The Age Group Qualifier starts today

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is powered by Utzy Naturals, your choice for premium natural supplements. Do you have a tough time when exposed to pollen? Check out these tips on how to avoid spring pollen and take back your breathing.

29 days until Regionals starts. 

“Because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.” — Unknown

THE AGE GROUP ONLINE QUALIFIER KICKS OFF TONIGHT.

What’s happening?

The Age Group Qualifier — or AGOQ for short — kicks off tonight at 5PM Pacific with a live announcement on Facebook. It’s essentially the Regionals equivalent for Teens and Masters. Similar to the Open, workouts are released on Thursday night and athletes have until Monday at 5:00 PM Pacific to submit their scores. The only difference is there are four WODs instead of one, and they’re usually a tad harder. Just a tad. After all, these 200 athletes in each age group are vying for one of 20 spots at the CrossFit Games so that shouldn’t come as a surprise.

There are a total of 3200 athletes across 16 age divisions around the globe completing the AGOQ over the next four days.

A brief history.

The AGOQ was first introduced in 2014 and it was only for Masters, not teens. Like the individual and team divisions, the Masters divisions have continued to grow to the point where a second stage was needed. Before that, only the top 20 from each age group in the Open were invited to the Games.

— 2010: Masters division first created.

— 2013: 40-44 division introduced.

— 2014: Age group online qualifier created.

— 2017: 35-39 division introduced. Teens divisions added to the AGOC.

So what are the WODs like?

Take a look at last year’s WODs. 

We’re talking deficit handstand push-ups, high volume muscle-ups, heavy barbell movements like cleans at (225/155) and heavy deadlifts (315/225). Also, one WOD was a repeat of Open WOD 16.2. Let’s not forget, they have to do all four in four days. We’d be shocked if handstand walking didn’t appear after it was introduced in the Open this year.

What if they also qualify for Regionals?

NBD. Several masters and teen athletes over the years have qualified for both the AGOQ and Regionals — actually 36 masters qualified for both this year. Josh Bridges said ‘thanks, but no thanks’ and is sticking to individuals only. Other notable names over the years have been Sam Briggs, Val Voboril and 17-year-old Haley Adams (she was 16 at the time BTW, and she’s heading back again this year). But if you qualify on a team or as an individual then you have to give up your Master’s spot.

Now all we have to do is wait a few hours for the WODs to be released.

COFFEE BREAK CONVERSATIONS

What to tell your friend who’s just started a beach body challenge…

Challenge accepted. Ryan Fischer is challenging you to 30 days of kettlebell swings. Here’s how it works: swing the heaviest kettlebell you can for 50 reps unbroken, every day. If you can’t up the weight over the 30 days, increase the reps and see how far you can go. You could also use the FitFight app to make your own box-wide challenge and get the whole community involved.

EXCLUSIVE: SARA SIGMUNDSDOTTIR, PT. 5

THINGS TO…

HEAR: Chasing Excellence with Ben Bergeron

Ben Bergeron joins Julie Foucher on the Pursuing Health podcast. If you’re not familiar with Ben, he’s an affiliate owner, coach, author and leader in the CrossFit community. He’s also coached two CrossFit Games champions and several other Games athletes across multiple divisions. 

MEET BEN.

EAT: 8 Homemade Healthy Salad Dressings

Making your own salad dressing isn’t this elaborate process. You can put together any one of these eight dressings in five minutes or less to add flavor to your favorite bowl of greens or anything else you’re feeling that day. 

GET THE RECIPES.

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

CHALK UP COMMUNITY

• GET YOUR TICKETS — Right now, only single-day tickets remain available for Friday at the Europe Regional in Berlin, Germany. Here’s where you can get the rest. 
• HEADS UP — CrossFit Inc., in collaboration with Ohio University, sent out a survey on Tuesday to select 2018 CrossFit Open participants. The survey asks for feedback on the Open and how CrossFit can improve. So check your inbox.

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

Today’s edition was chalked up from CrossFit St. Helens in St. Helens, OR. We were there hanging out with Carleen Mathews as she trains for the West Regional • Throwback Thursday of Kelsey Kiel going from 95 pounds to 205 pounds on the barbell • Rebecca Shingledecker, the CrossFitter who just got out of surgery to remove a tumor from her brain two weeks ago, makes it back to Panther City CrossFit to visit her family • Hafthor Bjornsson deadlifts 837 pounds for four reps • Here’s your
chance to get to ask Josh Bridges, Mathew Fraser and Rich Froning a question • 

…and this is all of us leaving work on time to catch a WOD. 

Encouraging Words from Tia Wright — “I used to live day to day with a free spirit in ways that affected me in a bad way. I lived to just see where the day would take me, and what happened during the day whether it was an event or particular interactions with people that determined how I felt about the day and how good it was. I used to think this was fun spirited, and a simple way of life, that good days and bad days are a reality and we all experience this roller coaster. But no. Here’s the thing, YOU HAVE CONTROL OF ALL OF IT. If you want today to be a positive day, then it will be. But you have to
feel that inside, deep inside your unconscious. You may verbalize it or think in consciously, but did you really DECIDE it would be positive? Intention is what I call this. And learning to decipher between conscious and unconscious is a life skill.

I set my intention every morning. With that said your DECISION to be a certain way that day, helps CONTROL your day in a good direction, in a POWERFUL way, nothing can shake your joy. And this joy that exudes you will affect others hugely also, you’ll glow. I think this premise all comes from the serenity prayer, “control only what you can control, don’t worry about the rest” but it is hard to apply that because it’s focusing on the negative. If you DECIDE to have control by having an awesome day then you will and the things you need to control will fall into place naturally. HAVE A GREAT DAY GUYS!”

“Courage is Contagious: Deal with Insecurities and Overcome Your Greatest Fears” by Sara Eckhardt

Allyson (Ally) Leard is not an ordinary fitness professional. In addition to coaching CrossFit full-time at the Reebok International Headquarters in Boston, Ally is also a professional competitive CrossFit athlete.

After years of hard physical training and discipline, Ally competed against the most elite CrossFit athletes around the world at the 2017 Reebok CrossFit Games in Madison, WI.

Shortly following the close of the 2017 CrossFit Games (her team placed 5th in the world, by the way), Ally got some great news; she’s pregnant! “What a perfect way to take a step back, relax and take some much-deserved rest,” Ally thought.

Ally looked at the next 9 months as such an exciting time. She daydreamed about being one of those aspirational fit, pregnant ladies on Instagram that are kicking ass in the gym, working out in just a sports bra, strutting their blossoming bellies without a care in the world.

4/19: Teens and Masters Qualifier (Invitation Only)4/20 – 4/22: Athens Throwdown (Athens, Greece)

4/21: Festivus Games (Nationwide)

4/21: Mayhem for MSR (Cookeville, TN)

4/21: Loganville Lockdown (Loganville, GA)

4/21: FoxWOD (Panama City Beach, FL)

4/21: Swamp Challenge (Gainesville, FL)

4/21: Mucctown Throwdown (Winnemucca, NV)

4/21: Famously Hot Showdown (Columbia, SC)

4/28: Battleground SoCal (Wimington, CA)

4/28: Girls Gone Rx (Cincinnati, OH)

4/28: Salem Slaughterfest (Salem, OR)

4/28: 3rd Annual Appletown Throwdown (Cornelia, GA)

4/28: Brew-N-Brawl 2018 (Lenoir, NC)

4/28: CrossFit Cheltenham Throwdown (Gloucestershire, United Kingdom)

4/28: Badger State Games (Wausau, WI)

4/29: Three of A Kind (Gloucestershire, United Kingdom)

4/28 – 4/29: Walter’s Cup Throwdown (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

4/28 – 4/29: Battle of the Bluffs (Council Bluffs, IA)

4/28 – 4/29: King City Throwdown (Tupelo, MS)

5/4 – 5/5: Tough As Nails (Lubbock, TX)

5/4 – 5/5: No Gutz No Glory (Denver, CO)

5/4 – 5/5: Throwdown in Joe Town (St. Joseph, MO)

5/4 – 5/6: European Masters Throwdown (Budapest, Hungary)

5/5 – 5/6: Tribal Clash (Quarteira, Portugal)

5/5 – 5/6: Barbell de Mayo (Woodbridge, VA)

5/5 – 5/6: Manila Throwdown (Manila, Philippines)

5/5: Cinco de Mayo Classic (San Antonio, TX)

5/5: The Locomotive Games III (Youngstown, OH)

5/5: Granite Games Throwdown (Southaven,  MS)

5/5: Battle of the Boro (Goldsboro, NC)

5/5: New WODs on the Block (Grand Rapids, MI)

5/5: The Crawfish Challenge (Columbia, SC)

5/5: Masters of the Shed (Roxbury, NJ)

5/5: Never Forgotten Games (Redding, CA)

5/5: Burpees de Mayo (Phoenix, AZ)

5/11 – 5/12: Beast Mode Games (Greenville, SC)

5/11 – 5/12: Midwest Monster (Joplin, MO)

5/11 – 5/12: Reebok’s Ready for Action – Fittest in Israel (Israel)

5/12: Barbells for Bullies (Danbury, CT)

5/12: The Mountain Meltdown (Park City, UT)

5/12: The 5th Element (Bedford, NH)

5/12: Soho Brawl (Tampa, FL)

5/12: Fallout in the Falls (Wichita Falls, TX)

5/18 – 5/20: East Regional (Albany, NY)

5/18 – 5/20: Europe Regional (Berlin, Germany)

5/18 – 5/20: South Regional (Salt Lake City, UT)

5/19: Raising the Bar for Recovery (Medina, OH)

5/19: East Coast Battle (Hanover, MD)

5/19: Barbells in the Burbs (Carol Stream, IL)

5/19: Gladiator Games (Concord, NC)

5/19: The Pillage of Palm Harbor (Palm Harbor, FL)

5/19: Spring Fling Partner Throwdown (San Anselmo, CA)

5/19: SilverFox Masters Competition (San Clemente, CA)

5/19: Ultimate Fitness Championship (Kennewick, WA)

5/19: Warriors Hope 2018 (Greenwood, IN)

5/19: T-Town Throwdown (Tifton, GA)

5/19 – 5/20: GameDay Mankato (Mankato, MN)

5/25 – 5/27: West Regional (Del Mar, CA)

5/25 – 5/27: Central Regional (Nashville, TN)

5/25 – 5/27: Latin America Regional (Rio de Janiero, Brazil)

5/26: Beauty is a Beast 2 (Indian Rocks Beach, FL)

5/27 – 5/28: 24 Heroes in 24 Hours (Southborough, MA)

6/1 – 6/3: Atlantic Regional (West Palm Beach, FL)

6/1 – 6/3: Meridian Regional (Madrid, Spain)

6/1 – 6/3: Pacific Regional (Sydney, Australia)

6/2: Kegs and Kilos (Manhattan, KS)

6/2: Long Island Masters (Hauppauge, NY)

6/2: Texas WOD Fest (Houston, TX)

6/3: Summer Sizzler Individual Masters Competition (Burlington, MA)

6/9: Beastette Bash at CrossFit Ananda (Arlington, TX)

6/9: Gulf Coast Games (Mandeville, LA)

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

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

6/16: Battle on the Creek (Johns Creek, GA)

6/16: Full Battle Rattle (Robinson, IL)

6/16: East Coast War (Wilmington, NC)

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 – 6/24: Asbury Park Summer Games (Asbury Park, NJ)