Male body image issues are actually a thing

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is powered by VersaLifts. Ever attempted to run or jump in your weightlifting shoes? Don’t. Try VersaLifts heel lift inserts instead. Transition with ease from overhead squats to double-unders, pistols to box jumps, or thrusters to burpees. Use code “CHALKUP10” to receive 10% off your purchase of the best new accessory for your gym bag.

“Train for the trials that you are not yet in.” — Craig Groeschel

When a thief targets your CrossFit gear.

The story.

Last month, fifteen-year-old Tori Gallegos from Toowoomba, Australia qualified for her first CrossFit Games, and this weekend she was competing in a local competition where she took first. So naturally her and the fam went out to celebrate over some dinner. Gotta refuel right?

But when they returned home, they found the house broken into and some valuables missing. 

That’s terrible. 

It totally is. The burglar stole her weightlifting bag, shoes, knee sleeves and $250 in cash which was given to Tori to help fund her trip to travel to the United States this August. All told it was about $350 in gear plus the cash. 

This thief sounds like a really fit bugger to target a bunch of CrossFit equipment if you ask us. 

So what are they gonna do?

What CrossFit communities always do, rally and support to the tune of about $5,000 and counting. 

Coffee Break Conversations

What to tell your friend who’s running on empty by 9AM…

Just crushing a cup of coffee in the morning isn’t going to get you very far in the day.  But we totally get it if you don’t always have time for to make an omelette. So for that morning when time is absolutely of the essence, here are nine coffee hacks to sip on.

What to tell your swolemates who can’t seem to agree on what WOD to do during open gym…

Let’s meet half way. Summer is here, so that means beach season, or if you’re non-coastal, then pool party and lake season. Either way, you’re putting on a bikini. And for that occasion, sometimes you want your suit — and not the body wearing the suit — to be the topic of conversation. And for that, we present you the Ramen Noodle Soup onesie.

Things To…

WATCH: Regionals Week 3 Recap

The CrossFit HQ team recaps all the action from the Pacific, Meridian, and Atlantic Regionals just in case you somehow forgot to read the Morning Chalk Up all weekend.

QUICK RECAP.

TRY: How Many Vegetables Can You Name For Time?

Every good crossfitter prides themself on eating their greens. But how many can you name in three minutes? 

3, 2, 1…GO.

EAT: Peanut Butter Blueberry Overnight Oats

Amazing peanut butter blueberry overnight oats that taste like a classic PB&J. You’ll love these healthy, no sugar added overnight oats made with siggi’s yogurt for an extra boost of protein! BTW, these photos are making us really hungry. 

GO TO BED EXCITED. 

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Chalk Up Community

• DOWN 172 POUNDS — Jessica Anderson walked into Red River CrossFit in Shreveport, LA in 2014 because she needed to make a big change: “It really was a point in my life where I was like, are you going to live the rest of your life being too fat to do something or are you going to do something about it?” Jessica has now lost more than 172 pounds.
• PRO TIP: PACING — Do you just step on the gas pedal and go until you’re forced to slow down or are you pacing so you can maintain your speed throughout the entire workout? Ben Bergeron shares this tip on how he coaches his top athletes to pace for performance.
• TOO BUSY TO WOD — If you’re so die-hard your calendar is booked with trips to the Regionals and the Games, save these 10 CrossFit WODs you can do even in the airport that are quick, dirty and require zero equipment.

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

Leo Marinho of Inox CrossFit hits a 405 pound Romanian deadlift • Conratulations Tabitha MacDonald on the 110 pound clean and jerk PR • If you think toes to bar are hard, imagine how hard it was for this
CrossFit Hastings class to do them synchronized • We don’t overhype so when we say Chyna Cho’s transformation Tuesday pic is radical you know we’re being honest • Armen Hammer is relaunching his vlog, ArmenHammerTV.

…and here is actual footage of us coming out too hot on a workout then crashing and burning.

CrossFit Gymnastics coach Chuck Bennington on male body image issues — “The real transformation has to be between the ears, before it can really be in the flesh…I feel like one of our biggest missed opportunities…is in not talking about male bodydysmorphia and self image issues enough.There are a TON of guys that struggle massively with how they look…This was especially true for me
as the least athletic kid on the block. Sports-ing was for sure all two left feet and some butterfingers…I hated how I looked AND how athletically incompetent I was…And guess what, I still struggle, on the regular. Every single week, there are multiple points where I see myself as #skinnyfat; a #fluffy #chub with no #muscles…Bros out there struggling with how you perform and look: You’re not alone and your struggle is valid.”

Brooke Wells on learning to trust the process — “She had the worst CrossFit Games showing of her career, finishing in a mediocre 14th place. After finishing 6th the previous year, it represented a big step backwards…Brooke was bad at endurance, bad at high-skill gymnastics, and bad at athletic, non gym-based events. A year of working on those things under Ben Bergeron had not seemed to make
her better at them, and the increased focus on her weaknesses had eroded her strength.

“Under similar circumstances, a lot of older, more mature, and more experienced athletes would have thrown their hands up and decided their programming and coaching were not working…Many athletes in a similar position would have said ‘F this,’ and gone back to doing what they had done before.

“Brooke did the opposite — she leaned into Ben even more.”

“Ben Makes Ten” by Brittney Saline, CrossFit Games

Although Tia-Clair Toomey is the Fittest Woman on Earth, she’s never won a Regional. Until now.



She won the Pacific Regional in dramatic fashion with three event wins, three second-place finishes and one event record (Event 6), holding the top spot from Event 1 throughout the entire weekend. She finished with 582 points to second-place Kara Saunders’ 552.

Saunders, who takes second after three straight years of Regional victory, also gave an outstanding performance. She took two event wins, one event record (Event 5) and five top-three finishes.

With her eyes on a bigger prize—the title of Fittest on Earth—Saunders said she wasn’t concerned about giving up her Regional title. The weekend had been an experiment, she said, a “rough draft” for the plan she’s writing for Madison.

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: 3rd Annual Masters Main Event  (North Ridgeville, OH) 

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

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

6/9 – 6/10: The Battle of Amsterdam (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

6/10: Contra Costa Throwdown (Concord, CA)

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)

6/22 – 6/23: Urban Street Games (Rock Island, IL)

6/22 – 6/24: The Bacon Beatdown (Daytona Beach, FL)

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: Battle of the Border (Phenix City, AL)

6/23: Battle of a Beauty with a Beast (South Hadley, MA)

6/23: Clash for Cash (Wiles-Barre, PA)

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)

6/30: Battle of the Ballpark (Seattle, WA)

7/1: Strong As A Bear VI (San Rafael, CA)

7/4: 4th of July Throwdown Team Competition (Cullman, AL)

7/5: Barbellas (Anaheim, CA)

7/6 – 7/8: The Garage Games Junior Champion’s Invitational 2018 (Roswell, GA)

7/7: CrossFit Elgin Beach Brawl 2018 (Port Stanley, ON)

7/14: Mischief Revolution: Battle of the Brewery (Chicago, IL)

7/14: Mountain Town Summer Throwdown (Breckenridge, CO) 

7/15: The Buckeye Games (Akron, OH)