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Many Affiliates Reconsider Disaffiliation

 
Morning Chalk Up

October 9
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Happy Friday and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. During the Glassman Saga, many gyms pledged to disaffiliate. But many of them have reconsidered their stance after Eric Roza took over. And, Justin Medeiros is a Games rookie, but he’s not inexperienced by any means, Tommy Marquez has more.

  • Also, Leigh Willhide got divorced and continued to fight for her fitness through COVID lock downs.

We need your help: The Morning Chalk Up, Triib and True Coach are conducting a CrossFit community-wide poll to get your feedback on a broad range of topics facing the community today. Tell us your thoughts.

 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

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“We all do better when we all do better.” – Paul Wellstone

 

Member Exclusive MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

Many Affiliates Reconsider Disaffiliation in Light of HQ Changes

  Many Affiliates Reconsider Disaffiliation in Light of HQ Changes  

In the aftermath of the Greg Glassman scandal and fallout in the spring, more than 1350 gyms around the world stated their intention to disaffiliate, including many long-time, well-known affiliate owners, such as C.J. Martin and Pat Sherwood, the owners of CrossFit Invictus and CrossFit Linchpin. Also among those was Alyssa Royse, owner of nine-year affiliate Rocket CrossFit, who’s demeaning letter from Glassman where he called her “delusional” sparked the mass exodus.

 

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Justin Medeiros: More Than Just A Mullet

  Justin Medeiros: More Than Just A Mullet  

Once you see Justin Medeiros compete it’s hard to forget him.

The mullet sporting college student has been one of the biggest breakthrough stars of the 2020 season, earning his way to the Games by winning the opening Sanctional of the season, and securing his spot in the final five in stage one.

The thing is, not many people saw him coming in stage one, even after he beat 13 current and former Games athletes at the Filthy 150 in Ireland roughly 10 months ago. Few will miss him going forward as he’s already earned himself rookie of the year honors, but the magnitude of his performance extends well beyond the leaderboard.

One big thing: Back in 2018 I wrote an article that included Medeiros as an athlete to watch for the season that could surprise some people as a young up-and-comer. Looking back at Medeiros’ competitive career so far, he might have become a household name much sooner had it not been for a few bad breaks.

 

Amid Pandemic and Divorce, Leigh Willhide Loses 40 Pounds, Gets First Pull-Up

  Amid Pandemic and Divorce, Leigh Willhide Loses 40 Pounds, Gets First Pull-Up  

“Not this time.”

That’s what 39-year-old Leigh Willhide told herself during the pandemic when everyone was talking about gaining the COVID- 15.

  • Considering Willhide was going through a divorce, a move, and adjusting to working from home with her 10 and 6-year-old children running around in the background, “where I could have just sat there at the computer and eaten all day,” nobody would have blamed her had she given into the stress.
  • “There were so many negative things going on in my life. All the stressors were there for me to say ‘Screw this, I’m going to eat pizza,’ which I have done many times in my life. But I was like, ‘You know what. I have done that too many times. Not this time. I’m going to be healthy,’” she said.

The big picture: When everything else in your life is chaotic, CrossFit is often the rock or foundation that allows people to meet or achieve their goals. That has been the case for Leigh Willhide. Willhide showed up to her gym, CrossFit Panthera in Dunkirk, MD, and picked up as much equipment as she was allowed to take, filled her truck and created a home gym. Then she committed to working out “almost every day” and eating whole foods 90 percent of the time.

 

THINGS TO…

…EAT

Spinach Bacon Pumpkin Mac and Cheese

We are still focusing on fall flavors and this mac and cheese is amazing. This creamy pumpkin mac and cheese recipe incorporates crispy bacon and a boost of veggies from the spinach. It’s easy, hits the fall flavor note, and is great as leftovers.

  Morning Chalk Up  

SPONSORED

…DO

Download UpLaunch’s Free Epic Guide to Writing a Facebook Ad for Your Gym

Writing effective ads is a critical skill when it comes to marketing your gym. You need to write ads in a way that brings in leads and doesn’t spend all your money. To help create the best ad for your gym, we put together a free guide to writing a Facebook ad, customized specifically for gym owners.

  Morning Chalk Up  

…WIN

An Amazing Prize Pack By Playing Guessing Games for Stage Two of the 2020 CrossFit Games

With all the surprises in stage one, no one quite guessed the top 10 correctly, so we’ve decided to extend the competition to stage two, which means more chances to win. Guess the correct order of the top five men and women correctly by Wednesday, October 21 at 11:59 PM PT for a chance to win the grand prize.

  Morning Chalk Up  

…TRY

Brent Fikowski’s “Train Your Weakness” Program Bundle

Do you struggle with double unders, handstand push-ups, and ring muscle-ups? Then you need to snag the exclusive Morning Chalk Up “Train Your Weakness” bundle. With this exclusive bundle, you’ll save 20% and get access to Brent’s double under, handstand push up and ring muscle up programs. No code needed just click the link, purchase the bundle and you’ll be on your way to mastering your weaknesses.

  Morning Chalk Up  

…KNOW

Eleven Lessons to Learn from the COVID Era

Chris Cooper and the team at the Two Brain Radio podcast dug deep into gym data and metrics and have laid out eleven lessons that gym owners can take away from the tumultuous months of 2020. One big takeaway is that there are resources available to help and the more information that owners can access, the easier it is to pivot when necessary.

 

TRIVIA

There were no correct responses to Wednesday’s trivia question — how many times has the worldwide men’s Open winner not won the Games in the same year. The correct answer was four times (CFG11, CFG15, CFG16, CFG20).

  • Today’s question: How many non-stationary cycling Games Events have there been?

Submit your answer.

 

HIGHLIGHTS…

 

COMMUNITY

Good Read: “How the Pandemic is Changing Our Exercise Habits”

On Wednesday, the New York Times published a story entitled “How the Pandemic is Changing Our Exercise Habits” by Gretchen Reynolds and it’s a pretty good read. In it, the writer details some findings in a recent study on physical activity based out of the United Kingdom. Unsurprisingly, the study revealed that most people have been less active since lock downs and quarantines began. Interestingly though, some people are exercising more than ever before and a large percentage of those extra-active people are over 65. 

The results of the study have not been peer-reviewed yet, but they add to a growing body of evidence that suggests the pandemic is reshaping how we move our bodies and in some unexpected ways. Here are a few more key takeaways:

  • “In one [study], researchers report that during the first few weeks after pandemic-related lockdowns began in the United States and other nations, Google searches related to the word “exercise” spiked and remained elevated for months.”
  • “An online survey conducted in 139 countries by RunRepeat, a company that reviews running shoes, found that a majority of people who had been exercising before the health crisis began reported exercising more often in the early weeks after. A separate survey of almost 1,500 older Japanese adults found that most said they had been quite inactive in the early weeks of lockdowns, but by June, they were walking and exercising as much as ever.”
  • “A gloomier June study, however, using anonymized data from more than 450,000 users of a smartphone step-counting app, concluded that, around the world, steps declined substantially after lockdowns began. Average daily steps declined by about 5.5 percent during the first 10 days of a nation’s pandemic lockdowns and by about 27 percent by the end of the first month.
  • “For the new study, which has been posted at a biology preprint site awaiting peer-review, researchers at University College London turned to data from a free, activity-tracking smartphone app available in the United Kingdom and some other nations. The app uses GPS and similar technologies to track how many minutes people had spent walking, running or cycling, and allows users to accumulate exercise points that can be used for monetary or other rewards. (One of the study’s authors works for the app maker but did not provide input into the results or analysis of the research, according to the study’s other authors.

There’s a lot more in the article, so be sure to check it out.

Are you exercising more or less over the past six months? Let us know at [email protected].

 
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LOCAL COMPETITIONS

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10/9 – 10/10: Crash Crucible (Spartanburg, SC)
10/10: 5th Annual Babes W/ Barbells (Huntington, WV)
10/10 – 10/11: Team Pack Series 2020 : Back to School Edition (Vienne, France)
10/10: OUTAthletics presented by the OUT Foundation (Portland, ME)
10/12 – 10/18: The Padawan Games (Norman, OK)
10/17 – 10/18: First Timers XIX (Køge, Denmark)
10/17: The Sacred Pine Throwdown (Ladson, SC)
10/24: Fittest in the Fall (Indianapolis, IN)
10/28 – 11/10: The Fittest Experience Online Qualifier (Austin, TX)
10/31: Barbells for Boobs (San Antonio, TX)
10/31: Come as You Aren’t (Jacksonville, FL)
10/31: BOA – Season 5 – Challenge of The Decades (Bensenville, IL)
10/31: CrossFit Imagine’s Wodtober Fest (Smyrna, TN)
10/31: WOD-o-WEEN (Minnetonka, MN)
11/6 – 11/7: Strength Wars 2020 (Blacktown, Australia)
11/7 – 11/8: The Bay Games [Unstoppable (online) Edition] (Jervis Bay, Australia)
11/7: The Battle at Branded One 2020 (Las Vegas, NV)
11/7 – 11/8: Barbells & Bacon (Erlanger, KY)
11/7: Battle at the Bridge (Windsor, ON, Canada)
11/7: The FORGE Partner Challenge 2020 (Plantsville, CT)
11/7: 2020 FTX Open (Wheaton, IL)
11/7: Turkey Throwdown (6th Annual) (Limestone, TN)
11/7: The Garage Games Masters Tour (Conroe, TX)
11/11: WOD for Warriors (Waite Park, MN)
11/14 – 11/15: The Clang and Bang Vol 4 (Topeka, KS)
11/14: Warrior Affiliate League Gruesome Twosome (Chino, CA)
11/14 – 11/15: SugarMeltdown 2020 (Odense, Denmark)
11/14: 2020 Trident Fitness Festival (Suffolk, VA)
11/14: Girls Gone Rx Dallas (Dallas, TX)
11/14: One Fifty One Throwdown (Douglas, GA)
11/14: Girls Gone Rx Iowa (Des Moines, IA)
11/15: Southpaw’s Murph Swim Challenge (McKinney, TX)

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