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Morning Chalk Up

December 22   |   POWERED BY

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Just a note to our valued readers: We will be off next week for the holidays, but back in action Jan. 2 and ready to rock for the 2023 season!

In today’s edition:

  • CrossFit releases semifinals locations
  • What were our most watched videos of the year on YouTube?
  • Analyzing the semifinal locations and CrossFit Open equipment list
  • Equipment list for the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Open drops
  • There’s still time to work on your gymnastics before the season kicks off
  • Freya Moosbrugger’s Workout of the Week
 
QUOTE OF THE DAY + Send us a Quote

“Forgiveness is the final form of love.” - Reinhold Niebuhr

 
CROSSFIT GAMES
  CrossFit Announces Semifinal Locations  

CrossFit Announces Semifinal Locations

On the afternoon of December 20th, CrossFit announced the news we’ve all been anticipating: where exactly the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games Semifinals will be taking place. In addition to the three Semifinals CrossFit is hosting (North America East, North America West and Europe), the organization will partner with event organizers for the remaining four regions in Asia, South America, Africa, and Oceania.

Week 1

  • May 18-21, North America East Seminal: Orlando, FL (Orange County Convention Center – West Concourse, USA)
  • May 19-21, Africa: REBEL Renegade Games (University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg)

Week 2

  • May 25-28, North America West Semifinal: Pasadena, CA (Pasadena Convention Center, USA)
  • May 26-28, Oceania: Torian Pro (Pat Rafter Arena – Brisbane in Queensland, Australia)
  • May 26-28, South America: Copa Sur (Arena Carioca 1 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Week 3:

  • June 1-4, Europe: Berlin, Germany (Max-Schmeling-Halle)
  • June 2-4, Asia: Far East Throwdown (Bexco in the Republic of Korea)

In an expansion of the CrossFit and NOBULL partnership, it was simultaneously announced that the brand would become the title sponsor of each of the seven competitions.

Remind me: CrossFit released the official 2023 rulebook in November, detailing the structure, standards and expectations for the upcoming season. Semifinals will look a lot like the old Regionals format, with CrossFit HQ programming each of the workouts. In November, CrossFit also detailed the new worldwide ranking system and strength of field, which will help determine which areas have the strongest field, and in turn reserving 17 of the 40 Games qualification spots for the most competitive regions.

What’s Next: Spectator tickets, accommodations and live stream information is expected to be announced soon. As for the calendar, the season kicks off February 16, 2023 with the NOBULL CrossFit Open and Age-Group Semifinals will take place online April 28-30, 2023. The six-day long CrossFit Games will return to Madison, WI on August 1, 2023 for the final time before moving to Alabama in 2024.

 
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SPEED READS

In case you missed it: Morning Chalk Up’s Lauren Kalil and Dex Hopkins sat down to chat about the new format and what you can expect at this year’s TYR Wodapalooza.

Question mark: We had some burning questions at the start of the season, and now we’re looking back to see if they got answered as part of our year-end coverage, which you can check out all week.

Wanna coach?: CrossFit New England is looking to hire full-time coaches.

What’s it like?: Interesting read in Women’s Health about what it’s like to compete in HYRXOX, which a number of CrossFit athletes have competed in, and won, already.

 
INDUSTRY
  The Most Watched Videos of 2022 and What They Tell Us  

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

The Most Watched Videos of 2022 and What They Tell Us

Another year is in the books, and the fact that we’re writing an article about video content shows just how much we’ve grown. Morning Chalk Up is no longer just a newsletter as we’ve grown into a multi-media company by reigniting our YouTube Channel and giving it a serious facelift in 2022.

We brought back our CrossFit debate show, The Bottom Line, giving it a more professional and consistent feel, and expanded our in-season and off-season video coverage bringing you behind-the-scenes athlete interviews and play-by-play recap shows. Oh and did we mention, we’re just getting started?! Stay tuned for more exciting shows to come in 2023…

But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s take a look at what our viewers found interesting, and see what that means about the video content we consume on a daily basis.

Continue Reading...
 
CROSSFIT GAMES
  The Most Watched Videos of 2022 and What They Tell Us  

Christmas Came Early! CrossFit Drops Semifinal Locations and Season Equipment List

Merry Christmas ya’ll! You can start planning your 2023 CrossFit season now that we have the full list of Semifinals Locations and an equipment list for the Open…and beyond! Morning Chalk Up’s Lauren Kalil sits down with Chase Ingraham and Dex Hopkins (before he leaves for baby duty) to break down where athletes will be headed for Semifinals and take a first look at the equipment list as they speculate which movements could show up.

Watch Now...
 
CROSSFIT GAMES
  CrossFit Releases Equipment List for the 2023 Open  

CrossFit Releases Equipment List for the 2023 Open

CrossFit has just released the complete equipment list for athletes and affiliates participating in the Open and subsequent online events.

Key links for the CrossFit Open

2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games Season Calendar 

Below is a “non-specific/non-exhaustive list of equipment you should have access to if you plan on competing in the Open and any online events,” said CrossFit in a release.

  • Barbells: 35 lb (15 kg), 45 lb (20 kg)
  • Standard bumper plates, change plates, and collars
  • Dumbbells: 70 lb (32.5 kg), 50 lb (22.5 kg), 35 lb (15 kg), and 20 lb (10 kg)
  • Kettlebells: 16 kg, 24 kg, and 32 kg
  • Medicine balls: 20 lb (9 kg), 14 lb (6 kg), and 10 lb (4 kg)
  • Plyo boxes: 20 in, 24 in, and 30 in
  • Gymnastics rings
  • Jump ropes
  • Concept2 rower
  • Pull-up bar to perform movements including but not limited to:
    • Pull-ups
    • Toes-to-bars
    • Muscle-ups
  • Wall space to perform movements including but not limited to:
    • Wall walks
    • Handstand push-ups
    • Wall-ball shots
  •  Clear floor space (25 ft)
  • *Climbing ropes (15 ft)
  • *GHD

*Climbing ropes and GHDs will not be required for the Open but may be used during later stages of online competition.

 
LIFESTYLE
  It’s Not Too Late to Improve Your Gymnastics Before the Season Starts Says Dave Durante  

It’s Not Too Late to Improve Your Gymnastics Before the Season Starts Says Dave Durante

We’re just 56 days away from the start of the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Open (not that we’re counting), and if that reminder makes your palms sweat because you’re still not proficient on a pull-up bar or comfortable upside-down, you’re not alone. But have no fear—Dave Durante, co-owner of Power Monkey Fitness and multiple-time USA Gymnastics National Champion, assured us that it’s better late than never to prepare for the gymnastics components that we’re sure to see programmed.

“What we recommend is instead of trying to anticipate a particular movement that may or may not happen… I think a better way to approach it, especially as an athlete who wants to become more proficient with gymnastics movements, is to stick around what we call within Power Monkey (Fitness) the ‘phase one’ of skill development,” Durante suggests. “Phase one is (focused) around creation of good body shapes; can I create the body shapes that I need for higher skill development?”

Durante continued, that when creating solid, consistent body positions, there are two fundamental pieces to consider: core strength and mobility.

“And when we say core, (that’s) everything that encompasses your midline, not just your abs: hip flexors, obliques, lateral and rotational work, as well as posterior chain,” Durante said. “That should be something that’s done five to ten minutes every day.”

In both core building and mobility work, Durante encouraged us to not stress the time spent each day, but rather the consistency. For example, if you’re currently doing a long mobility session only on Saturdays but not at all the rest of the week, you might yield better results by doing a shorter session several days a week instead.

As you anticipate the movements destined to be thrown our way throughout the three weeks of tests come February, lean more on building really good foundational movement, rather than the specific exercises themselves.

“There are so many things that you can be exposed to or be thrown at you that you don’t want to be limiting yourself into this one little funneled area unless you know it’s a particular weakness for yourself individually. But everyone’s different in that case,” Durante pointed out.

“So, what we try to do is say, ‘What’s the broadest base we can set for ourselves to allow us to apply that to anything that might be thrown at us? How can we prepare ourselves in the most complete way possible so that no matter what we’re exposed to, we are ready to go and prepare for it?… Obviously, if you’re limited or weak in a particular area, there you can spend more time, but it doesn’t need to be taking up a majority of your workout.”

In short, if you need us until February 16th, we’ll be doing lots of hollow holds, arch holds, kip swings and mobility—and then hoping for the best.

In last week’s Coffee Break Conversation with Durante, he also shared his number one cue for getting your first ring muscle-up, the mental side of gymnastics and more.

To watch the replay, tune in here—exclusive to Rx members.

Not Rx? Join today for just $1 and enjoy this conversation and a new topic-focused chat with an industry expert every week.

 
WORKOUT
  Freya Moosbrugger's Workout of the Week  

Freya Moosbrugger's Workout of the Week

Today’s workout is programmed by Canadian athlete Freya Moosbrugger. At 21-years-old, she had her rookie debut at the CrossFit Games in 2022 and most recently finished inside the top ten at the Dubai Fitness Championship, living up to her hashtagged nickname “Strong Like Moose”.

Freya Moosbrugger 

2:00 work, 1:00 rest x 4 rounds:

  • 15 thrusters (135/95)
  • Max cal row in time remaining

3:00 min rest, then:

2:00 work, 1:00 rest x 4 rounds:

  • 15 calorie row
  • Max thrusters in time remaining (95/65lbs)

Scaling options: Ideally the buy-in, which are the thrusters in the first part and rowing in the second part, should take you less than a minute — that means we have the option to scale the number of reps and the weight. The bar that we are performing the max thrusters on should be a weight we can comfortably move.

Some advice from Freya: “The stimulus here is threshold training. The goal is to see consistent numbers across the board in both cals and reps of thrusters. It is supposed to challenge pacing strategy and obviously how dark you’re willing to go! My advice is to do the first round at a rate of perceived effort around a 7 and then in later rounds it will creep up to a 9 or 10, and hopefully you will still be able to stay consistent. Have fun!

To inquire about submitting an upcoming workout of the week, shoot us a note.

 
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Share Your CrossFit Story

WATCH NOW...
 
HIGHLIGHTS

Celebrating a PR, hosting a fundraiser, this, that, or otherwise. Send us a tip.

  • 🤯 Weightlifter Lasha Talakhadze snatches 474 pounds/215kg to take the snatch gold at 2022 IWF World Championships.
  • Congratulations to Michael Michaelides, owner of CrossFit Downtown Atlanta on a major body composition change in 2022, going from 230 pounds to 198 pounds to close out the year.
  • Mattie Rogers shared a “forbidden video from the archives,” the first time she snatched 253 pounds/115kg earlier this year. ✨Flawless✨.
  • Three-time Games athlete, Argentinian Augustin Richelme hits a clean complex at 308 pounds/140kg.
  • Team America rookie, Kaiden Hogan hit a clean and jerk PR at 245 pounds/111kg at the 2022 IF3 Worlds last weekend.
 
 
LOCAL COMPETITIONS + Submit an Event
3/16: Oceanside CrossFit 1st Annual Shamwod & Shenanigains (Oceanside, Ca)
3/16: Shamwod & Shenanigains (Oceanside, Ca)
3/16: Shamwod & Shenanigains (oceanside, ca)
3/16: Upper Hunter Strongest Novice (Muswellbrook, Australia)
3/23: CFL Teen Take Over (Lorton, VA)
3/23: Masters Distinguished Games (Fort Wright, KY)
3/23 - 3/24: Beach Brawl (Spring) (Pensacola Beach, FL)
4/6: Best Babes 608 (Janesville, Wisconsin)
4/6 - 4/7: SeaDog Summer Showdown (Jupiter, Florida)
4/6: Girls Gone Rx Minnesota (Austin, Minnesota)
4/6: Girls Gone Rx Kentucky (Richmond, Kentucky)
4/6: Girls Gone Rx Ohio (Lancaster, Ohio)
4/6: Best Babes Decatur (Decatur, Alabama)
4/6: Best Babes South Carolina (Beufort, South Carolina)
4/6: Best Babes Houston (Houston, Texas)
4/6: Best Babes Wyoming (Cheyene, Wyoming)
4/6: War Off I-4 (Deland, FL)
4/6: Two Peas in a Pod: Mixed Gender Partner Comp (Burlington, MA)
4/6 - 4/7: No Pain No Game (Legnano, Italy)
4/6 - 4/7: Shack Team Edition (Rome, Italy)
4/6: Best Babes South Carolina (Beaufort, SC)
4/6: Best Babes Decatur (Decatur, AL)
4/6 - 4/7: Landifornian Battle (Seignosse, France)
4/6: Best Babes Tampa (Tampa, Florida)
4/13: Queens of Oly Rockledge (Rockledge, FL)
4/13: Queens of Oly East Tennessee (Bulls Gap, TN)
4/13: Fittest on Main (Boaz, AL)
4/19 - 4/21: Crash Crescendo (Spartanburg, SC)
4/20 - 4/21: Okanagan Valley Throwdown (Penticton, British Columbia, Canada)
4/20: Barbells For Bullies: Community Workout Savannah (Savnnah, Georgia, US)
4/20: Festivus Games @ CrossFit Plattsburgh (Plattsburgh, NY)
4/20: Festivus Games @ CrossFit Masiphumelele (Kommetjie, Cape Town, South Africa)
4/20: Festivus Games (Goderich, Canada)
4/20: Festivus Games (Clermont, FL)
4/20: Festivus Games @ The Gym – CrossFit Kilo (Cedar Falls, IA)
4/20: Festivus Games @ CBM Sirens (Caledonia, MS)
4/20 - 4/21: Okanagan Valley Throwdown (Penticton, British Columbia)
4/20: The Fittest 4 (Sunshine Coast, Australia)
4/20: Embrace the Challenge (Mentor, Ohio)
4/20: Festivus Games @ CrossFit Pagosa (Pagosa Springs, CO)
4/20: First EVER Adaptive Festivus Games Competition (Waterford, United States)
4/20: Festivus Games (WAUKESHA, WI)
4/20 - 4/21: BGR Contest Spring Edition (Bergerac, France)
4/20: Festivus Games @ Coyote Valley (San Jose, CA)
4/26 - 4/28: Crash Crescendo (Spartanburg, SC)
4/27: Cap Crown Throwdown (Gladstone, Australia)
4/28: 249 Spring Throwdown (Sittingbourne, Kent, England)
5/4: Team Challenge Texas (San Antonio, Texas)
5/4 - 5/5: Italian Bulls Games (Lido di Ostia, Italy)
5/4 - 5/5: Pavia Spring Challenge ’24 (Pavia, Italy)
5/4: The Strong and Courageous (Cullman, Alabama)
5/4: CHLKDUP Classic (Nashville, TN)
5/11 - 5/12: Finest City Weightlifting Open – Presented by The Strength Tank (San Diego, CA)
5/11: True Fitness Trials (Cherry Hill, NJ)
5/11: Queens of Oly Hawaii (Wailuku, Hawaii)
5/11: Queens of Oly Hudson (Hudson, NY)
5/11: Queens of Oly Philadelphia (West Chester, Philadelphia)

See all upcoming events

 
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