Katrin Davidsdottir and Cole Sager Confirmed for Fittest in Cape Town

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is powered by RPM Training Co., a lifestyle inspired union of training, adventure, and design.

Black Friday deals and product releases are live at rpmtraining.com! Get to the site now to save 20% on all lifestyle apparel, swimwear, and of course our record setting speed ropes.

“The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.” — Epictetus

Forget the Turkey Trot, Try a Turkey Throwdown

The story.

For the last six years at Excel Health and Fitness in Manteca, CA they’ve skipped the local Turkey Trot. Instead, they host a Turkey Throwdown. 

What the heck is that?

Simple. It’s an in-house competition made up of teams of three, with at least one female on each team. Costumes are recommended, which helps with the standards listed for both RX and Scaled division, “Must be willing to have fun.”

Sounds like anyone can do THAT.

Precisely! There’s no entrance fee, just one frozen turkey per person to be donated to Second Harvest Food Bank. The goal Excel Health and Fitness set this year was 100 turkeys. 

The Excel community was able to provide 265 frozen turkeys to the foodbank this year. 

Their goal next year? 

300 turkeys! But one thing that won’t change? The standards. Must be willing to have fun. Must be willing to give back to your community. 

Those are good goals any time of year. 

Katrin Davidsdottir, Cole Sager Confirmed for Fittest in Cape Town

The story.

While all of us here in the U.S. were recovering from our Thanksgiving turkey overload, the Fittest in Cape Town event made a huge announcement involving some big name athletes.

We previously reported that there were up to four wild card spots reserved by the event organizers to be issued to athletes at their discretion, and three athletes have now officially accepted wild card invites to compete at the finals in South Africa.

Who is it?

Katrin Davidsdottir, Cole Sager, and Michelle Merand will be joining the top 20 men and 20 women from the qualifier to compete for a spot at the CrossFit Games in August.

Merand, Davidsdottir, and Sager add considerable depth to an already strong field of athletes. The total number of confirmed former and current Individual Games athletes now bumps up to 15.

That’s a solid roster. 

You can see the list of Games athletes below:

Men: Cole Sager, Streat Hoerner, Lucas Parker, Jason Smith, Khan Porter, Tim Paulson, Sean Sweeney, James Newbury and Mitchel Stevenson.

Women: Katrin Davidsdottir, Carol-Ann Reason-Thibault, Chelsey Hughes, Lindsey Valenzuela, Alessandra Pichelli and Courtney Haley.

The Fittest in Cape Town takes place January 31st – February 2nd. You can find the full list of qualifying athletes here.

Coffee Break Conversations

So you’re feeling a bit out of the loop…

Yeah, we get it. We take one day off and look at you. It’s cool, you can get caught up right fast with On The Minute, our newest venture with Armen Armirian of ArmenHammer TV, a fifteen minute fast paced back-and-forth on all the major CrossFit news of the week. You can watch it here and make sure you catch us again next Wednesday so you can impress all your friends with you CrossFit wisdom. 

Things To…

WATCH: Jacob Heppner Reveals his 2019 Plans

Jacob Heppner outlines his plans to get to the 2019 CrossFit Games, why he’s doing so many Online Qualifiers, and how he plans to approach the Open. He also reads some of the comments people have left him on social media, which is hilarious on its own.

WHY DO YOU DO THIS?

HEAR: A Friend to Just Say No

Having all those leftovers in the house can be hard. That’s why you need a trusted companion to help you smack that cookie out of your hand. Tune in to hear how Brooke Ence leans on Jeanna Cianciarulo to help keep her accountable.

BUT IT’S JUST ONE, KIND OF. 

BUY: The Limited Edition NOBULL Black Fiday Trainer

These limited edition black and white NOBULL trainers won’t last long.

JUST THE HORNS. 

EAT: Leftover Turkey Harvest Salad

Did you eat too much stuffing and pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving? Here’s a wonderful way to use up all that leftover turkey if you’re looking for a meal that will be filling yet light. The dressing is a simple maple dijon vinaigrette which is wonderful with all the fall flavors in this salad.

THANKSGIVING, DAY TWO.

BUY: The Ultimate Steak Sampler from ButcherBox

This is one Black Friday special we can get behind. Order your first ButcherBox today and get two free 10 oz Ribeyes, two free 10 oz NY Strips, and two free 6 oz Filet Mignon steaks. And shipping is always free!

YOUR OWN NEIGHBORHOOD BUTCHER.

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

Chalk Up Community

• PRO-TIP: LOSING A NEUTRAL SPINE — CrossFIt Trainer Dennis Marshall shows how to identify and correct a deviation from neutral spine position in a squat. 
• TAKING THE FIELD — CrossFit Oscar Mike recently sent five same sex teams to the Festivus Games at CrossFit Etowah. All five of their teams made the podium in their respective divisions.
• CARRYING TURKEYS FOR TIME — Earlier this week members of CrossFit Great Barrington collected and carried 60 frozen turkeys to be donated to a local food pantry. “It’s a great way to give back to the community, especially this time of year,” said Michael Bissaillon, owner of CrossFit Great Barrington, where the turkey workout commences this time every year.
• CROSSFIT IN COLORADO — Boulder Athletics is now offering CrossFit classes in their climbing gym. 

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

Jacob Heppner front squats 400 pounds • Kari Pearce releases her 30 Days To Your First (Perfect) Pull-Up program • Marci Thomas has joined the ownership team at CrossFit 5150 • Mat Fraser made a special appearance on the Pickler and Ben morning show and gave them a lesson on CrossFit • Kara Saunders recaps her training while pregnant • Spectator tickets for the Dubai CrossFit Championship are now available • Lauren Fisher is giving free gifts to 100 people for Black Friday • Happy birthday Becca Voigt • Bethany Shadburne gets a 235 pound front squat for 3 PR • Emily Tanner hits a 212 pound snatch PR • Sam Dancer cleans 275 pounds with one arm. 

…and if you think there’s no time to train on Thanksgiving, Dave Durante says think again. 

Kelli Holm on Testing Positive for Banned Substances — Kelli Holm,  who placed 4th in Womens 35-39 at the 2018 CrossFit Games, recently received a ban for testing positive for a banned substance. She sat down for an interview and shared her thoughts on the whole thing.

— “My ban was reduced because we were able to prove via a third-party supplement testing company that the supplement was contaminated with the same substance for which I tested positive. We also provided additional documentation to support my case.

— “The thing that CrossFit emphasized the most to me during this process was the importance of third-party testing of supplements (if you choose to take supplements at all). So, increasing awareness among athletes around third-party testing would theoretically help to prevent this in the future. What’s interesting is that I thought I was being careful in choosing my supplements, and most of them were third party tested. This particular supplement was just so widely used, commonly seen at CrossFit events, and sponsoring CrossFit athletes, that I naively figured the company as a whole was safe. And that decision falls on me – I own that for sure and don’t blame anyone else.”

“Thanksgiving; Judgment Day,” by Lloyd Dobler, CrossFit Journal

CrossFit is growing by leaps and bounds, and even though it’s appeared on ESPN outlets, CrossFit is still an unknown to many people. More mysterious still can be the eating habits, clothing choices and workouts of CrossFit athletes. Our antics appear strange and cult-like to the uninitiated, which is why we surround ourselves with like-minded people or at least spouses, family and friends who tolerate our obsession. However, life cannot—and should not—be lived inside a CrossFit bubble. Sometimes we have to take our coconut oil and knee socks into the great, wide world.

I recently found myself in Austin, Texas, for a CrossFit course. The two-day seminar included workouts, so when I dressed for the day I put on my standard CrossFit gear: Spandex shorts and tank top.

I ran down to the hotel’s dining room to grab some coffee before the course, and when I turned the corner I saw the breakfast room was packed with a group of about 20 men. They were all in their 60s and 70s and wore jeans and matching red polo shirts with a Ben Hur Shriner’s Club logo on the front.

My tight shorts, modest in the context of a CrossFit gym, suddenly felt like they had shrunk. I tiptoed in on my minimalist shoes, trying to unobtrusively make my way to the coffee maker. The room got extremely quiet as I filled up my cup. Conversation stalled out. I think a number of them thought I had forgotten to wear pants.

In that moment, I was reminded that the world is not a CrossFit gym and that context is everything.

Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday season in the United States, and all over the country, CrossFit athletes are leaving the comfort of their boxes and venturing out into the wide world.

And it doesn’t always go well.

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

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

11/30 – 12/16: Naughty or Nice Toy Drive (Online)

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

12/1: Rock It CrossFitMas Classic (Fort Worth, TX) 

12/1: Barbells For Bootstraps (Beverly, MA)

12/1: Bro Down Throw Down for Cancer Awareness (Bridgeport, PA)

12/1: Push/Pull for Pancreatic Cancer at CrossFit Pawling (Pawling, NY)

12/1: Winter Throwdown 2018 (New York, NY)

12/1: Reindeer Games 2018 (Medford, OR)

12/1: Heroes Challenge (Dallas, TX)

12/1: Vekter Games (Columbia, MD)

12/1: New England Co-Ed Classic (Bedford, NH)

12/8: Fittest Alive in the 845 (Poughkeepsie, NY)

12/8: The 2018 Reindeer Games Finale (Del Mar, CA)

12/8 – 12/9: WOD Godz (Shreveport, LA) 

12/8: Rampage Christmas Throwdown (Murfreesboro, TN)

12/8: A Very Krampus Kilofest (Hickory, NC)

12/8: CrossFIt Raeford 3rd annual WOD for Dogs (Raeford, NC)

12/8: Reindeer Games at CrossFit 321 (Topsham, ME)

12/12 – 12/15: Dubai CrossFit Championship (Dubai, UAE)

12/15: Masters Mania (OKlahoma City, OK)

12/22: The Flanders Throwdown (Zedelgem, Belgium)