The Big Cheese

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is fueled by RP Strength, the leader in strength sports nutrition. RP just released the RP Diet Templates 3.0 just in time for the New Year. These are the same templates that have helped tens of thousands worldwide lose fat, gain muscle, and improve their performance. Today is the final day to use code “CHALKUP15” to save $15.

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” — Helen Keller

THE BIG CHEESE

The story.

Saturated fat has been a highly debated topic for decades, and has reached popularity again recently when everyone freaked out over coconut oil — but we have some good news!

Cheese is actually good for you.

Say what?

Your prayers have been answered! Well, kind of.

According to a recent study, scientists concluded that daily cheese consumption may actually reduce a person’s risk of cardiovascular disease.

Of course, studies based on correlation come with many a caveat- type and quality of cheese, what the rest of a person’s diet looks like, everyone’s favorite word moderation, etc…

The takeaway.

So maybe eating cheese every day can’t totally prevent heart disease, but science has proven that it can be a part of a healthy diet and we’ll take it!

Now…What about tacos?

CHALK UP IN 2 MINUTES

Roundup — Here’s a look at the demolition being done at Coach Mike Burgener’s house after the fire. Camille Leblanc-Bazinet is back to snatching bodyweight post shoulder surgery. Colleen Fotsch hits a 205 pound snatch. 

2017’s 10 most-Googled workouts…1) Murph…3) Tabata…5) Burpees…9) CrossFit Open 17.2.

Launched — Dean Saddoris and Danny Lehr from the very popular Caffeine & Kilos lifestyle brand, just kicked off a new podcast. Gas Station Cappuccino will cover everyday conversations about Olympic weightlifting, CrossFit, powerlifting, and growing a business in the fitness industry, and if you wanna get on, listen to their first
episode and shoot them a request.

Dubai Fitness Championship — 

— Here’s the leaderboard.

— Use the schedule to watch live.

COFFEE BREAK CONVERSATIONS

What to tell your athletes who are complaining about having to do Grace Rx today…

At least you have two arms. No seriously. Look at Victor Castro (no relation). He just did Grace Rx with only one arm in 9:40. After a motorcycle accident, Victor lost the use of his right arm, but he’s overcome that obstacle and continues to improve his fitness including finishing all WODs in the 2017 CrossFit Open. Still complaining?

What to tell your friend who thinks you can never have enough Christmas decorations… 

For when everything else is already lit up, the only thing left is yourself. Hello there Christmas tree.

What to tell your friend who’s parking in a handicap spot…

You can’t park there, neither can the Coca Cola truck who was told to pull a U-turn in Cumbria, UK and head back out of town. Cumbria County Council leader Stewart Young and public health boss Colin Cox signed an open letter to Coca-Cola, urging them to rethink its sugar-laced Happy Holidays message. Especially with childhood obesity rates skyrocketing, looks like parents are wising up to Coke’s long con and saying “no thanks.”

THINGS TO…

HEAR: Answering the Questions from Tribe of Mentors

In this episode of Chasing Excellence, Ben Bergeron answers 11 questions from Tim Ferriss’ best-selling book, Tribe of Mentors. This is the perfect episode for the athlete who’s already planning their 2018. 

TUNE IN.

READ: A Letter to RX Athletes from a Scaler

This one kinda went viral yesterday. If you’ve ever been that awkward athlete who’s got the guts and heart of an Rx’er and the clean and jerk of a scaled athlete, and you’re straddling the line between the two; one day scaled, the next Rx. 

THIS ARTICLE IS FOR YOU. 

MAKE & EAT: Coco-Nutty Dark Bark

NOM NOM Paleo posted this as a DIY holiday gift. We translated that as a gift for ourselves; a very scrumptious, tarty, nutty, bittersweet, delicious, definitely eating more than one piece kinda gift. 

MAYBE NOT FOR SHARING.

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

CHALK UP AFFILIATES

• ADOPT A FOSTER KID — CrossFit Unlimited Crowley in Crowley, LA is back with their yearly drive to adopt a foster kid and give him or her Christmas presents they otherwise wouldn’t receive. Last year, they hit it out of the park. We’re counting 15 bicycles here and trunks full of presents. 

“Choose The Fear That Drives You” by Pete Hitzeman, Breaking Muscle

The OR nurse’s comment was as predictable as it was common.



“So, this was a mountain biking crash?”

“Yup,” I replied with a grin, knowing full well it sounded much more impressive than it was. The crash that snapped my collarbone was a non-event. I wasn’t going fast, or jumping anything, or picking some extreme line at the Red Bull Rampage. I just lost the front tire on an unexpectedly slick rock.

What Fears Do You Choose?

Fear of injury. Of discomfort. Of finding out just how out of shape you really are. Of embarrassment. Most of all, fear of failure. For many people, the barrier between the life they live and the life they wish to live, especially when it comes to their health and fitness, is the fear they choose to follow.

Brought to You By Athlete Daily — We get it. You see that athlete over there cranking out pull-ups 20 at-a-time and you want that. So you hop on the bar, swing back and forth until your arms are about to fall off, squeezing every last pull-up out of your body. As John Wooden famously preached “be quick, don’t hurry.” So get off the bar for a hot minute, slow down and read through Athlete Daily’s series on building a better foundation for all kinds of upper body gymnastics, so you can say hi to muscle-ups in the Open instead of a visit to PT. 

12/18 – 20: 6th Annual CrossFit Invictus Online Competition (Online)

1/6: BrickYard Brawl (South Windsor, CT)

1/11 – 14: Wodapalooza Fitness Festival (Miami, FL)

1/11: Row’d Royalty (Worldwide)

1/13: Abominable Snowdown II (Orem, UT)

1/13 – 14: War of the Wods (Greensboro, NC)

1/20: Winter WOD’rland 2018 (Bend, OR)

1/27: Winter Chiller (Fairmont, WV)

1/27: NorCal Masters 2018 (Richmond, CA)

1/27 – 28: The Fittest Experience (Austin, TX)

2/3: No Weak Links “V” (Whitesboro, NY)

2/3: Caution Grounds 7 (Hialeah Gardens, FL)

2/3: Output Fitness Trials (Miramar, FL)

2/22: CrossFit Open 18.1 (Worldwide)

3/1: CrossFit Open 18.2 (Worldwide)

3/8: CrossFit Open 18.3 (Worldwide)

3/15: CrossFit Open 18.4 (Worldwide)

3/22: CrossFit Open 18.5 (Worldwide)