Your Coffee is ready.

Is the RX division too hard?

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is powered by NOOMA, makers of organic, simple-ingredient sports drinks.

Today’s your last chance to try all 4 NOOMA flavors for $5 + free shipping! Each drink is packed with plant-based electrolytes, has only 30 calories, and contains no added sugar. They’re the perfect way to hydrate post-WOD. Snag a 4 pack while supplies last! US residents only, limit one 4-pack per customer.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Don’t base your decisions around those who don’t have to deal with the results.” — Unknown

AVA KHALIPA HAD HER FINAL CHEMO SESSION

 

The Story.

On January 21, 2016, Ava Khalipa was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia or ALL for short. ALL is a cancer of the blood, it is also the most common type of cancer in children and thankfully it is treatable. And according to St. Jude Hospital, there’s approximately a 90 percent success rate.

Some background.

Ava’s dad is Jason Khalipa, the 2008 CrossFit Games champ and CrossFit legend. Jason actually quit competitive CrossFit to focus on his daughter. In the process, his wife Ashley and he started an annual blood drive at NC Fit, through which hundreds of other gyms across the nation participated. They’ve also raised nearly $1 million for several foundations including the Jessie Rees Foundation and Stanford University.

Ashley started Ava’s Kitchen, a non-profit that supports families with kids living with cancer specifically helping them take trips together to make memories during this stressful time. Last month, they raised $400,000 at their annual benefit.

That’s unbelievable. So how’s Ava doing now?

Ava had her final chemo session yesterday. In all, Ava’s gone through 825 days of treatment, including hundreds of pills, being put to sleep 27 times, more than 100 IV chemo treatments and one very scary trip to the ICU.

But she’s not cured yet; she still has five more years of regular check-ups until she’s considered “cured.”

In the meantime, the whole family is heading o Cabo San Lucas for a week, then plans to spend July in Europe. Because of the chemo treatments, Ava has been unable to leave the country, so they’re making up for lost time.

COFFEE BREAK CONVERSATIONS

 

What to tell your friend who wants to know WOD-ya-doing with my body…

So you go get a relaxing full body massage then spend the rest of the day drinking cucumber water in a state of pure zen, which actually sounds pretty nice. But if you visit WODbody, you’re not going to get that, sorry, cause they’re in the business of doing corrective bodywork. Translation: help your body get into functional positions so you can perform better and ultimately more pain free.  Instead of diving deep into some R&R and letting your body settle back into that old position, they send you out to do a WOD.

THINGS TO…

 

HEAR: The Five Factors of Health

On this episode of Chasing Excellence with Ben Bergeron, he talks about the five factors of health he uses to determine if you’re healthy or not, and what those actually mean for your life.

CHOOSING HEALTH.

 

EAT: Slow Cooker Honey Chipotle Chicken Lettuce Wraps

A favorite of Carrots ‘N’ Cake, the sweet and savory flavor combination of honey, marinara sauce, and chili powder is pure perfection—and when wrapped in lettuce and paired with fresh cilantro and avocado, it can’t be beat. These lettuce wraps are perfect for a quick lunch, dinner, or snack.

LET US WRAP.

 

SUPPORT: Kettlebells4Kids

From now until May 15, WODBottom is donating 100% of the proceeds from any of these boys and girls tees to Kettlebells4Kids. Ten-year-old Ryker helped design these tees and he’s hoping to raise $10K to help bring fitness to homeless kids across America.

JUST ONE SHIRT.

 

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

CHALK UP COMMUNITY

 
  • LIFTING HER 90s — Edith Traina is a 97-year-old powerlifter from CrossFit Jaguar in Tampa, FL. After an injury some years back, her doctor told her she couldn’t lift anymore, so she got a new doctor. 
  • TERMINAL FIRE FIGHTERS — Two Albuquerque area fire fighters are battling potentially life threatening issues: one has stage 4 pancreatic cancer and the other in need of a heart transplant. A lieutenant with the Rio Rancho Police Department also owns CrossFit Rio Rancho and is hosting a fundraiser WOD to support their families with their massive medical bills. 

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

SNEAK PEAK…these t-shirts and muscle-tanks will be coming out Monday • Alexis Johnson hits a 180 pound 3RM push-press PR • Happy Birthday Garret Fisher.

RX Controversy — Inov-8 makes the case that the RX division of the CrossFit Open is too hard… 

“The 2018 RX competition demanded both technical gymnastics skills and the ability to shift some heavy weight just to get into the middle portion of some workouts. It seems reasonable that we should ask: has the programming gone to far in favor of creating spectacle at the announcements and social media hype at the expense of making participation in the RX division attainable?

“…Even the most entry-level point of the Crossfit Games competition, the Open, seems to have been warped by a need for more spectacle, excitement and gasping moments.

“The whole excitement of Castro’s Instagram clues and watching the top athletes shift serious weight or race on their hands however seems to have come at a cost of accessibility in the Open. Being able to complete an Open at RX standard was once a dream that a large number of ‘Crossfit average-joe’s’ would be able to achieve with a bit of commitment and hard work. It now seems however that just being able to get through one Open workout at RX standard is a lofty goal.”

— FACT CHECK: Here’s a list of movements that competitors of the 2011 Open were tested in: 18.5 is 11.6, toes-to-bar, burpees over the bar, ring muscle-ups, double-unders, the heaviest overhead squats programmed, deadlifts at 155/100, the second heaviest power cleans programmed, squat clean and jerks at 165 pounds, push-ups, snatches and wall balls. The 2014 Open actually had the heaviest deadlifts programmed at 365 pounds. 

— P.S. We’d love to hear your thoughts on the RX division.

Reads

CHALK UP READS

“Finding Balance” by Josh Littauer, CrossFit Invictus

Have you ever been stand-up paddle boarding? Or gone out for spin in a canoe, kayak or any other small boat? What is the first thing you notice? It’s not steady. Right? You have to find the middle to get balanced and sometimes that’s not an easy task. There are hundreds of examples of this principle: tightrope walking, skiing, skateboarding, slacklining, cycling, and the list goes on. The point is, each of these things requires balance – no different than life.

Balance is one of those things that is hard to get and even harder to hold on to. Balance takes constant adjustment and readjustment over the course of life and has many ebbs and flows. And more often than not, just when you think you’ve found it, you lose it again.

The other morning, I was playing with on an Indoboard (look it up, super fun!), and was quickly reminded of the difficulty of finding your center and getting stable. As I was getting balanced, I could feel every move I made replicated in the way the board moved on the roller beneath it. One second I was in the middle and then, before I could blink, it would throw me off the side. Getting balanced takes focus and many small movements. Once found, staying there requires even further minute adjustments. These are simple analogies but very applicable to the balance of life.

Reads

CHALK UP CALENDAR

3/30: Last Day to Sign Up for Northern Italy w/ VoyEdge RX4/7: Battle of the Badges (Anaheim, CA)

4/7: The Revolution (San Antonio, TX)

4/7: GenX Masters Comp (Salem, MA)

4/7: Lt Col William “Wild Bill” Schroeder Memorial Competition (San Antonio, TX)

4/7: Burpees for Bellies (Williamston, MI)

4/13 – 4/15: The Railyard Games (Albuquerque, NM)

4/14: Battle for the Mountain (Dawsonville, GA)

4/14: Appalachian Games (Asheville, NC)

4/14: Deuces Wild by Warrior Affiliate League (Baldwin Park, CA)

4/14: Atlas Blarney Stone Competition (Denver, CO)

4/14: RISE of the Masters (Statesboro, GA)

4/14: CrossFit Forte FORCE For Families (Nashville, TN)

4/14 – 4/15: Mid-Atlantic Affiliate Challenge (Columbia, MD)

4/14 – 4/15: WOD Wars Fitfest (Dunedin, FL)

4/14 – 4/15: Funky Town Throwdown (Ft. Worth, TX)

4/19: Teens and Masters Qualifier (Invitation Only)

4/20 – 4/22: Athens Throwdown (Athens, Greece)

4/21: Festivus Games (Nationwide)

4/21: Mayhem for MSR (Cookeville, TN)

4/21: Loganville Lockdown (Loganville, GA)

4/21: FoxWOD (Panama City Beach, FL)

4/21: Swamp Challenge (Gainesville, FL)

4/21: Mucctown Throwdown (Winnemucca, NV)

4/21: Famously Hot Showdown (Columbia, SC)

4/28: Battleground SoCal (Wimington, CA)

4/28: Girls Gone Rx (Cincinnati, OH)

4/28: Salem Slaughterfest (Salem, OR)

4/28: 3rd Annual Appletown Throwdown (Cornelia, GA)

4/28: Beastette Bash at CrossFit Ananda (Arlington, TX)

4/28 – 4/29: Walter’s Cup Throwdown (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

4/28 – 4/29: Battle of the Bluffs (Council Bluffs, IA)

4/28 – 4/29: King City Throwdown (Tupelo, MS)

5/4 – 5/5: Tough As Nails (Lubbock, TX)

5/4 – 5/5: No Gutz No Glory (Denver, CO)

5/4 – 5/5: Throwdown in Joe Town (St. Joseph, MO)

5/4 – 5/6: European Masters Throwdown (Budapest, Hungary)

5/5 – 5/6: Tribal Clash (Quarteira, Portugal)

5/5 – 5/6: Barbell de Mayo (Woodbridge, VA)

5/5: Cinco de Mayo Classic (San Antonio, TX)

5/5: The Locomotive Games III (Youngstown, OH)

5/5: Granite Games Throwdown (Southaven,  MS)

5/5: Battle of the Boro (Goldsboro, NC)

5/5: New WODs on the Block (Grand Rapids, MI)

5/5: The Crawfish Challenge (Columbia, SC)

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)

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

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

+ Send us an event
Is there something we missed? Email us at tips@morningchalkup.com.
Your Coffee is ready.