Sigmundsdottir Emerges Smarter and More Prepared for New Season

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is fueled by FNX.

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“Change is inevitable, but growth is optional.” — John C. Maxwell

Thirteen Years Later Dominguez Rodriguez Competes Again

Some background.

Exactly thirteen year ago today, Dominguez Rodriguez and some friends were heading home from a college fraternity party when their driver dozed off at the wheel and crashed. 

Unconscious and unresponsive, Dominguez was rushed to the hospital and prepped for surgery. Whitney, who’s now Dominguez’s wife, was with him at the time of the accident and remembers the doctors telling her he probably wouldn’t make it through the night.

But he did make it through the night.

Dominguez suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury that left him with serious balance problems, short-term memory loss and significant mobility restrictions. Once he was released from the hospital he went home with his parents. His mother quit her job to help her son recover.

“She would set a yoga ball up in the living room, so that if Dominguez wanted to just sit around and watch TV all day, she was going to make him do it on that ball and at least work his core,” Whitney told us in an interview.

Mom’s rehab and physical therapy worked. Dominguez slowly built up the strength to use a wheelchair, then a walker, then a cane. Dominguez, who had always been athletic, tried to find ways to meet that need that sports used to fill. “We tried bikes, which was fun, but when he got on the two-wheeled bike he climbed over and just kind of kept going over, until he fell right off.” Whitney told us. “He’ll try literally anything though. He has no fear.”

Finding CrossFit.

And it was that same mindset of trying anything that led Dominguez and Whitney to Hard Exercise Works in Deerfield Beach, FL where the two found CrossFit, just ten months ago. Since then, they’ve both lost weight — Dominguez about 70 pounds — and found something they can do together. The coaches at Hard Exercise Works help adapt the WODs to suit Dominguez so he can train safely.

Getting back into the gym reminded Dominguez of how much he loved competing. When Whitney competed in a local competition, he asked her to help him find something he could compete in too. “Seeing my wife compete made me want to do it too,” Dominguez said.

So she found Wodapalooza.

“We were shocked when Dominguez got in. Okay, well I guess we’re doing this,” she said.

Dominguez placed 8th in the Adaptive Scaled Standing division last month. But this is just the beginning for him. “He had the time of his life. I think we’ve found his passion,” said Whitney. “I’m just so happy he’s alive.”

GAMES NEWS

Through Injury, Setbacks Sigmundsdottir Emerges Smarter and More Prepared for New Season

The story.

Two-time podium finisher, Sara Sigmundsdottir joined Morning Chalk Up’s Editor-in-Chief Justin LoFranco for an exclusive sit down at Studio CrossFit in Barcelona, Spain and opened up about coming back from injury and her new approach to training.

“In Dubai, I was so nervous it was like I was competing for the first time again,” Sigmundsdottir admitted in the interview.

Despite the early jitters, she finished third overall in a very tight race to the finish. Only seven points separated first through fourth going into the final event.

Charting a New Path Forward

“I’m still on my way to where I was [but] I knew I could come back because I had already done it before,” Sigmundsdottir said.

Sigmundsdottir, a four-time CrossFit Games athlete, is coming off her most disappointing season after she fractured a rib for the second time in a year.

Despite the setback, shortened training schedule, Sigmundsdottir placed 21st worldwide in the Open, second in Iceland, and third at the Europe Regionals behind Annie Thorisdottir and Laura Horvath.

Continue Reading. 

Coffee Break Conversations

What to tell the chalk monster at your CrossFit gym…

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Things To…

WATCH: CrossFit Filthy 150 Interview with Armen Hammer

Armen Amirian of ArmenHammer TV sat down with Jamie and Darina, the owners of the CrossFIt Filthy 150 to discuss their plans for the upcoming event, how it feels to be the first sanctioned event in the 2020 season, and Armen even tries an Irish accent. 

WHO IS HEADED TO DUBLIN?

HEAR: Breaking Down Business at Octane CrossFit

Regan Doele never thought he’d own a business. But four years ago he became co-owner at Octane CrossFit in Phoenix, AZ. It’s been a long road and he has had to learn a lot of things the hard way. Doele shares what he’s learned over the years of owning a small business.

EVERY DAY IS A NEW CHALLENGE.

BUY: Surf and Turf Date Night Special from ButcherBox

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VALENTINE’S DAY IS COMING. 

EAT: Cilantro Pistachio Pesto Shrimp Pasta

Pesto shrimp pasta with a crazy good fresh cilantro pistachio pesto. This pasta is easy to make but will make you feel like you’re at a fancy restaurant. Serve with garlic bread or a side salad for a great meal.

SAVE THOSE CARBS UP.

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

Chalk Up Community

• OLYMPIC WEIGHTLIFTING SEMINAR — CrossFit Nullis Terminis in Venice, FL is hosting an Olympic Weightlifting seminar with Anthony Marinola this Saturday morning. 
• NEW AFFILIATE — CrossFit AutoBody officially opened for business yesterday in Union City, TN.

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

Lauren Fisher joins the Puori team • Happy tenth CrossFit anniversary to Dave Hudson • Congratulations to Rick Widner on getting his first bar muscle-up • Seth Troutt celebrated his eighth CrossFit anniversary by getting a sub-three Fran • Noah O’Connor got his Level One certificate • CrossFit Mongoose in Uruma City, Okinawa celebrated seven months of business • Kari Pearce will be in Berlin in August for a Battle Cancer event • SteadyMD is giving away free healthcare for a year • Saxon Panchik does a 315 pound squat clean WOD.

…and we’d probably stay on the Air Runner longer for peanut butter too. 

More on Live Open Announcements — Yesterday afternoon, the CrossFit Games team clarified some details in an article regarding their planned live announcements for the 2019 CrossFit Open.

— Here’s what they said: “An international cohort of CrossFit affiliates and Sanctionals organizers will announce the Open workouts live. Each week will bring its own look and feel, from workout releases on raw live-streams to head-to-head throw-downs with star athletes.”

— Tommy Marquez’s Translation: Instead of a single, highly produced Open announcement like in years past, each week will feature multiple live announcements happening simultaneously, from different locations in affiliates around the world. Fans should expect the possibility of everything from a raw live-feed, to a more classic announcement with a head-to-head matchup of athletes in tow. All streams will be available on Games.CrossFit.com.

…and first up is…The first week will feature concurrent live announcements from the U.K., France, and Brazil. Action kicks off with workout 19.1 on February 21, at 5:00 PM PT.

Reading Between the Lines: Everything we’ve seen so far indicates that none of these will be highly produced live experiences featuring the top names in CrossFit like in years past. In fact, it would seem contrary to the direction Glassman has been taking CrossFit these past several months for top athletes to hit the main stage.

How we know...FLASHBACK to early January: Editor-in-Chief Justin LoFranco to Greg Glassman, “Do you have anything planned for Open announcements?”

— GLASSMAN: “It’s not going to be overly produced and it’s not going to be scripted. We’re going to back off being cute.”

Schedule This — On the Minute returns tomorrow at 5:00 PM PT on our Facebook page. Get caught up on the sanctioned events like Fittest in Cape Town with our Founder and Editor in Chief, Justin LoFranco and Armen Amirian of ArmenHammer TV.

CONFIRMED: Strength in Depth — Strength in Depth, an official sanctioned event taking place in London at the end of this month, has confirmed Synne Krokstad as their 16th invitational athlete added to the roster. 

Training Tips for the Open from Laura Horvath — The 2019 CrossFit Open is just around the corner and Laura Horvath shared three workouts she completed to prepare for last years Open before she made her rookie appearance at the Games last year. 

Jenn Dancer on CrossFit and Her Faith — Jenn Dancer discussed how she met her husband Sam, how she found CrossFit, and she views her athleticism as a gift from God. “In November of 2012, I came home from Sweden for the holidays. My husband, Sam had placed me in a CrossFit tournament for fun, two days after I landed. I had no idea what a snatch was or what ‘Fran’, ‘Grace’ or ‘Isabel’ meant. I was athletic enough to just jump in and figure it out on the fly. I took 3rd place in a scaled competition… three months
later I did the CrossFit Open and qualified for Regionals in 2013.”

— “I think that CrossFit is important to get into because of the community that it provides…the community of our gym is awesome and I don’t want anyone to miss out on that…as long as individuals are working out and staying healthy and moving that is all that truly matters. I don’t care how they do it. Working with our down Syndrome Athletes and working with the adaptive athlete community has opened our eyes and hearts to what truly matters. Loving everyone.”

“Is the Fittest Freakest Challenge the Future for Non-Sanctioned Competitions?” by Justin LoFranco, Morning Chalk Up 

Unless you live in Spain, there’s a fairly good chance you’ve never heard of the Fittest Freakest Challenge, a NIKE-sponsored competition in Barcelona.

Fittest Freakest Challenge, a Barcelona-based fitness store which sells all kinds of gear and apparel for CrossFit, are the organizers of the event.

In its fourth year, the competition is now a mainstay event for the Spanish-speaking CrossFit community especially once NIKE got involved in 2017. Since then, it’s grown to welcome crowds of more than 2,000 fans packed into iconic locations like Sant Jordi Club, and served as a showcase for NIKE’s impressive roster of CrossFit athletes and new rollouts.

The CrossFit world really only knows one style of competition — everyone competing in the same workouts all at once or in heats, and the individual or team with the most points wins. After all, the CrossFit Games is a test to find the fittest athlete on the earth and that’s the right way to do it.

The Fittest Freakest Challenge is the exact opposite. A single-day, four-hour tournament style elimination competition with brackets where workouts are released a few minutes before the start. All you have to do is perform better than the other team and you advance. The process continues until the finals and one team is crowned the winner.

Packed with entertainment, bright lights, smoke, music and dancing during intermissions Freakest more closely resembles a fight night than a CrossFit competition.

2/9: The Garage Games Master of the Masters (Suwanee, GA)

2/9: Cupid’s Roar Partner Competition (Melbourne, Australia)

2/9: 3rd Annual Black Ops Partner Competition (Wheaton, IL)

2/9: Bedrock Heart Breaker (Calgary, AB)

2/9: Can’t Stop Brock Event (Mankato, MN)

2/9: Battle of the Ages (Jacksonville, FL) 

2/9: Battle for Bae 2019 (San Mateo, CA)

2/9: Battle of the Fittest 6: NYC Throwdown (New York, NY)

2/9: My Bloody Valentine (Vidalia, OH)

2/9: 2nd Annual Battle of the Ages (Fruitland, ID)

2/9 – 2/10: The CF Circus (Des Moines, IA)

2/9 – 2/10: The Chitown Throwdown 2019 Masters Edition (Emhurst, IL)

2/15 – 2/16: 2nd annual Tough Love Competition (Louisville, KY)

2/16: Valentine’s Day Massacre (Kilgore, TX)

2/16: Masters of Fitness ( Cape Coral, FL)

2/16: The Garage Games Xs & Ys (Valdosta, GA)

2/16: Couples Clash 2019 (Pensacola, FL)

2/16: Tuff Love (Boulder, CO)

2/16: Valentine’s Day Massacre (Selma, TX)

2/16: Winter War Games (Spanish Fort, AL)

2/16: Vicious Valentine’s Partner Throwdown (Carlisle, PA)

2/16: Ice Breaker 3 at Unbreakable Athletics Academy (Plainfield, IN)

2/23: Amicus Ambush: Mixed Teams (Dickinson, ND)

2/23 – 2/24: Strength in Depth (London, England)