Read the latest Morning Chalk Up articles on BarBend
Your Coffee is ready.

“Fix Yo Shit”

 
Morning Chalk Up

June 29   |   POWERED BY

Beam_1579283615

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

  • Breaking: CrossFit briefs international Games athletes on travel restrictions, announces no backfills for COVID restrictions.
  • Meet CrossFit Games rookie, Sydney Michalyshen. Spoiler: Her name is pronounced “Mick-A-Lish-Shin.”
  • Brian Friend, Tommy Marquez and Patrick Clark file their picks for who will earn a Games berth out of the women’s division in the Last Chance Qualifier.
  • MoveU is dedicated to helping CrossFit athletes improve their movement patterns and alleviate pain.
  • The Morning Chalk Up is hiring a Social Media Manager and Homepage Editor, and Customer Service Representative.

We love seeing your story tips, quotes and PRs roll in. Keep sending them to [email protected].

 
QUOTE OF THE DAY + Send us a Quote

“There’s only one thing more precious than our time and that’s who we spend it on.” - Leo Christopher

 
CROSSFIT GAMES
  Breaking: CrossFit Briefs International Games Athletes on Travel Restrictions, Announces No Backfills for COVID Restrictions  

Breaking: CrossFit Briefs International Games Athletes on Travel Restrictions, Announces No Backfills for COVID Restrictions

On Monday evening, the CrossFit Games sent an email to International Games qualifiers providing some information about travel restrictions and options for travel to the US.

The details: In the email, CrossFit noted that: “On January 25, 2021, the US extended and expanded restrictions prohibiting individuals who were physically present in the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Brazil, or South Africa in the prior 14 days from being admitted to the United States.”

  • “Those restrictions cover roughly one in five athletes qualifying for the Games across all divisions. If any of those individuals or teams are unable to attend the Games, CrossFit does not plan to backfill those qualifying slots.”

The last sentence above is critical — “CrossFit does not plan to backfill those qualifying slots.”

What is CrossFit doing to help: According to the email, CrossFit has “has petitioned the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide those athletes and their designated support person with a National Interest Exemption (NIE) that would allow them to travel to the United States.”

  • The email continues: “Unfortunately, despite extensive high-level outreach efforts, including direct communication with DHS Secretary Mayorkas and his staff, CrossFit has received neither guidance on the status of  the waiver application process nor assurances they will be granted in time for athletes to travel to the Games.”
Continue Reading...
 
SPONSORED Beam_1579283615
Sweet Dreams are made from Beam

Sweet Dreams are made from Beam

Sleepytime teas, blackout curtains, and counting burpees not getting the job done? Try beam’s best-selling bedtime beverage – beam dream powder.

Made with a delicious blend of sleep-enhancing vitamins, minerals, and nano CBD to help you wind down and enhance your recovery overnight.

After taking beam dream powder:

  • 98% of people feel an improvement in quality of sleep
  • 97% of people who take it feel more energized the following day
  • 91% of people notice increased productivity the following day

See the difference dream makes with ten nights of deep, restorative sleep for just $35. Officially the best way to beam.

 
SPEED READS

  • The Last Chance Qualifier workouts have been released. The athletes who made the cut for one last shot at a Games ticket will take these workouts on, virtually, this weekend, July 2-4. Stay tuned to the Morning Chalk Up for more.
    • Event 1:
      •  For Time:
        42-30-18 Reps of:
        Row (Calories)
        Alternating Dumbbell Hang Snatch (50/35 pounds)
        Time Cap: 15 Minutes
    • Event 2:
      • 3-Rep-Max-Deadlift
        Time Cap: 20 Minutes
    • Event 3:
      • For Time:
        100 Burpees to a Target
        12 Inches Above Your Reach
        Time Cap: 7 Minutes
    • Event 4: 
      • For Time:
        100 Double-Unders
        10 Squat Cleans (135/95 pounds)
        5 Legless Rope Climbs
        80 Double-Unders
        8 Squat Cleans (185/135 pounds)
        4 Legless Rope Climbs
        60 Double-Unders
        6 Squat Cleans (225/155 pounds)
        3 Legless Rope Climbs
        40 Double-Unders
        4 Squat Cleans (245/175 pounds)
        2 Legless Rope Climbs
        20 Double-Unders
        2 Squat Cleans (275/185 pounds)
        1 Legless Rope Climb
        Time Cap: 20 Minutes
  • Last Chance Qualifier roster and additional information.
  • Reebok is releasing a new version of the Nano X1 built to help you take life outside the box. The new Nano X1 Adventure is due to go on sale in late July, but you can get your hands on a pair early, as well as an exclusive Reebok Adventure bundle by entering the Morning Chalk Up giveaway.
  • Be in a WHOOP commercial. Do you wear WHOOP, do CrossFit, and want to be in one of our upcoming commercials? Send them a photo or videoof the following for the chance to see yourself in our next WHOOP commercial being aired during the CrossFit Games. Content can be filmed with a phone and/or camera.
    • What they’re looking for:
      • Community Celebrations: Throwing hands in the air, clapping, jumping up and down, ringing the PR bell, hugging a teammate, high-fiving a teammate, celebrating with a group, etc.
      • Recovery Activities: Foam rolling, hydrating, breath work, meditation, stretching, mobility work, ice bath, Cyro, nutrition, etc.
      • WHOOP Live & Data Shots: Workout footage, recovery sessions, or restful mornings with Strain, Sleep, or Recovery data overlaid — be creative!
      • Exhaustion and Recovery: Post-workout moments where we see exhaustion, sweat and tears, hands on knees, callouses, collapsing to the floor, etc.
  • This week on the Clydesdale, Fitness & Friends podcastChristine Kolenbrander stops by to discuss her strength gains, winning the MACC Snatch event and the role gymnastics played in helping improve her lifting.
    • Kolenbrander: “I think there is a lot of crossover with Olympic Lifting and Gymnastics, just like, with the body awareness and, technique. Especially with snatching, having to be perfect with it to perform the snatch.”
    • When Kolenbrander was asked what it felt like to see Tia-Clair Toomey change the weight on her bar after her successful lift, “As a competitor and an athlete my whole life, even though she missed it, she went for it. To me, that is just exciting to see that competitive nature.”
  • The CrossFit Games released a statement on June 25 on an athlete in breach of drug policy. From the statement:
    • “On January 21, 2019, Janelle Shafer (now Stites) provided an out-of-competition sample to the United States Anti-Doping Agency that contained the prohibited substance Ostarine.”
    • Note, Stites competed on team On Track, the fifth-place qualifying team out of the Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge during the first week of Semifinals in May 2021.
    • “CrossFit, LLC may recognize drug-policy violations, including positive drug tests, reported by other national anti-doping organizations from in-competition or out-of-competition testing performed by these agencies on behalf of other sports governing bodies. On June 1, 2021 Stites appealed the case.”
    • “The appeal has been reviewed. The USADA sanction will stand, and Stites will not be eligible to compete in any CrossFit Games competition until January 21, 2023. Her team will not be eligible to advance to the CrossFit Games.”
    • More information on the CrossFit Drug Testing Policy.
  • CrossFit Reignited Wilmington, the sixth-place finisher in the team division at the Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge received an invitation to the CrossFit Games following the official announcement of the disqualification of the fifth-place qualifying team, On Track.
  • The Week Four Semifinal leaderboards and qualifying athletes and teams have been confirmed and are now official.
  • CrossFit Mayhem Racing: Pastor Layne Schranz competed in the 99th running of the Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on Sunday while driving the No. 7 CrossFit Mayhem Chevrolet SS. Ice and snow on the summit shortened the race by 25%, but Schranz raced to a second-place finish in the Pikes Peak Open division.
 
CROSSFIT GAMES
  CrossFit Games Rookie Series: Meet Sydney Michalyshen  

CrossFit Games Rookie Series: Meet Sydney Michalyshen

Refresh. Refresh. Refresh. For four long hours. That’s how rookie CrossFit Games qualifier Sydney Michalyshen spent her Sunday afternoon after finishing the last two workouts of the online Atlas Games Semifinal.

“I knew it was going to be close. That last event was basically going to determine who got that last spot. It was anyone’s game,” said 21 year-old Michalyshen, an athlete who has only been doing CrossFit since 2018, and has never even competed at either a Regionals or Sanctionals event.

After four hours of sitting at the kitchen table, heart rate racing, hitting the refresh button with her parents and her sister by her side, finally, at 3 PM her time in Winnipeg, Manitoba, it happened: The leaderboard was updated and Michalyshen found herself in fifth place overall, snagging the finally qualifying spot by 11 points over another young Canadian, 18 year-old Anikha Greer.

“I was super emotional. I started crying, but I don’t think it really sunk in until two or three days later. My first training session back is when I think it really hit me. I was like, ‘OK, you’re training for the Games now,’” explained Michalyshen, a former competitive gymnast and college volleyball player, who trains with coach Justin Webber at Team Robo Strength and Conditioning in Winnipeg.

Continue Reading...
 
CROSSFIT GAMES
  Last Chance Qualifier Mock Draft: Women’s Division  

Last Chance Qualifier Mock Draft: Women’s Division

Semifinals have barely ended, and the newest iteration of the “Last Chance Qualifier” is right around the corner. From July 2 to July 4 thirty men and thirty-four women will have the opportunity to compete in one final qualifier event for the Games. However, there are only two spots in each division available, so get ready for perhaps the most competitive format yet.

How this draft works: Each one of our Morning Chalk Up analysts — Brian Friend, Tommy Marquez, and Patrick Clark — had the opportunity to “draft” two men (yesterday) and two women (today) who they believe have a good chance to secure a Games berth out of the Last Chance Qualifier in a snake draft style format.

  • The order for the women’s draft will be Tommy, Patrick, Brian for two, Patrick, and finally Tommy.
Continue Reading...
 
   

“I’m almost embarrassed at how much that one exercise helped me lol…the one where you put your hand on your head and move your shoulder blade back and forth while pulling it down. Incredible.”

Those were the words of five-time CrossFit Games champion Mat Fraser in an Instagram message to Dr. Mike Wasilisan, a chiropractor and the founder of MoveU, a company with 1.1 million followers on Instagram dedicated to helping people “fix yo shit” and get out of pain.

The back story: A couple years ago, Fraser reached out to MoveU asking for a fix to shoulder pain he was having.

  • Wasilisan replied and sent him a really simple video of an exercise that might help, and a month or so later Fraser replied. “I have been feeling huge improvements,” Fraser wrote, adding that as soon as he does the drill “90 percent of the pain is gone.”
  • Fraser’s story is a powerful one and speaks to exactly what Wasilisan is committed to dong: providing education, through entertaining and easy to understand social media content and courses available to MoveU members, to help people fix both chronic and acute pain, as well as improve performance and longevity, through contracting and strengthening the right muscles, gaining body awareness and becoming more aligned, Wasilisan explained.
Continue Reading...
 
THINGS TO...
 

...IMPROVE

Your Elbow Position in the Front Rack

Need to get your elbows higher in a front rack position? Trick question, we all do. Try these three exercises from Invictus Weightlifting coach, Games Athlete, and super strong guy Jared Enderton to increase your mobility and find that perfect position.

ALWAYS IMPROVING.
     

SPONSORED

...GET

A Free U.S.A. Blender Bottle from Ascent

Show off your patriotic spirit all summer long. For a limited time only, purchase any full priced item from Ascent Protein and receive a free U.S.A. blender bottle. Hurry before they are gone.

SEND MY FREE BOTTLE.
     
 

...TRY

The Kari Pearce Complex Challenge

Give this challenging complex of leg raises and ring dips a go and see how many you can string together before failure. You'll feel the burn in your abs, shoulders, triceps, chest, and hip flexors.

ABS OF STEEL.
     
 

...DO

Save 60% on Reebok Apparel

Get ready for grueling summer WODs (and maybe some lazy beach days) with some fresh new gear. Get 60% off all Reebok apparel this week with code "GEARUP60".

SUMMER READY.
     
 

...FIX

Your Bar Muscle Up Chicken Wings

The most common problem with bar muscle-ups is pulling unevenly on the bar which throws one arm over the bar ahead of the other...AKA the Chicken Wing. Check out these simple drills and cues you can use to fix your form and start flying around the bar.

RECIPE FOR SUCCESS.
 
HIGHLIGHTS...

Chalk Up Highlights is our section dedicated to celebrating our community’s wins in the gym. Follow @ChalkUpHighlights and submit your highlight to [email protected] to be featured.

 
LOCAL COMPETITIONS + Submit an Event
4/6 - 4/7: Landifornian Battle (Seignosse, France)
4/6: Two Peas in a Pod: Mixed Gender Partner Comp (Burlington, MA)
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 608 (Janesville, Wisconsin)
4/6: Best Babes South Carolina (Beufort, South Carolina)
4/6: Best Babes Tampa (Tampa, Florida)
4/6: Best Babes Wyoming (Cheyene, Wyoming)
4/6: War Off I-4 (Deland, FL)
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: Best Babes Houston (Houston, Texas)
4/13: Queens of Oly East Tennessee (Bulls Gap, TN)
4/13: Queens of Oly Rockledge (Rockledge, FL)
4/13: Fittest on Main (Boaz, AL)
4/19 - 4/21: Crash Crescendo (Spartanburg, SC)
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: Festivus Games @ Coyote Valley (San Jose, CA)
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 - 4/21: Okanagan Valley Throwdown (Penticton, British Columbia, Canada)
4/20 - 4/21: Okanagan Valley Throwdown (Penticton, British Columbia)
4/25 - 5/12: Raised by Grace (Virtual, )
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: The Battle on Bedford (Lynchburg, VA)
5/4: Masters Equalizer Co-Ed Team of 4 Comp (Oceanport, United States)
5/4: CHLKDUP Classic (Nashville, TN)
5/4 - 5/5: Pavia Spring Challenge ’24 (Pavia, Italy)
5/4 - 5/5: Italian Bulls Games (Lido di Ostia, Italy)
5/4: Team Challenge Texas (San Antonio, Texas)
5/4: The Strong and Courageous (Cullman, Alabama)
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)
5/18: Code 3 Clash (Eagle, ID)
5/18: Thrive Throwdown (Lynchburg, VA)
5/18: Imperial CrossFit’s Spring Fit Fest (Kent, WA)
5/18 - 5/19: The Rainhill Spring Trials (Manchester, UK)
5/18: Luminate the Day (Nonprofit comp for Windy Willow Foundation) (Grand Rapids, MI)
5/18: Girls Gone Rx Chicago (Alsip, Illinois)
5/18: Girls Gone Rx Wilmington (Wilmington, North Carolina)
5/18: Girls Gone Rx San Antonio (San Antonio, Texas)
5/18: Girls Gone RX Wilmington (Wilmington, NC)
5/27 - 6/9: Turun Tuomiopäivä 2024 Qualifiers (Turku, Finland)

See all upcoming events

 
Your Coffee is ready.