“There are no secrets that time does not reveal.”- Jean Racine
COMPETITION
Fabian Beneito Considered Retiring Before Winning the Dubai Fitness Championship
After placing 19th at Wodapalooza in Miami, FL last year, Fabian Beneito thought it might be time to retire.
Not because he was 19th, but because he was worried about his health.
“After every workout, I couldn’t feel my arms and legs and I was really worried,” he said, adding that he was also “mentally exhausted” and thought it might just be time to focus on his family, explained the father of a four-year-old.
When Beneito returned to Spain after Wodapalooza, medical tests discovered his liver numbers were concerning, which doctors deduced was from him being seriously overtrained.
So the 26-year-old former professional motocross athlete took three months to recover his body, meaning he did three months of short, low intensity training only, all the while getting liver tests each week to monitor his recovery.
“I was really scared,” he admitted.
Fast forward to now, and Beneito said he’s 100 percent, something he more than proved at the recent Dubai Fitness Championship in the UAE when he came out of nowhere and won the competition, beating veterans like Brent Fikoswki and Jonne Koski along the way.
Nobody was more surprised than Beneito.
“It was totally a surprise. I wasn’t expecting to be on top of the podium, but I was very happy with the result that I got,” he said of his breakthrough win.
As a proud partner of TYR Wodapalooza Miami, TYR is bringing their Limited Edition Wodapalooza Collection to the city of Miami. Drop by their booth at WZA to grab:
A pair of never-before-seen CXT-1 Trainers
A pair of RD-1 Runners
Apparel
And accessories!
TYR is also gifting every competing athlete with an Athlete Kit featuring a custom TYR Airtec shirt, sunglasses and limited edition CXT-1 Trainers.
In case you missed it: Morning Chalk Up’s Lauren Kalil caught up with Brent Fikowski to discuss his decision to do more off-season competitions this year.
Congrats!: CrossFit has now handed out official national champion tags for 2022 for countries around the world. 💪
Mr. Miami: How did Noah Ohlsen go from a “scrawny little dude” to being a complete CrossFit beast of a guy?
Super interesting: According to a new study published in Nature, a microbiome-dependent gut–brain pathway regulates motivation for exercise.
Gym envy: RFK Racing has partnered with Titan Fitness and launched a state of the art human performance center
Let the recaps begin: The end of 2022 is nearing and Strava has all your workout data combined for some interesting insights into how we all stayed fit.
LIFESTYLE
MEMBER EXCLUSIVE
Are You Attacking the Rowing Machine Wrong?
Athletes tend to approach equipment like a heavy barbell or the muscle-up rings with intention and focus. But the rower? You’re probably guilty of treating that skill (yes, skill) with a little less care.
“It’s actually kind of the bane of my career…because there’s so little risk to the machine (and) nobody gets hurt, which is great. But it’s bad advertising for me because it means anybody can sit on the machine and there’s no risk if you do it wrong, you’re just going slow. But even then, you don’t even know you’re going slow because many don’t really understand the metrics that they see on their screen, so they don’t know what they don’t know, which is they don’t know how to move,” Shane Farmer said.
Jason Grubb Wins His Division at Legends in Nail Biting Fashion
There’s something truly special about watching Masters athletes compete at the highest level of our sport. They are the athletes that show us what is humanly possible even as we age.
As for the 3x CrossFit Games Masters champion, Jason Grubb, winning his division at Legends this past weekend was yet another feather in his cap, but one he had to work just a little bit harder for on that final day of competition. Morning Chalk Up’s Lauren Kalil chats with Grubb about the anxiety-driven finish that was exciting for the fans, but maybe a little less exciting for him on the competition floor.
Remind me: One of the goals of The Cowboy Way is to provide quality programming and help community members improve their quality of life. Another is to support those that don’t necessarily have the funds to cover equipment purchases or travel to competitions.
Sweeney has taken 20% of the revenue and put it into a special fund. He has used that money and 100% of the funds donated through the monthly donation subscription to help provide equipment, ranging from weight plates to Rogue Echo Bikes. Sweeney also helped one member make the trip to a competition.
“One of our athletes qualified for [The Fittest Experience] last year,” Sweeney said. “She lives in Idaho, and obviously, that’s in Texas. She qualified and she didn’t really didn’t know that she was going to qualify. She qualified in the RX’d division.
“And then once she qualified – she was a younger athlete that was working as a nurse and was just brand new in the field. And she didn’t have the funds to be able to get there. She was like, ‘F***, I’m qualified, but I’m not going to be able to go there.’ I bought her a plane ticket, and we got her there.”
The transportation to a CrossFit competition is only one example of The Cowboy Way supporting its members. Sweeney has also sent numerous members heart rate monitors.
This seems like a smaller purchase on paper, but heart rate work is a key part of the programming. Purchasing the monitors for the members took away some of the frustration of trying to track them down or fitting in the extra expense.
Those that live in the Fallon, NV, area have access to another perk. They can take part in the weekly training days. These community members can get hands-on coaching from Sweeney on Saturdays, free of charge.
How to Get Tickets and Volunteer for the 2023 TYR Wodapalooza
There’s less than one month left until the CrossFit community meets again in Bayfront Park for the fittest beach party of the year: TYR Wodapalooza. Come January 12-15, 900 plus volunteers, appropriately 2,500 athletes, tens of thousands of spectators and 100 plus industry brands will come together for four days of competition.
For a full list of who’s confirmed to compete so far, check out our roster, which is regularly updated as official announcements are made.
Want a piece of the action? You can still join the event that prides itself on celebrating community, fitness and life:
Sign-up to volunteer: with three competition floors and six different major teams, there’s no shortage of opportunities to contribute your time and energy in the spirit of something bigger than yourself.
Snag your ticket: planning to come watch, get your tan on and cheer your heart out? Single-day tickets, weekend passes and VIP options are still available, and recommended accommodations are linked on the site as well.
Register for the Gauntlet: don’t just spectate, participate! One hour, three workouts, and scaled, intermediate and Rx individual divisions are available. Plus, you get some free TYR gear just for throwing down!
While it’s the 11th anniversary of the fitness festival, it’s a year of firsts:
Christmas is getting closer each day… have you done your holiday shopping yet? Thinking of gift ideas can delay our shopping, but use our guide to get some ideas for the fitness fanatic in your life. We make it easy, so you don’t have to leave your couch to get them the best gifts!
What if you don’t have the time to perform a 30 minute mobility routine to be able to Snatch properly, but you want a great workout and physique? Meet the brand new Allrounder track of the Relentless Method: for anyone looking to get a strong and conditioned body as efficiently as possible.
Most of us think the lift starts from our pull from the floor or our set up in the rack… but that’s not where it really starts. It starts before you touch the bar.
That Tomahawk Steak You Never Get at the Restaurant
Are you ready to finally get that steak you never actually order when you’re at that fancy steakhouse? For a limited time, new Butcher Box members will receive a FREE Tomahawk Steak. Not only will you get your free steak, you’ll also get high quality, 100% grass fed meat delivered right to your door!
Celebrating a PR, hosting a fundraiser, this, that, or otherwise. Send us a tip.
Congratulations to Toya Nelson from Kamo Athletics CrossFit in Olathe, KS on her 1:47 Diane time for an 11-second PR.
Matilde Garnes and Seher Kaya get a bodybuilding sesh in at the Tulum Jungle Gym in Tulum Beach, Mexico.
CrossFit Games Teen athletes are coming together for a virtual 12 Days of Christmas WOD. Each day one athlete writes a new movement, with the full workout culminating on December 22. Follow along on Ty Jenkins’ instagram story.
Panama City CrossFit in Florida hosted their second annual Squats for Tots fundraiser on Sunday, December 11, raising $1,400 for the Stuff the Bus holiday toy drive.
The fourth annual John Myron Coffee Memorial WODis this Saturday, December 17 at Coffee High School in Douglas, GA. Proceeds benefit the $1,500 memorial scholarship awarded annually to a member of the Trojan football team. There is also a $1,000 scholarship awarded to the winner.
The workout is a pyramid-style chipper with reps numbered 19 for John’s age and 63 for the number he wore on the football field.
John Myron Coffee Memorial WOD
19 tire flips
200m run
63 pull-ups
19 burpees
400m run
63 hand cleans (95/65)
19 burpees
400m run
63 wall balls (20/14)
19 burpees
200m run
19 tire flips
This email may contain affiliate links. We make a small commision off of purchases made via our affiliate links to help support this newsletter. If you no longer wish to receive the Morning Chalk Up newsletter, unsubscribe here.
