How CrossFit Helped This Coach Catch a Criminal

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is fueled by FITAID, the official beverage sponsor of the Morning Chalk Up.

Welcome to November. New month. New goals. New opportunities to earn free FITAID! Remember to show FITAID how you recover and post your best FITAID photos and videos to Instagram, Facebook and Twitter with the hashtags #FITAID and #FITAIDRX. If we choose to feature your video, we’ll send you a free 12-pack of FITAID!

“If people are doubting how far you can go, go so far that you can’t hear them anymore.” — Michele Ruiz 

When Your Cool Down is Stopping a Robbery For Time

The story.

Rachelle Davis is a coach at CrossFit HNL in Kailua, HI. On Tuesday, October 2nd, Rachelle and a few friends were having dinner at Whole Foods after they finished working out.

Suddenly, someone walked up to their table, leaned over it, and knocked all of their drinks over. When he took off running with her purse, Rachelle’s instincts kicked in. “Before I knew it, I was up and out of my seat running towards him. I had no idea what he took, but as I was running I realized he probably took one of our purses from the table,” she told us in an email.

She chased him all the way across the parking lot. 

So she sped up.

…and caught him. Rachelle tackled the kid and took him down, the two colliding into a string of shopping carts. Rachelle jumped on top of him. He covered his face and said, “You win! I’m sorry!”

Sorry, not sorry.

She got her purse back from the teen and stood up. Now that the adrenaline had settled, Rachelle got a little bit scared. “I didn’t know who he was, or if he had a weapon, or what. I just knew that on principle, he was doing something wrong and I was not going to just stand by and let it happen.”

Security caught up to them and the teen continued to apologize, but Rachelle had one last thing to say to him before she walked back to Whole Foods.

“I turned back and yelled at him, ‘Be a better fucking person!’ which now has become a slight motto of our gym and friends group, but I guess in that moment, it was all I could come up with to show how disappointed I was in how he was treating others and himself.”

This is our new life motto.

She got her purse back but she also ran so hard and fast that she pulled a hamstring, laughing that there are no warm-ups for a theft situation. But Rachelle thinks it was a life lesson that she would never have had if not for CrossFit.

“If not for the functional fitness I have gained through Crossfit, I would have never been able to have that quick of a reaction, intensity to chase someone down, mental capacity to still react while performing at max effort, or the relentlessness to not give up on the chase. It really made me think about how far I have come and all the things in life that Crossfit has prepared me for… I literally chased down what I thought was right and what I wanted. This is what you train for – you don’t just train for competitions. You train for life.”

Coffee Break Conversations

What to tell your friend who says she “just can’t even” when it comes to jumping rope…

Can even, just like these girls at the Beautifully Flawed Retreat hosted by Friends of Bethany Foundation in Del Mar, CA. A retreat for girls who have experienced a limb loss from tragic accidents, disease or limb difference due congenital condition. RX Smart Gear joined them, providing 20 ropes that athletes used in their introduction to fitness class. Each athlete was fitted with a specially adapted rope and got to jumpin, even getting double-unders for the first time. 

Things To…

WATCH: Brooke Wells v. Ron Everline

Ron “Boss” Everline, celebrity trainer and professional badass, has been traveling the country to see how other professional athletes train. Last week he tried to keep up in a WOD with Brooke Wells and lucky for us, they filmed the whole thing. 

I’LL DIE BEFORE I SAY I DIDN’T FINISH. 

HEAR: Relaxing into Skill Work 

On this episode of the Legion podcast, hosts Todd, Jon and Luke discuss the process of skill acquisition in CrossFit athletes, why it’s dangerous to think that you’ve graduated past skill work, and the difference between training in a fatigued state and attempting to acquire and improve skills.

THIS IS HARD, YO.

EAT: Ginger Carrot Soup

Did you go a little too crazy with the candy last night? This ginger carrot soup is high in vitamin A, vitamin C, and Manganese, which helps to aid in digestion. Up the detox power and offer a more robust flavor with an additional tablespoon of ginger to give the soup a brighter flavor. 

SO LONG SUGAR.

BUY: 15% Off Kratus Sandbags 

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YES YOU NEED ONE. 

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

Chalk Up Community

• A GROWING COMMUNITY — CrossFit Axis, which just opened their doors in April, already had twenty members who had been training with him in a field. Owner Jason Sweet shares how he started and where he wants to be. 
• BOX OWNER GOES TO CHAMPIONSHIPS — Beth Rypins, who owns and operates Wine Country CrossFit will represent the U.S. on a women’s masters team at the World Whitewater Rafting Championships, November 4-10 in Argentina.
• THEFT IN HIS OWN PARKING LOT — Grant Soletski is the owner of CrossFit Green Bay and also a sergeant with the Wisconsin National Guard who is scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan November 12. On Sunday afternoon, four all-weather tires were stolen out of the back of the truck he was preparing for his wife to drive while he was gone. “I don’t even care who you are, I don’t care if you put them on the corner down the street at the Drift Inn, just give me back my tires,” Soletski said. 

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

Congratulations to Jonathan Pelts on the birth of his daughter, Olivia • CrossFit 460 raised $3700 for breast cancer research through their competition the Guardian Games • Brooklynn Sittner dressed up as Katrin Davidsdottir for Halloween • Annie Thorisdottir was in Austin for the permiere of Fullsterkur •
Dane Smith and Josh Vales made a WOD involving corn hole • Michael Bodulow got a 345 pound back squat PR • Kenzie Riley uses her assault bike skills on the farm. 

…and these bodyweight sumo pull-ups seem super legit.

Fittest in Cape Town –– The first of three WODs for the Fittest in Cape Town online qualifier was released this morning. 

WOD #1:

15 Min. AMRAP

50 Calories on rower

10 Burpees over the rower

40 Wall balls (14/20 pounds)

10 Burpees over the rower

30 Deadlifts (95/135 pounds)

10 Burpees over the rower

20 Handstand push-ups

10 Burpees over the rower

10 Thrusters (95/135 pounds)

10 Burpees over the rower

— What’s next: WOD #2 will be released Friday morning at 3:00 AM PT. WOD #3 will be released Saturday morning at the same time. Registered athletes will have until 11/11 to submit their scores.

Schedule Update — We’ve got schedule updates on two sanctioned events. Here is the complete calendar of qualifiers and sanctioned events.

— Australian CrossFit Championship: The top 32 males and females, and 16 teams will be invited to compete in Queensland in January.

November 14 – 26, 2018: Individual and Team Online Qualifier

January 25 – 27, 2019: Australian CrossFit Championship (Queensland, Australia)

— Mid Atlantic CrossFit Challenge: The online qualifier for individual and teams will be held separately. The top 20 male and female athletes, and 40 teams will earn a spot to compete in Washington, D.C. There will be zero invites sent out and we’ve broken down a bunch more details in this post.

January 2 – 14, 2019: Individual Online Qualifier (6 total WODs)

January 23 – February 4, 2019: Team Online Qualifier (5 total WODs)

April 12 – 14: The Mid Atlantic CrossFit Challenge (Washington, D.C.)

Team USA at 2018 World Championships — The 2018 International Weightlifting Federation kicks off today in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan where America’s 20 stronges athletes will lift for Team USA. There’s a full list of Team USA’s lifting times and how to watch but here’s who is up first. 

— Friday: Jordan Wissinger (67 KG) at 10: 00 PM PT, and Alex Lee (67 KG ) at 10:00 PM PT. 

Words of Wisdom From the Youngest Affiliate Owner in Korea — Jung Won Yoon opened CrossFit BP Lab in 2016, at only 20 years old. Yoon, a CrossFit Level 3 trainer, is the head coach of the affiliate, and shared his top nine pieces of advice on being an affiliate owner.

“The best decision I have made as an affiliate owner is taking my own classes. I take the 4:30 PM class every Monday to Friday and it has been a blast. I not only get to throw down with my members but it is the best way to show that I truly believe in the program that I write for my members. I work out with the members for an hour a day and that is it. It is good for my members to see how I move and to see me struggle with my weaknesses. Taking a class with my own members pushes me to move better and not avoid my weaknesses. I struggle with handstand walks and my members see that. They also see me practicing progressions over and over again in order for me to do handstand walks in an actual workout in the near future. You also get to experience the coaching firsthand and see how effective your program really is.”

“How to Fix Anything, Part One,” by Dr. Sean Pastuch, Morning Chalk Up 

This is part one in this three-part series by Dr. Sean Pastuch, founder and owner of Active Life Rx. Dr. Sean examines his own nagging injury incurred while training, and the lessons he learned through months of self diagnosis and rehabilitation.

When I went to visit Rich Froning and Lindy Barber in Cookeville, we worked out, a lot. I had been doing some programming for Rich since the day after regionals 2017 for some knee issues he was dealing with (it was now December 2017).

Here I am at Rich Froning’s house. We had been working out all day long and I was exhausted. Rich and Lindy drew up this workout:

With a partner, complete the whole workload of the rep scheme then break while your partner does the same for time:

5×5 Bench Press 225/135 pounds / Sandbag over shoulder 150/100 pounds

8×4 Bench Press 205/115 pounds/ Sandbag over shoulder 150/100 pounds

10×3 Bench Press 185/95 pounds / Sandbag over shoulder 150/100 pounds

I told Rich, “I have never been able to get the 150 pound sandbag over my shoulder before – that’s my body weight. I think I need to scale this”.

He replied “You’ll be a’rite.”

What would you do? I’ll tell you what I did. I shit my pants.

11/2: Wodapalooza Qualifier – Team (Online)

11/2: WOD League Mixed Doubles Edition (São Paulo, Brazil)

11/2 – 11/3: Women’s WOD Jam Individuals (Denver, CO)

11/2 – 11/3: Fenrir’s Mayhem at CrossFit Iron Legion (Ocala, FL)

11/3: The Battle of Port Royal Sound (Okatie, SC)

11/3: Battle for the Badges (St. Charles, MO)

11/3: PPS CrossFit Fall Throwsdown (Portland, OR)

11/3: CFT’s 2018 Strongman Classic (Carol Stream, IL)

11/3: WODamania (Riviera Beach, FL)

11/3: Barbells For Boobs at CrossFit Florian (Norwood, MA)

11/3: Bar Wars 2018  (Harker Heights, TX)

11/3: Masters Of The Midway (The Hills, IL)

11/3: Dynamic Duo Deathmatch 2018 (Southlake, TX) 

11/3: Inferno in the Forge (Lawrenceville, IL)

11/3: Perimeter Rowdown (Atlanta, GA)

11/3: Central Texas Showdown (Seguin, TX)

11/3: Rookie Rollout 3 at Troy CrossFit (San Diego, CA)

11/3: Masters of the Midwest (Greenwood IN)

11/3: Fit Wars Competition (Cedar Park, TX)

11/3: Super Awesome Fun Time Pairs Challenge (Toronta, Canada)

11/3: Justin Martin Memorial Competition (Des Moines, IA)

11/3- 11/4: Reignited Games 2018 (Wilmington, NC) 

11/3 – 11/4: Charlotte Throwdown for Mental Health Awareness (Charlotte, NC)

11/3 – 11/4: GameDay Championship (St. Paul, MN)

11/3 – 11/4: Clearwater Beach Brawl (Clearwater, FL)

11/04 – 11/05: WODNATION BR (Vinhedo, Brazil)

11/9: Veteran Games ABQ (Albuquerque, NM)

11/10: The Battle at Branded One (Las Vegas, NV)

11/10: Emerald Coast Honor Games (Destin, FL)

11/10: Patriot Games (Rochester Hills, MI) 

11/10: OUTWOD (Clearwater, FL)

11/10 – 11/11: Extreme Games (Piauí, Brazil)

11/10 – 11/11: South Loop Games (Chicago, IL)

11/10- 11/11: Southie Showdown (Boston, MA)

11/10 – 11/11: Florida Grid League Championship (Fort Myers, FL)

11/10: Metcon 4 Hope (Reno, NV)

11/10: Best of the Wurst (New Braunfels, TX)

11/10: Warrior Affiliate League Delta Force (Duarte, CA)

11/10: USA Powerlifting Veterans Day Championship (Philadelphia, PA) 

11/10: Blue Cooler Throwdown (Deland, FL)

11/10: Bromageddon 2018 (Chandler, AZ)

11/10: Garage Games Masters Tour 2018 (McKinney, TX)

11/10: First Annual Sergeants Fitness Patriot Games (Caldwell, ID)

11/10: Boobs and Bells (Schaumburg, IL) 

11/10: Northshore Games (Slidell, LA)

11/11: Bonsai Brawl (Philadelphia, PA)

11/11: CFF Team Marathon Row 2018 (Metuchen, NJ)

11/15: Push Pull for Pancreatic Cancer @ Hybrid Athletics Bridgport (Bridgeport, CT)

11/16 – 11/17: Veterans Day Bash at CrossFit Wild West (Lubbock,TX)

11/17: MetCon Mashups CrossFit Lubbock (Lubbock,TX)

11/17: CrossFit TIG Turf Wars (Brighton, MI)

11/17: 2018 Energy Games (Houston, TX)

11/17: MetCon Mashups (Tulsa, OK) 

11/17: Green Valley Clash of the Fittest (Green Valley, AZ)

11/17: Push Pull for Pancreatic Cancer @ Invictus Boston (Boston, MA)

11/17: North County Fall Brawl (Watertown, NY)

11/17: BCF for Homeless Kids Kettlebells4Kids Fundraiser (Derry, NH)

11/17: Team SuperFit Charlotte (Charlotte, NC)

11/17: 2nd Annual Well Seasoned Masters Competition (Burlington, MA) 

11/17: Guardian Games National Championship (Ashland, VA)

11/20: Ben Marconi Memorial WOD (San Antonio, TX)

11/25: Carpathian Games II (Kosice, Slovakia)

11/30 – 12/2: Rogue Winter Classic (Cleveland, OH)