The History of CrossFit and Concept2 -RX

February 8   |   POWERED BY

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up premium subscriber edition.

In today’s edition:

• Brent Fikowski and the PFAA are optimistic about the 2022 season
• What is the history of the Concept2 when it comes to CrossFit?
• Which 2021 rookies are going to soar this year?

“For the great doesn’t happen through impulse alone, and is a succession of little things that are brought together.” - Vincent van Gogh

Brent Fikowski and PFAA Optimistic About 2022 Season

Earlier this week, Professional Fitness Athlete’s Association Executive Committee member Brent Fikowski, the “Third Fittest Man on Earth”, appeared on the Clydesdale Fitness and Friends podcast. Fikowski recounted how the PFAA’s work had influenced competition organizers and the CrossFit Games.

One big thing: Fikowski offered evidence of the PFAA’s influence based on a study he and the organization did which saw Wodapalooza change their equipment as a result.

Fikowski: “I collected a bunch of data on the heights of athletes and their preferred heights for rings and pull-up bars, compiled that data and provided that data to Wodapaloooza and they changed their rings and pull-up bar heights from [2020]. And after the competition, I reached out to some of the taller athletes and some of the shorter athletes that were there. I’m going to compile that information and then reach out to all the Semifinals I can get a hold of because I don’t think that is a part of the sport that should be unknown.”

A few more key takeaways:

• The PFAA’s influence: “We’ve been kind of quiet about it, but we have been doing work, it’s not a secret society, but I also don’t want it to become like a political organization either,” Fikowski said. “I don’t really feel comfortable speaking for a group of athletes because I don’t know how they feel. It’s not my place, nor is it ever going to be my place to do that.”

• Communication Improvement: “In general, the communication has improved a lot, we started it in May, June of 2020, it’s tough. But it takes time, there’s these habits and there’s these methods about how things have been… if we look back at two years ago there was zero communication between competitions and athletes…. I’d been doing it for eight years at that point and had never been asked for any feedback, nor did I know any athlete who had been asked feedback.”

• Fear Factor: Fikowski explained why athletes may not have spoken up in the past. “There was a fear that if you spoke out against something that you didn’t there would be negative repercussions for your career…” But, he suggested that based on the changing relationship between athletes and competition organizers he feels “a lot safer to even mention that on a podcast.”

The bottom line: Despite operating somewhat in the background of the CrossFit competition, it appears the PFAA is making some important inroads with competition organizers, and it seems as though, given Fikowski’s comment on the Clydesdale, Fitness and Friends podcast, that this is just the beginning.

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…16 days until the 2022 CrossFit Open kicks off. Register today.

• Want to see where you stack up against our Morning Chalk Up peeps when it comes to the 2022 CrossFit Open? You can join our leaderboard and also compete for prizes each week. 💪

U.S. Army Warrior Fitness has released its third tryout workout and it is heavy on the double unders. Any active member of the U.S. Army can try out for the team. Tryouts end on February 12.

• AMRAP 20
  100 double unders
  80 DB snatches
  100 double unders
  60 toes to bar
  100 double unders
  40 DB squats
  100 double unders
  20 strict handstand push-ups

Haley Adams talks about how she handles her off-season workouts as she gets ready for the 2022 season in a new video from WHOOP. Some interesting tidbits here from the young phenom who already acts like a veteran.

NOBULL has a running shoe on the way (Feb. 11), but the verdict is still out if these are “cool” or not? 🤔

How has Concept2 Stayed Relevant in CrossFit so Long?

In 2007, while at a fitness trade show in California, a guy limped up to a Concept2 employee and said, “Hey, I love your machine. I use it all the time. You probably haven’t heard of me before, but you will later.”

“And then he limped off,” said Greg Hammond, long-time Concept 2 marketing team member.

The guy was, of course, CrossFit founder Greg Glassman, and the short interaction at the trade show was the start of a 15-year relationship between CrossFit and Concept2, a company known primarily for their rowing machines.

When you look at the history of brands that have come and gone in the CrossFit community since its inception—from shoes to jump ropes—these 15 years shouldn’t be taken lightly. And when you consider that Rogue Fitness, a company that makes pretty much every piece of equipment a CrossFit athlete could need, hasn’t even tried to compete with Concept2—in fact, the Concept2 rowing machines are part of their inventory—it’s safe to say there’s something special about the timeless machine.

2021 Rookies: Who Will Slump and Who will Soar in 2022

The return of the CrossFit Games to a full in-person competition in 2021 meant a select group of rookies who made it through the final cuts had an opportunity to announce their arrival to the upper echelons of the sport on the biggest stage.

It also afforded them new opportunities, and with more of a true “off-season,” that includes chances to earn more experience and income at big ticket events like the Rogue Invitational, Dubai CrossFit Championship, and Wodapalooza without necessarily disrupting plans for the season.

• With deeper competitive fields, these events also give insight into the developmental process of athletes who don’t yet have the extensive “game tape,” that some of the established vets possess, so with that in mind we’ve taken a critical look at how the batch of 2021 rookies have fared heading into 2022.

...WATCH

A Defense of High-Rep Olympic Lifts

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Your Toes-To-Bar

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A Better Way To Do Banded Pull-Ups

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• 🎂 Happy birthday Cassidy Lance-McWherter and Scot Peterson.
• 🥏 Congratulations to Morning Chalk Up writer and analyst, Brian Friend on his first disc golf ace (hole-in-one) this weekend.
• Congratulations Ray Neylon from CrossFit Park Ridge in Chicago, IL on adding 15 pounds to your power clean PR at 290 pounds/131.5kg.
• Congratulations Nader Issa from Kawi CrossFit in Austin, TX on your 300 pound/136kg hang clean PR.
• 19-year-old Canadian, Jack Farlow hit a 375 pound/175kg clean and jerk PR.
• Anikha Greer puts 245 pounds/111kg overhead in a push jerk.
• 👀 Utsab Karki from CrossFit Hyperion in Pleasant Grove, UT has made a goal of doing at least 200 burpees every day since December 19. Most recently, Utsab completed 1000 reps in 83 minutes and 13 seconds.

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