“Knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave.”- Frederick Douglass
CROSSFIT GAMES
A Five-Year Journey to Madison: Meet Games Rookie Rebecca Fuselier
For many in the CrossFit community, the recent Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge in Knoxville, TN was the first time they took note of 22-year-old CrossFit Games qualifier Rebecca Fuselier.
But for the 2022 Games rookie, the road to earning her ticket to Madison, WI has been a long five-year journey of patience, perseverance, and having faith that her time would eventually come.
Fuselier’s Journey
After competing as a Level 10 gymnast, Fuselier decided she was done with the sport and “my mom dragged me to the gym,” said Fuselier about how she started CrossFit at the age of 13.
Three years later, Fuselier, who has been coached by Matt McCraney at CrossFit Bolt in Coppell, TX since Day 1, competed at the 2016 CrossFit Games as a teenager, placing ninth, and a year later she placed 10th in the 16-17-year-old division.
Since then, Fuselier has never stopped competing, and had her sights set on getting back to the Games. But unlike the teen phenoms we tend to take for granted like Haley Adams and Mal O’Brien—who made the transition from the teen to individual division look seamless—Fuselier’s journey was a slower one.
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In case you missed it: Rich Froning has teased that this could potentially be his last year competing on a team at the CrossFit Games. Lauren Kalil sits down with Chase Ingraham and Dex Hopkins on the Bottom Line to discuss how not just the team division changes, but how the sport changes once Rich Froning retires.
Post-Semifinals presser: Last week CrossFit hosted a post-Semifinals press conference for media outlets. It’s a system they started this season, but this was the first one that was released to the public.
Custom Mayhem x WHOOP band:Check out the new custom strap with a majority blue strap, red stripes inside, and white clasp — three colors Mayhem has always been proud to represent — with the custom Rogue Fitness ‘R’ printed inside.
Justin Bergh addresses inadequate communication: At the post-Semifinals presser last week, GM of Sport, Justin Bergh talked about some of the growing pains of the 2022 Semifinals season.
INDUSTRY
MEMBER EXCLUSIVE
The Roaring Twenties and the Global Fitness Boom
It is the question on everyone’s minds, is the pandemic actually over?
In the United States, only remnants remain as masks are no longer a legal requirement in most jurisdictions and have defaulted to personal choice. Social distancing is out the window as large scale events are back in full force, and required testing or vaccine passports did not stick.
News articles detailing cases are rarely breaking headlines anymore as the world moves onto other things, the war in Ukraine and rising inflation costs once again squeezing the regular consumer.
If this truly is the end of the pandemic, sans China clinging to its “zero COVID” strategy, the most pressing question is, what’s next? Academics have pointed to the Roaring 20s, a period of time in the early 1900s after the First World War, and how consumers returned with a vengeance after the Spanish Flu, eager to get back out into the world and experience culture: the arts, sports and all forms of entertainment en masse with a renewed sense of purpose.
But what does post-pandemic life look like in 2022?
Peloton’s massive stock drop, in which the at-home workout craze, which exploded during the pandemic, may be the bellwether, or the canary in the coal mine, depending on who you talk to. People are once again voting with their dollars as air travel has skyrocketed and the hospitality industry is back from the dead.
One industry that has weathered the pandemic, and come out stronger, albeit morphed and slightly warped, is the world of fitness technology. While people don’t want to work out virtually in their living rooms for the rest of their lives, they most definitely do want to track their data like never before, and have a heightened sense of both their own fitness and personal health, in part due to a rampaging virus that largely preyed on the eldery and out of shape.
CrossFit Provides Future Career Paths for Active-Duty Soldiers With New Program
CrossFit HQ has just announced a new program that will benefit active-duty soldiers in the United States Army. They will have the opportunity to take select CrossFit courses at no extra cost.
The details: Known as ArmyIgnitED, the new program provides $4,000 per year for eligible soldiers. They can use the funds to take in-person Level 1 and Online Level 1 Courses, the in-person Level 2 Certificate Course, Certified CrossFit Trainer (CCFT) Course available through Army COOL (Credentialing Opportunities On-Line) and select online training courses.
Some of the extra courses include Spot the Flaw, Lesson Planning, and Scaling. Unit commanders have the opportunity to host a private L1 seminar for their soldiers.
Soldiers or unit commanders interested in taking part in this program have to request a quote on the ArmyIgnitED site. They can pick a course to focus on and submit a quote for payment from CrossFit and the Army Finance Team.
Expansion plans: The new program is currently only available for members of the United States Army. Nicole Carroll, GM of CrossFit Education, has noted that the plan is to support all branches of the military in the future.
A promising future: There are specific reasons why CrossFit HQ unveiled this new program. The goal is to first and foremost help the soldiers perform better in their daily lives and in the Army Combat Fitness test.
The second reason for the program is to provide future career opportunities for soldiers. They can secure their L1 or L2 certificates and examine possible options for when they transition out of the military, which could include opening their own affiliate.
CPT Alec Gough, Company Commander in the U.S. Army: “This announcement really opens up opportunities to soldiers that are interested in fitness, but financially unable to pursue their passions. Soldiers can not only prepare for careers outside of the Army, but they can also bring back knowledge to their units that can positively impact small-unit physical training programs.”
“The Army has recently undergone massive transitions when it comes to physical training and assessments and this gives soldiers one more tool in their tool kit to prepare themselves and their formations.”
Nicole Carroll: “At CrossFit, it’s always been important to us to support active-duty military who rely on their physical fitness for their own safety and the safety of others. Programs like ArmyIgnitED provide free access to courses such as the CrossFit Level 1 and the Level 2 Certificate Courses, which not only help soldiers with their work in the Army but also provide post-Army career opportunities. This is just the beginning — our goal is to apply for programs like this that can support all branches of the service.”
THINGS TO...
...LEARN
Three Simple Strategies to Improve Your Mental Toughness
Do you feel like your mind holds you back more than your body in the gym? You have to treat your mind like you would your muscles...and work on it. Here are a few strategies you can employ to toughen up your mind in the gym.
Strength, performance and functional training with regular doses of competition within the community all under the watchful eye of a head coach you may recognize...8x CrossFit Games Athlete Noah Olsen.
Eight hours of working at a desk got you all tight? When you sit all day, you tend to sit in flexion, meaning your hips and back are both rounded. And if you don’t spend time reversing this, then your body will stay that way. Here's a stretch you can do to start fixing your back.
The search for high-quality meat ends here. Amazing taste. Humanely raised. Delivered to your door. Sign up today and get a pack of bacon for free in every order for the life of your membership.
Air fryer salmon is quick, healthy, and easy to make—and the honey sriracha glaze adds just the right amount of heat to make this taste like a treat. No Air Fryer? No problem. This can also be made in the oven as well.
Congratulations to 12-year-old Jaimon Mogard from State 35 CrossFit in Ames, IA on the 110 pound/50kg snatch PR.
You already know Morning Chalk Up’s Lauren Kalil from Syracuse Sweat Club in Syracuse, NY can crush an interview, but you might not know that she can also crush a WOD.
🤯 Egyptian Weightlifter Kareem Kahla clean and jerks 467 pounds/212kg.
We all see the Games athletes’ highlights, but this wipe out compilation from Christian Harris on Team Move Fast Lift Heavy will remind you they’re human.
Practicing your box jumps on a bathroom sink is definitely not recommended.
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