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Happy Friday! Today’s Morning Chalk Up is powered by RockTape, helping athletes of every level go stronger for longer with the best kinesiology tape, cutting-edge education, and fitness support products.
Today’s edition was chalked up while booking our flight to Madison, WI. See you at the CrossFit Games y’all.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can sure make something out of you.” — Muhammad Ali
17.5 RECAP
WHAT’S THE WOD?
It’s a good thing you read the Morning Chalk Up because you already know from history that the final WOD of every single CrossFit Open has had thrusters and been a couplet. This year is no different.
17.5 is 10 rounds for time of 9 thrusters, 35 double-unders. Here are all the details and the scorecard.
FUN FACT: This is the most thrusters ever prescribed in an Open workout. We say prescribed because in previous years like 2013, an athlete can continue as long as they finish within the time domain, potentially completing more than 90 reps.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Both athletes finished under 7 minutes, so you should honestly just go watch it because it’s really that exciting.
But if you just can’t sneak away, Katrin and Sara were going rep for rep until Sara’s 5th round stumble on the double-unders. Sara worked her way back to even and overtook Katrin in round 10 only to mess up on her double-unders a half dozen times to lose by just a few seconds.
WHAT ABOUT RO?
We’ve been pulling so hard for Rory McKernan this year, but sadly Adrian Bozman took 17.5, closing out this year 4 – 1. Ro and Boz made a pact that whoever lost the series got their head shaved. At the FitAid after party last night, Rory got up on stage and honored his pact and cut off that beautiful head of hair.
CHALK UP IN 2 MINUTES
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU HIT THE BOX
After Travis Mayer was assessed a penalty on 17.4, Mathew Fraser was announced the official winner of Event 4. FloeElite spent 17.4 with Alexis Johnson and Travis Mayer down in Houston. Madison, WI expects roughly 10,000 people to attend the CrossFit Games this summer with an economic impact of $7.2 million. Rich Froning is going to be hanging out in Fresno, CA this weekend at La Gran Fiesta, a Christian Spanish language event for the Latino community.
THINGS TO…
WATCH: Inside the Overall Open Leaderboard
As of last night, only eight points separated first and fourth places on the women’s side. Tommy Marquez dives into the the top athletes overall and who still has a chance to win the 2016 CrossFit Games Open.
NOT ME.
NOT ME.
HEAR: Why Are You Doing What You’re Doing?
Cole Sager joins Ben Bergeron’s Chasing Excellence podcast to talk about what happens when adversity strikes, when you’re backed up into a corner with nowhere to go and your dreams are fading away. Doesn’t matter if you’re a Games athlete or not, we’re all pursuing a dream and tough times will come.
EAT: Avocado Lime Smoothie
Really? We haven’t tried it yet but with a name like that, there are already questions swirling around in our head. But one thing we’ve learned is that food sometimes has wonderful surprises so if you’re feeling adventurous and the weather is warm out, try this one on Saturday.
AVOCADOOOOO.
AVOCADOOOOO.
KNOW: How to Tape Up for 17.5
Welcome to the final workout of the 2017 CrossFit Games Open. With 90 thrusters and 350 double-unders it’s going to take everything you’ve got. RockTape has you covered with three taping techniques to make sure you’re as pain-free and ready to go through all 10 rounds.
TIME TO TAPE UP.
CHALK UP AFFILIATES
For your next fun challenge at the box — Bring Sally Up but with strict pull-ups.
Husband and wife co-owners of CrossFit Lake Placid stumbled upon the city by accident, fell in love with it and decided to move there and open a box.
CHALK UP READS
“How Exercise Shapes You, Far Beyond the Gym” by New York Magazine
When I first started training for marathons a little over ten years ago, my coach told me something I’ve never forgotten: that I would need to learn how to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. I didn’t know it at the time, but that skill, cultivated through running, would help me as much, if not more, off the road as it would on it.
It’s not just me, and it’s not just running. Ask anyone whose day regularly includes a hard bike ride, sprints in the pool, a complex problem on the climbing wall, or a progressive powerlifting circuit, and they’ll likely tell you the same: A difficult conversation just doesn’t seem so difficult anymore. A tight deadline not so intimidating. Relationship problems not so problematic.
Maybe it’s that if you’re regularly working out, you’re simply too tired to care. But that’s probably not the case. Research shows that, if anything, physical activity boosts short-term brain function and heightens awareness. And even on days they don’t train — which rules out fatigue as a factor — those who habitually push their bodies tend to confront daily stressors with a stoic demeanor.
“Sleep, the Secret Weapon to Your Fitness” by Jesse Friedl, Morning Chalk Up
Have you ever thought of sleep as a secret weapon? Usually we just think that training longer or harder or fine tuning weaknesses will be the key to success. But sleep? Few can deny that sleep is a necessary part of maintaining optimal health. But especially for athletes, sleep proves to be a crucial element of success.
The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) even goes as far as to classify insufficient sleep as a public health problem, as “an estimated 50-70 million US adults have sleep or wakefulness disorder.”
Research shows that sleep (or lack thereof), especially for athletes, plays a vital role in overall physical and psychological functioning, specifically “reaction times and motor function, motivation, focus, stress regulation, muscle recovery, sprint performance, muscle glycogen, glucose metabolism, memory and learning, injury risk, illness rates, unwanted weight gain” (Fatigue Science). Not to mention overall performance – wins, losses.