Lindsey Valenzuela Wants to Talk About Pregnancy and Postpartum CrossFit

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is fueled by EPIC Provisions, providing protein-packed snacks made from whole foods for all of your muscle-building and adventure goals.

Fall is here, and the holidays are almost upon us. That means often more travel and less routine. No need to waste this precious time worrying about staying on track with your nutrition. EPIC bars, broths, and jerky offer portable protein in many forms. For a limited time, get two free bags of traditional jerky with any purchase.

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” — Wayne Dyer

More Than Just A Box

The story.

At CrossFit HTF in Honolulu, HI they take their community service seriously. Owner Ian Ajimine says it is one of his guiding principles.

“I truly believe that if you have talents, resources, and the ability to lead, you should use that to give back to those in need. I felt that way before I opened the box and no matter how much this box struggles, I will always hold true to my beliefs,” Ajimine said.

That’s the stuff.

Their motto is “More than Just a Box,” and they live by that message. Every year CrossFit HTF participates in a school supply fundraiser for Queen Kaahumanu Elementary School. They’ve also done fundraisers for the Hawaiian Humane Society, raising $2300 that time, as well as hosted a casino night to raise $1400 to benefit Camp Agape Hawaii,  a non-profit organization for children with incarcerated parents.

But in 2016, one of their community projects became an in-house staple when they started their HTF Autism Spectrum Class, a program designed for athletes ages six to eighteen on the autism spectrum.

A class of their own.

In 2016, the folks at CrossFit HTF teamed up with Easter Seals and Talking About Curing Autism (TACA) to bring 15 autistic kids in for a class. The class has remained on the schedule since, with a fall session and a spring session running every year.

“We’ve seen strides of improvement. Kids that couldn’t squat at all are now repping out 20 in a minute. Kids that started doing plate step-ups are now jumping onto two to three 45-pound plates,” said event coordinator Mahaina Komeiji.

The box relies on members and others in the CrossFit community to work with the kids. Many work out with their parents, but it is all volunteers that show them the movements, explain the terminology, and make modifications to the child’s range of motion since autism can create physical health issues and trouble with motor coordination.

The TACA class fall season is underway now every Saturday at 1:00 PM and they are always in need of volunteers and participants.

Coffee Break Conversations

What to say next time you’re on a date and he says, wow you sure must have a fast metabolism given how much you eat…

First off, let this be the last date. Second, tell your date that your metabolism is the combination of all the processes going on in your body all the time. And we mean all of them. Your body needs enough fuel to stay active, grow muscle and walk the whole way home after this terrible date. In short? Eat up.

What to tell your friend who asks what you really think about CrossFit being for everyone…

CrossFit may not be for everyone, but CrossFit is for anyone. Meet Rod. At 80-years-old, Rod shows up for a WOD and then returns the favor by teaching his coach a thing or two about Van Gogh and Monet. In CrossFit, the life-changing experiences work both ways. 

Things To…

WATCH: Travis and Noah Answer All the Questions

Noah Ohlsen and Travis Mayer, who are competing in the 2018 Team Series together, answer your questions from the Training Think Tanks Instagram account. They cover Travis winning the Granite Games, their plans to get to the Games now, spirit animals, and poke lots of fun at each other. 

LOTS OF LAUGHS. 

HEAR: Laura Horvath Loves a Good Plan

Robbie Vogler of the Big Red Express sits down with Laura Horvath to discuss how she found CrossFit, her game plan through the CrossFit Games, and what it was like to be the rookie at the 2018 CrossFit Games.

THEN THERE WAS CHAOS. 

EAT: Whipped Feta and Avocado Crostini with Pomegranate

These crostini are easier than most things in life, have minimal ingredients, are nutritious and taste absolutely delicious. Festive and bright, these look great on any table and take no effort to put together.

SO PRETTY. 

BUY: Ence Wear Fall Launch 

Brooke Ence just launched her fall line and you’re gonna want it. Don’t worry, there’s still tank tops and crop tops, but now there are also matching track suits and gold wrist wraps.

SEASONAL ATTIRE. 

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

Chalk Up Community

• TWO DAY CAMP IN JAPAN — CrossFit Mongoose is hosting a two day coaches and athlete camp November 24 -25 to give you the tools to effectively design warm-ups and cool-downs, how to design an effective workout and the implication to training environments.
• CROSSFIT WINS FOOTBALL — CrossFit Cornwall took first in the Boston Pizza Cornwall Men’s Flag Football League over the weekend. 
• FITTEST IN THE WORLD — Prisais Brooklyn Townsend, daughter of James Townsend, was featured in a film for being the fittest five-year-old out there. 
• PREGNANCY AND CROSSFIT — Lindsey Valenzuela, Brianna Battles and Haley Shevener are hosting a Pregnancy & Postpartum Athleticism workshop October 13th at CrossFit Novato in Novato, CA. Come learn what happens when you approach pregnancy and postpartum fitness with
  patience and the right knowledge.

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

Congratulations to Susan Allard on your first muscle-up • Annie Sakamoto joins the Wod on the Waves crew • BOXROX just published a list of qualitites to look for in a great coach • Jason Cwiklinski won a Tim Paulson jersey in Marcy Heppner’s auction • Sean Sweeney had a fish thrown at him by a bald eagle • Becca Voigt will have surgery on both hands this week • Jason Carroll’s wedding day is just around the corner • The Phoenix in Boston opened with a deadlift instead of a ribbon cutting • Happy anniversary to Tia-Clair Toomey and Shane Orr • Happy birthday Heather Bergeron • Noah Ohlsen did his first sprint triathlon and finished in 1:15:34 • Congratulations to Allie on getting her first muscle-up.

…and sometimes celebratory lifts are the way to go. 

Coach Chase Knight on His Experience at CrossFit HQ — “For me, meeting guys like Noah and Travis was amazing, but as a coach, meeting the HQ staff, the people who make the wheels turn was a career highlight. These wonderful people, without even knowing it, literally taught me CrossFit from day one. The best part for me, I wanted to see for myself if they truly believed in what they promote. Do these amazing people actually practice what they preach? It was the greatest gift for me to see that they do. They believe in the methodology, the community, and the content they promote everyday. It gives me
so much more confidence to go back home to my gym and to push back against chronic disease. To continue to show my athletes how to live healthy and active lifestyles. With a proven strength and conditioning program coupled with a proper nutrition, prevention of so many heath conditions is absolutely possible. Thank you all who showed us top notch hospitality and thank you for continuing to support the affiliate from top to bottom.”

“No Expiration,” by Andréa Maria Cecil, CrossFit Journal

Mark Bierman remembers the date: Aug. 21, 2011.

It was the day his son was born. And the same one on which he made an important decision to lose weight.

It happened after Bierman saw a picture of himself holding his newborn.

“I looked miserable.”

At 6 feet, 1 inch tall, then-27-year-old Bierman was morbidly obese. Bierman was more than 400 lb. when he walked into Block CrossFit.

Owner Joe King remembered Bierman needed to take breaks during the warm-up. “Running to the 100-meter cone and back was hard (for him). Doing five burpees in a row without stopping was extremely difficult.”

That was December 2013.

“I went in and it scared the crap out of me,” Bierman remembered. “I was like, ‘Anything that makes you uncomfortable is what you have to do to lose this weight.’ So, I did it. I signed up for a year contract that day and never looked back.”

Today, Bierman is 270 lb. and this year completed the Hero workout Murph as prescribed in 70 minutes without a vest. It’s a remarkable change, King noted.

Better still, Bierman’s health markers have moved from sickness toward wellness.

“(I’ve) reversed everything except for the sleep apnea,” he said. “I don’t take any medications anymore. I’m not diabetic (anymore), which I was told was impossible.”

Prior to finding the methodology, Bierman had thought of himself as if he were a carton of milk.

“I thought I had an expiration date,” he said. “(I remember) thinking to myself, ‘Well, this is it. This is what you’ve done to yourself. You eat Taco Bell and Carl’s Jr. every day and drink sodas in a 42-oz. cup. You kind of just put yourself into a position where you’re gonna die.’ So, I never saw myself getting past 30.”

10/3: Wodapalooza Qualifier – Individual (Online)

10/5: The Hopper (Asheville, NC)

10/5 – 10/7: International Functional Fitness Federation World Championships (London)

10/6: Beer City Beatdown (Asheville, NC)

10/6: Gallant Gauntlet 2 (Bedford, TX)

10/6: WOD for Water Troy (Troy, AL)

10/6: Cactus Games (Phoenix, AZ)

10/6: Pound-4-Pound Competition (Denver, CO)

10/6: Invictus Boston Barbells for Boobs (Boston, MA)

10/6: Girls Gone RX @ Old Line Crossfit (Millersville, MD)

10/6: The Battle To Benefit Badge (Utica NY)

10/6: Iron Eagle Challenge (Cookeville, TN)

10/6: The Grit Games (Jacksonville, FL)

10/6: Fit For Freedom (St. Peters, MO)

10/6: Fitness Freedom Project Jay WOD (San Marcos, CA)

10/6: OUTWOD (Philadelphia, PA)

10/6: Garden State Open 2018 (Berkeley Heights, NJ)

10/6: T-Town Throwdown (Toledo, OH)

10/6: 7th Annual Dog – WOD (Minneapolis, MN)

10/6: Hulks and Ninjas (Bangor, ME)

10/6: 7th Annual Dog WOD ( Minneapolis, MN)

10/6: Masters & Minors Invitational (Kill Devil Hills, NC)

10/6 – 10/7: The Iron Clash (Fayetteville, NC)

10/6 – 10/7: 307 Throwdown (Casper, WY)

10/12 – 10/14: Faith RX’d (Denver, CO)

10/13: Barbells For Boobs 2018 (Sutton, MA)

10/13: WOD for a Cause (Bloomsburg, PA)

​10/13: C4 CrossFit Co-Ed Classic (Brunswick, NJ)

10/13: 2018 War in the Woods (Norton, MA)

10/13: The Festivus Games (Online)

10/13: Grand Games 2018 (Westfield, IN)

10/13: Push Pull for Pancreatic Cancer @ Red Island CrossFit (Smithfield, RI)

10/13: Barbells for Boobs (Steamboat Springs, CO)

10/13: Older, Wiser, Faster, Stronger (Plymouth, MI)

10/13: The Greenville Games (Greenville, SC)

10/13: Reps For Recovery (Hickory, NC) 

10/13: Kal-Haven Trail Ruck (Kalamazoo, MI)

10/13: Fall Brawl (Saint Michael, MN)

10/13: Sweat for Georgia Mae (Wendell, NC)

10/13: Barbells For Boobs (Southaven, MS)

10/13: Wodtoberfest Co-ed Team Competition (Owosso, MI)

10/13 – 10/14: Box Wars 3 (Fort Valley, GA) 

10/14: CrossFit for Kayden (Fallsington, PA)

10/20: BCS Classic 2018 (Bryan, TX)

10/20: Head 2 Head in Hamilton (Hamilton, NJ)

10/20: Fittest on the Valley VI (Lahaina, HI)

10/20: Crossfit Bona Fide Third Wheel Throwdown (Portsmouth, NH)

10/20: CrossFit Katana Samurai Showdown VI: Trio of Terror (Mansfield, OH) 

10/20: SE Texas Masters of CrossFit Fall Classic (Cypress, TX) 

10/20: Barbells For Boobs (Stamford, CT)

10/20: Filthy 150 Irish Competition (Dublin)

10/20 – 10/21: The Independence Games (Florence, SC)

​10/20 – 10/21: The Lincoln Invitational (Spokane, WA)

10/21: Chalk It Up 2 (Akron, OH) 

10/21: Me Jane, You Jane (Santa Rosa, CA) 

10/27: Tough Temple Invitational (Rockville, MD)

10/27: Rock Your Box Throwdown (St.Cloud, MN)

10/27: Halloween Havoc (Harrisburg, PA)

10/27: Push Pull for Pancreatic Cancer @ CrossFit Trumbull (Trumbull, CT)

10/27: Saberspook THrowdown (Minneapolis, MN)

10/27: Monster Mash (Ann Arbor, MI)

10/27: The Foundry 5K (Steamboat Springs, CO)

10/27: Rock Your Box Throwdown (Saint Cloud, MN)

10/27: Beartown Halloween Beatdown (Lebanon, VA)

11/2: Wodapalooza Qualifier – Team (Online)

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

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