The Calm Before the Storm

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is fueled by FNX, the Official Supplement Sponsor of the Morning Chalk Up. FNX is not just dedicated to providing the best supplements to fuel your performance, they’re committed each day to pursuing something greater. Adrian Conway shares the special mission behind FNX, and at the end drops a sweet 30% off deal you won’t want to miss.

P.S. The CrossFit Open kicks off in one day, 10 hours.

“At the peak of tremendous and victorious effort, while the blood is pounding in your head, all suddenly becomes quiet within you. Everything seems clearer and whiter than ever before, as if great spotlights had been turned on. At that moment, you have the conviction that you contain all the power in the world, that you are capable of everything, that you have wings. There is no more a precious moment in life than this, the white moment, and you will work very hard for years just to taste it again.” — Yuri Vlasov, the first man to Clean and Jerk 200kg

COFFEE BREAK CONVERSATIONS

Calm before the storm…

This is from last year, but we think everybody needs a little LOL before Thursday. So presenting, CrossFit Open or Tropic Thunder?

What to tell your landlord who’s always on your back about noise complaints…

We’re working on it. Zero Machine CrossFit has had this problem before. They’re located in a Phoenix area strip mall and because of how close their neighbors are, some folks just aren’t nearly as excited when a 275 pound PR gets slammed on the floor, or anytime Grace is programmed. Shocker. It actually became such an issue that they were faced with getting kicked out of their location. So the owner started testing different flooring types to see if he could reduce the volume a tad. That’s when he found Sterling Athletic Sound Tiles, these 2.75 inch thick square matts that literally saved his business.
Apparently your 3-year-old can nap away while you drop a 70 pound kettlebell from overhead, not that you should ever do that. They’ve had zero complaints since. 

What to tell your friend who’s still freaking out about the Open…

Just breathe. The Open is like the Wild Wild West, dark, scary, and sometimes unforgiving. But dammit, the Open should be fun. “Instead of sitting there wallowing over your score, celebrate the fact that you’re a freaking badass pushing yourself to be better. Don’t be such a critic. Give yourself permission to celebrate the Sport of Fitness and enjoy it. That’s what signing up for The Open is all about.” If you need that kinda pick-me-up before the bell rings, keep reading here. 

THINGS TO…

WATCH: Best Live Announcements of All Time

As we get ready for tomorrow and the kickoff announcement of 18.1, FloElite looks back at their favorite live Open events of all time. 

GET IN THE OPEN.

HEAR: Sam Briggs on Going Back to Basics

Sam Briggs is gearing up to square off against Kristin Holte tomorrow evening, but before that she sat down with Julie Foucher on the Pursuing Health Podcast to talk about how she’s been able to remain such a dominate force even against athletes nearly half her age. 

TRAINING FOR LONGEVITY.

EAT: 13 Big Batch Slow Cooker Recipes for Meal Prep

If you haven’t picked up a slow cooker yet, do yourself a favor and make your food prep life a lot easier. And once you pick one up, here are two weeks of recipes to get your lunch and dinner started. 

GET COOKING.

KNOW: Macro Eating and What You Need to Know

Adee Cazayoux, CEO of Working Against Gravity, sits down and answers some basic questions about macro eating, things like weighing food, counting grams and hitting your macro targets.

ASK ADEE.

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

CHALK UP COMMUNITY

• FIRST LOOK — Tomorrow, Nike launches the limited edition Metcon 4 Invictus, which will be available for purchase on Invictus’ website in VERY VERY VERY limited quantities. We know you’re interested so we got you a sneak peek. Nike and Invictus have partnered together to release a special Invictus colorway on
  each iteration of the Metcon. 
• CONGRATULATIONS — Two former coaches at CrossFit Knoxville, just opened CrossFit Elk Valley Fayetteville, TN on Monday. 
• VOLUNTEER AT REGIONALS — We know the Open hasn’t even started yet, but if you want to volunteer at a regional event you better put your name in the hat. 

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

RockTape aired their first tv commercial during the Olympics, while everyone else is being calm before the storm…except this little guy, he is the storm. 

Something you Probably Missed — Josh Bridges started testing the Nike Metcon 4s back in March. “I got my first pair [of the new Nike Metcon 4] back in March, and I wear it for everything. And they’re still completely wearable — no tears, no holes, the heel’s not falling apart, the toe box isn’t ripping — it’s unlike any of my other shoes.”

How CrossFit Omnis Maximized Participation in the Open — “Omnis owners Shae Halbert and Brady DeClerk wanted to get maximum CrossFit Open participation among our 140+ members.  They not only challenged us to sign up, they created an intra-box competition, dividing all registered athletes up into four teams — Are You Duff Enough?, WOD Have We Done Now, Hakuna Masquata, and Got What You Nhi’d. To encourage participation and to make the competition more fun…They even awarded team points for each team member that recorded an ‘acceptance video’ for the team to which they drafted. The videos were not only funny, many of them were borderline amazing, filled with humor, singing, and yes, even a bad rap.”

…and we got a hold of one of these videos. Starting at 35 seconds things get lit ?????.

“Letter to My Younger Self” by Michael Cazayoux

Dear 19-Year-Old-Michael,

Don’t do it.

Put the pipe down. Sprint, flee, fly as far away as you possibly can.

You’ve spent the last year or your life getting sober and you’ve worked so damn hard to get there too.

Think about Mom. She saved your life man.

When you called her on your 18th birthday to tell her you were leaving rehab to get high again, you were expecting her to yell and scream. But she didn’t. She begged, teary-eyed until you agreed to return to treatment.

2/22: CrossFit Open 18.1 (Worldwide)2/23 – 3/26: Garage Games Junior Open (Worldwide)3/1: CrossFit Open 18.2 (Worldwide)

3/8: CrossFit Open 18.3 (Worldwide)

3/10: Women Who WOD (Barbados)

3/15: CrossFit Open 18.4 (Worldwide)

3/22: CrossFit Open 18.5 (Worldwide)

3/23: The Redeemed and the Dominant: Fittest on Earth is released (iTunes)

3/24: 4th Annual St. Paddy’s Day Competition (Norwood, MA)

4/7: Battle of the Badges (Anaheim, CA)

4/7: The Revolution (San Antonio, TX)

4/14: Battle for the Mountain (Dawsonville, GA)

4/14: Appalachian Games (Asheville, NC)

4/14: Deuces Wild by Warrior Affiliate League (Baldwin Park, CA)

4/14 – 4/15: Mid-Atlantic Affiliate Challenge (Columbia, MD)

4/14 – 4/15: WOD Wars Fitfest (Dunedin, FL)

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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