has a strong chance of being crowned champion for the second time.
Jonne Koski: After finishing 15th at the 2022 CrossFit Games, Koski most recently took 11th place at the Rogue Invitational. Koski has finished inside the top 10 in four of his eight CrossFit Games appearances. His incredible consistency and balanced fitness make him one of the top threats on the men’s side of the competition.
Khan Porter: This past weekend, Porter finished second in the team division at the Down Under Championship. Last season, he finished fourth at the CrossFit Games in the team division, showcasing his incredible progress after a season with coach Jami Tikkanen and the Reykjavík training crew. With only 11 days of rest between the Down Under Championship and Dubai, Porter will be a major threat if he’s able to recover from the time change and post-competition fatigue.
Lazar Djukic: After finishing in 8th place at the 2022 CrossFit Games, Djukic has had a busy offseason leading up to Dubai. He took first at the Madrid Championship in September, followed by a 20th place finish at the Rogue Invitational in late October. Djukic suffered an ankle injury during Rogue, limiting his ability to showcase his fitness and compete at a level he’s accustomed to. If Djukic is healthy for Dubai, his well-rounded fitness makes him one of the top contenders for a spot on the podium.
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In case you missed it: Lauren Kalil, the host of The Bottom Line, spoke to Training Think Tank coach, Adam Rogers, and Brute Strength coach, Matt Torres, about which style better demonstrates an athlete’s true ability when it comes to testing strength.
Xmas Xfit: 12 Days of CrossMas is back and entries are open NOW! It’s 12 straight days of fun fitness giveaways to get you in the festive spirit.
One workout for a good cause: There’s just over one week left until Hope in the Desert, a single partner workout online competition, kicks off. Register for free here to help support access to exercise for women in Jericho.
And another: Arielle Loewen will be another athlete at TYR Wodapalooza who will be competing in both the team and individual division. Check out our updated roster here for everyone who is going to Miami come early 2023.
PROFILE
MEMBER EXCLUSIVE
How Kristin Holte is Helping Norway’s Matilde Garnes to the Next Level
When Matilde Oyen Garnes turned full time professional in November 2021 she decided to leave no stone unturned. She hired eight-time Games athlete Kristin Holte as a mental coach.
“I thought, OK I’m going to do everything I can to be as good as I can,” Garnes, 26, said.
Garnes decided to hire a mental coach after narrowly missing out on a place at the 2021 CrossFit Games. She just missed a spot via the Semifinals and again via Last Chance Qualifiers.
“It was quite hard, I was really disappointed, especially as I had some injuries and bad luck,” she said. “It was really hard to continue training, I just wanted to give up and stop crossfit.”
"As soon as you crush someone's spirit...you defeat the purpose of the sport," David Hippensteel
Eight-time CrossFit Games masters athlete and three-time masters champion David Hippensteel was on the hunt to return to the Games in 2022, but ultimately withdrew all five of his quarterfinals scores, ending his bid for a potential ninth trip to the Games.
Morning Chalk Up’s Lauren Kalil sits down with Hippensteel and long-time coach and Founder of Aerobic Capacity, Chris Hinshaw, to discuss what ultimately led Hippensteel to pull out of the season, the conversations he had behind the scenes with CrossFit, and his plans heading into the 2023 season.
Samsung Splashes into CrossFit Wearable Technology
The wearable market continues to grow industry-wide; you can spot a CrossFitter a mile away by seeing their watch, ring or band that’s tracking their workout data and sleep metrics. And while the desire for better understanding your training and recovery is not new, the latest player in the CrossFit game is.
Remind me: Samsung, the well-known technology brand, is the Official Data Wearable and Timing Partner of 2023 TYR Wodapalooza. Returning this January to Bayfront Park in Miami, the four-day fitness festival will have opportunities for attendees to test out the Samsung Galaxy Watch5 and Watch5 Pro.
There’s already a few trusted options on the market for tracking your biometric data, and with Samsung joining the mix, it creates a competitive climate across the industry (which is great for encouraging new features) and provides more quality choices for athletes.
Janet Lee, Samsung’s SVP of Mobile Experience, points out that while “we’ve been offering top-of-the-line smartwatches for years…Galaxy Watch5 Pro is our first device designed specifically for the extreme sports enthusiast – like those who dedicate themselves to CrossFit.”
What they’re saying: One of the first to take the new watch for a spin is none other than the reigning Fittest Man on Earth, Justin Medeiros.
“Samsung is a quality brand that everyone knows and has been around for a long time. I love to introduce new brands to the CrossFit community that has given me so much. I think once people experience the community they immediately see how hard people work, how dedicated they are and how passionate they are about this sport,” he said. “My goal is to expand the sport and I think this is an amazing opportunity for Samsung and the CrossFit community.”
Medeiros, who has been utilizing the technology primarily to support his workouts, said “I love how many options there are for recording training and how accurate it has been so far. I use it a ton for running, in particular to track distance, paces and heart rate.”
The 5th Fittest Woman on Earth, Brooke Wells, is another notable athlete added to Samsung’s roster.
One big thing: Historically, there’s been a delicate balance between functionality and style when it comes to wearable technology, and Samsung is prioritizing an effort to deliver on both fronts.
“It takes everything we’ve learned about creating a powerful smartwatch and puts it in a beautiful and rugged design that looks just as good in the gym as it does dressed up for a night out,” Lee said. “We think it’s the ideal companion for any CrossFit athlete.”
The water-resistant watch contains features we’ve grown accustomed to across the board such as GPS tracking, HRV (heart rate variability) information, in-depth sleep insights, workout auto-detection and the ability to change bands based on your style and color preferences.
However, there’s a few features that appear to be pushing the envelope: the ability to make calls and texts, seriously extended battery life, and a Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) sensor, which supposedly gives athletes a detailed look at their body composition data, such as body fat and skeletal muscle.
With two of the top athletes in the world backing the product and a debut at the biggest beach event of the year, Samsung is making a big splash into the CrossFit marketplace and we’re looking forward to hearing more feedback on how it stacks up against the competition. Is the Galaxy Watch5 Pro the right fit for you? Give it a whirl in Miami, and let us know what you think!
As for Medeiros, he’s continuing to refine his edge and not planning on missing out on valuable data anytime soon.
“As the sport gets more and more competitive, the one-percents matter and being analytical in my approach is big,” he said. “Getting real time feedback helps me maintain my heart rate targets, paces and overall allows me to train smarter.”
THINGS TO...
...SEE
All The Deals You Need to Know for Black Friday
Scrolling through social media hoping to find the best deals? We got you covered. Check out our Ultimate CrossFitters Guide to Black Friday and Cyber Monday to find the best deals we've found from around the internet. Spoiler alert: Some have already started.
Do you like free stuff? Duh, of course you do. Every single purchase on TYR.com will come with a FREE TYR Ribbed Beanie from 11/25-11/29 during their ultimate Black Friday sale. Plus, you'll get 25% off sitewide and free shipping on all orders over $25. Get ready to shop!
Practicing your turn over for ring muscle ups can be tough because it’s rather difficult to practice them all the way up at the top of the rings. Use these progressions to master the turn over and dip out of your muscle ups.
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You’re pulling the barbell from the floor… you open your hips… suddenly the bar is way out in front of you and you are chasing it forward to catch it. What happened? Probably one of these common mistakes you didn’t know you were making!
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