Hi I’m death. Have we met yet?

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is powered by RP Strength, the leaders in sports nutrition.

Need help recovering? Get the most comprehensive resource ever written about recovery. Written by a team of PhDs, the “Recovering From Training” eBook will be your go to source for all things recovery related. See if the latest trends are really helping you recover your best.

7 days until Regionals starts. 

“Change words like ‘bad,’ ‘problem’ and ‘hard’ into ‘opportunity,’ ‘exciting’ and ‘challenge.’ Everything will feel easier and better.” — Mentality WOD

LEGGINGS V.S. OCEAN PLASTIC

The story.

CrossFitters love a good pair of leggings, and we’re always looking for the next best pair. Now you can put your money where your mouth is and support an environmentally friendly cause when you shop for your next pair. We’re talking leggings made from upcycled plastics from the ocean.

For those unaware, upcycling is when you take waste — in this case plastic — and you produce a product of better quality.

Water bottle (converted into) leggings = upcycling. Got it? Cool.

Those can’t be cute.

But they totally are.

Adidas teamed up with Parley for the Oceans and Wanderlust to create a seriously stylish lineup of yoga onesies, crop tops, and leggings — inspired by vintage surf apparel and the power of the oceans, and all made from Parley Ocean Plastic™ upcycled materials.

This collaboration follows the Adidas UltraBoost lineup we saw last year — where they created a more sustainable running shoe with 11 plastic bottles used to create each pair of shoes.

Stay green, y’all.

Sustainability is now more important than ever. While many food brands have been on the train for some time, we’re pretty stoked to see so many companies doing their part in the fashion and clothing industry, too. Kudos!

HI, I’M DEATH. HAVE WE MET YET?

I don’t think so.

The six Regionals event for the individual athletes are now in and they will be nothing short of a bruiser. Here’s a breakdown of all six events, and here’s the CrossFit Games team dissecting the final day of competition. 

Give me the quick and dirty.

We hope you had death penciled in for Sunday morning cause Event 5 is quite frankly one of the hardest Regionals WODs we’ve ever seen. 

For time:

50 handstand push-ups

50 toes-to-bars

50-cal. Assault Bike

50 dumbbell box step-overs

50-ft. right-arm dumbbell overhead lunge

50-ft. left-arm dumbbell overhead lunge

M 70-lb. dumbbells, 24-in. box, 17-min. time cap

F 50-lb. dumbbells, 20-in. box, 22-min. time cap

FUN FACT: Silver lining…at least they’re kipping. 2013 was the last time kipping handstand push-ups were allowed at Regionals. Every year since they’ve been strict, or strict deficit, or strict with a weight vest. 

Event 6.

Thrusters and rope climbs…again.

For Time:

​4 rope climbs

16 thrusters

3 rope climbs

12 thrusters

2 rope climbs

8 thrusters

M 155 lb. | F 105 lb.

Time cap: 7 minutes

Thrusters and rope climbs are one of Dave’s favorite Regionals pairings, dating back to 2015 with Tommy V. Then again at the 2015  Invitational, and again at the 2016 Regionals, then during this year’s  Age Group Online Qualifier. 

FUN FACT: This is the NOT the heaviest thruster ever programmed at Regionals. However, it is the heaviest thruster ever programmed in a metcon. The heaviest thruster came in 2011. Event 2 was a thruster ladder where the weights started at 155/105. 

COFFEE BREAK CONVERSATIONS

What to tell your friend who’s standing in line at Starbucks…

Running late. Grab a Chocolate Sea Salt RXBAR to go with your grande almond milk latte. Now that RXBARs will be stocked at “The Bucks” you don’t have to sacrifice your nutrition for convenience. 

What to tell your friend who just achieved their lifetime goal…

Congratulations? This guy from Wisconsin just broke the World Record for eating the most Big Macs: 30,000. We wish it wasn’t so but Donald Gorske has been eating two-a-day for the last forty years. Imagine if you did two WODs a day for forty years? Why can’t someone set that goal?

THINGS TO…

WATCH: 200 Pound Victory

Mohammed Faisal Al Qassemi was nearly 500 pounds when he stepped on the scale at InnerFight CrossFit in UAE. “Your life changes today. Forever,” owner Marcus Smith told him.

THIS IS HIS JOURNEY.

HEAR: The Secret to the Good Life

In this episode of Chasing Excellence with Ben Bergeron, he talks about the two questions he consistently asks himself in order to live a fulfilled life. 

SO, WHAT ARE THEY?

EAT: Skinny Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Healthy banana muffins with chocolate chips for a little indulgence. The greek yogurt adds protein and keeps the muffins moist. You’ll love these easy banana muffins, made without butter or refined sugar!

SNACK TIME. 

Today’s edition of the Morning Chalk Up is powered by

CHALK UP COMMUNITY

• WORK-LIFE BALANCE — Are you like 99% of us that struggle with “finding time for it all”? Here’s some advice from a four-time World Record holder with two kiddos on how he does it. 
• IT’S GOOD FOR BIKING — Got that cycling enthusiast who loves to road rage on the weekends like it’s the Giro d’Italia? Here’s one arguing that “cyclists can’t be their best on the bike if it’s their only training tool.”
• FROM AMPUTEE TO COMPETITOR — Nearly three-years-ago, a near fatal accident left Jeremy Ogle’s left arm paralyzed and eventually amputated. The 30-year-old single father at CrossFit URU in Phoenix, AZ didn’t give up and he just took gold at the Texas Regional Paralympic Games.
• BOY SCOUTS — About 45 Boy Scouts from Pack 31 in Rockville Centre, NY joined CrossFit The Rock for an introduction to CrossFit Kids. 

CHALK UP IN 2 MINUTES (a highlight reel around social media of CrossFit pros and average joes)

The Reebok Nano 2.0 is back in new colors • This mom and her mimi-me at CrossFit Repentance get in a WOD together • Bianca Casciari hits three power cleans at 205 pounds • Rachel Garibay hits a 265 pound clean • Congratulations to CrossFit Inversion. They’re opening a new location just up the street from our HQ in Orange, CA • Baby high fives make
burpees better. 

…and Jacob Heppner’s dog is all of us struggling with that one movement alluding us. 

“Starting CrossFit: Dealing With Obstacles” by Kai Rainey, CrossFit Journal

You climbed over so many hurdles to start CrossFit.

You carved time out of an already-busy schedule. You found a way to make it fit in your budget. You swallowed your pride and worked through those classes in which you felt lost and awkward.

You kept showing up, day after day, even after the newness wore off and you had to accept that your body wasn’t going to look like Stacie Tovar’s or Patrick Vellner’s any time soon.

Then one day, something happens: An obstacle drops in your path, and instead of leaping over it, you stare at it, hoping it will disappear.

It doesn’t.

It’s amazing how hard it is to develop a good habit and how easy it is to pick up a bad one.

5/11 – 5/12: Beast Mode Games (Greenville, SC)5/11 – 5/12: Midwest Monster (Joplin, MO)

5/11 – 5/12: Reebok’s Ready for Action – Fittest in Israel (Israel)

5/12: Barbells for Bullies (Danbury, CT)

5/12: The Mountain Meltdown (Park City, UT)

5/12: The 5th Element (Bedford, NH)

5/12: Soho Brawl (Tampa, FL)

5/12: Fallout in the Falls (Wichita Falls, TX)

5/12: Unfinished Business – The Lift Off (Pottstown, PA)

5/12: Masters of the Universe (Horsham, PA)

5/12: Vegas Barbell Brodown (Las Vegas, NV)

5/18 – 5/20: East Regional (Albany, NY)

5/18 – 5/20: Europe Regional (Berlin, Germany)

5/18 – 5/20: South Regional (Salt Lake City, UT)

5/19: Raising the Bar for Recovery (Medina, OH)

5/19: East Coast Battle (Hanover, MD)

5/19: Barbells in the Burbs (Carol Stream, IL)

5/19: Gladiator Games (Concord, NC)

5/19: The Pillage of Palm Harbor (Palm Harbor, FL)

5/19: Spring Fling Partner Throwdown (San Anselmo, CA)

5/19: SilverFox Masters Competition (San Clemente, CA)

5/19: Ultimate Fitness Championship (Kennewick, WA)

5/19: Warriors Hope 2018 (Greenwood, IN)

5/19: T-Town Throwdown (Tifton, GA)

5/19: Murph for Muts (Peachtree Corners, GA)

5/19: Firehawks Scorch Trials (Rio Rancho, NM)

5/19: Denton Fitness Festival (Denton, TX)

5/19 – 5/20: GameDay Mankato (Mankato, MN)

5/20: Europe Regional After Party Sponsored by FITAID (Berlin, Germany)

5/25 – 5/27: West Regional (Del Mar, CA)

5/25 – 5/27: Central Regional (Nashville, TN)

5/25 – 5/27: Latin America Regional (Rio de Janiero, Brazil)

5/26: Beauty is a Beast 2 (Indian Rocks Beach, FL)

5/27 – 5/28: 24 Heroes in 24 Hours (Southborough, MA)

6/1 – 6/3: Atlantic Regional (West Palm Beach, FL)

6/1 – 6/3: Meridian Regional (Madrid, Spain)

6/1 – 6/3: Pacific Regional (Sydney, Australia)

6/2: Kegs and Kilos (Manhattan, KS)

6/2: Long Island Masters (Hauppauge, NY)

6/2: Texas WOD Fest (Houston, TX)

6/2: Tacos and Tequila Throwdown (Highlands Ranch, CO)

6/2: Meshugge CrossFit Summer Melee (Overland Park, KS)

6/3: Summer Sizzler Individual Masters Competition (Burlington, MA)

6/8 – 6/9: Bricktown Throwdown (Bricktown, OKC)

6/9: Beastette Bash at CrossFit Ananda (Arlington, TX)

6/9: Gulf Coast Games (Mandeville, LA)

6/9: WOD Wars 6 (Humble, TX)

6/9: Big Orange Brawl (Knoxville, TN)

6/9: Heroes of the Platform (Meridian, ID)

6/9: Triple Crown Fitness Event (Greenville, NC)

6/9 – 6/10: The Heartland Games 2018 (Chicago, IL)

6/9 – 6/10: Alaka’i SUPER Summer Slam (Kapolei, HI)

6/16: Battle on the Creek (Johns Creek, GA)

6/16: Full Battle Rattle (Robinson, IL)

6/16: East Coast War (Wilmington, NC)

6/19: Gauntlett VIII – River Rumble (Portsmouth, OH)

6/23: Garage Girls CrossFit Grit (St. Simons Island, GA)

6/23: 2018 Summer Swolestice (Gresham, OR)

6/23: HAMCO Heat (McLeansboro, IL)

6/23: The Greenville Games (Greenville, SC)

6/23: The Burn Out (New Bern, NC)

6/23 – 6/24: Asbury Park Summer Games (Asbury Park, NJ)

6/23 – 6/24: The Dakota Games (Fargo, ND)

6/30: Summer Stampede (Bethlehem, PA)