The Most Loved Stories of 2018

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is fueled by Kettlebell Kitchen.

Hoping to get a head start on your goals for the New Year? Sign up for a Kettlebell Kitchen meal plan between now and January 23rd and lock in savings for all of 2019. Not familiar with KBK? Learn more about how their nutrient-dense meals can help you achieve your goals here.

“Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.” — Benjamin Franklin

A Letter From Our Editor

And just like that…

2018 comes to a close. This year gave us a lot. A LOT a lot. Our team put out 265 editions of the Morning Chalk Up, many of those on the weekends and from all sorts of places in the world. We were at Regionals, we were at the Games, and we were in Dubai. We’ve hit send from inside tents on mountain ranges, on hiking trails in the woods, and from the other room during holiday dinners. We even cranked out a story during our own happy hour.

This year held a lot of firsts for Morning Chalk Up, too. We were the first to announce the changes to the CrossFit Games and we’ve covered every change since then. We launched our first show, On the Minute, with our Founder and CEO Justin LoFranco and Armen Amirian of Armen Hammer TV. We doubled our editorial team and we are lucky enough to have Tommy Marquez join us as our Sr. Games Analyst. We hosted our first event! The Morning Chalk Up Happy Hour in Madison, WI was a highlight of our week there.

We couldn’t do any of this without you guys. Seriously. Justin and I stay up all hours of the night talking about the stories you send us and the stories we think you want, and need, to hear. We work until we know we’ve got it right because in the morning we hear from all of you. And that is the part we love the most. The love mail, the hate mail, the corrections and comments, the questions and the tips, and the folks that email to tell us about something we missed. It’s what keeps us going. And we read every single email. Every one. So keep sending them.

So much has changed in CrossFit this year and that is reflected in the ten most-read stories of 2018. So while you’re getting ready to ring in a new year of all things fitness, take a minute to re-read what you loved the most on Morning Chalk Up this year.

Happy new year and thank you,

Jessica Danger

Managing Editor

Here’s What You L-O-V-E-D This Year

Here they are, folks. The ten stories you read the most this year.

10. Glassman: Dave is “the Director of the Games. Nothing’s changed.”

9. CrossFit to Allow Transgender Athletes to Compete

8. Dubai CrossFit Championship Day 1 Recap 

7. Sara Sigmundsdottir Withdraws from 2018 CrossFit Games

6. Mark Your Calendars: 2019 CrossFit Open Dates Announced 

5. Inside the #1 and #2 18.1 Scores that Were Invalidated

4. When the Government Decides How You Can Squat

3. Annie Thorisdottir Withdraws from Dubai CrossFit Championship

2. CrossFit Games Layoffs Signal Big Changes to Come

1. How Greg Glassman is Reshaping the CrossFit Games 

Coffee Break Conversations

What to do when the to-do list grows…

Make it an EMOM. The one minute rule will change your life. Here’s how it works. If you can do it in under a minute, get ‘er done. Email, housework, dishes, you name it and it can probably be done in a minute. And if not, well, you’ll still have gotten it done?

We see you’ve cleaned your closet out after Christmas…

Great! Now there’s room for the new Under Armor Tribase Reign, their first shoe in the functional fitness realm. They sent us a few pairs to try out while we were on break and we’ve loved them. And they’re quite handsome, if we say so ourself. (We say so.)

Things To…

WATCH: A Day in the Life of Noah Ohlsen

Watch games athlete Noah Ohlsen as he counts a days worth of macros to make sure he eats enough to fuel for competition prep. He sits down with some friends to share his thoughts on nutrition, eating, and he takes you on a tour of his kitchen and pantry.

MAX WEARS CHRISTMAS LIGHTS. 

HEAR: Survival and Strength

Chris Duffin, aka the “Mad Scientist of Strength,” joins the Brute Strength Podcast to discuss what he calls “survivor mentality.” This episode is all about the mindset, strength and importance of goal-setting that got him the record of being the only man to deadlift 1,000 pounds for a double.

TYING GOALS TO PRIORITIES.

EAT: Mediterranean Crostini 

If you’re going out tonight and want to bring something to the party, but you’re just a little bit sick of all the holiday food, then this is your dish. In this recipe for Mediterranean crostini, toast rounds are topped twice — first with a garlicky chickpea spread, then with an olive relish.

BUTTTTTTT NO MIDNIGHT KISSES FOR YOU. 

GET: A Free Mug and Delicious Organic Smoothies

Start your new year off right. Get $20 off and a free mug when you use code “FREEMUG20” on your new SmoothieBox subscription. With 20 grams of collagen protein, one full serving of fruits and veggies, and delivered to your door every month, you’re just setting yourself up for daily success.

AND THEY’RE DELICIOUS.

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

Chalk Up Community

• PRO-TIP: GHD — Potentially one of the most underutilized and underappreciated pieces of equipment in the CrossFit gym, the GHD is primarily used to develop the core and the posterior chain. CrossFit training illustrates how volume should be increased incrementally on the GHD and what that should look like. 
• ROW’D ROYALTY — Row’d Royalty begins January 10. There’s still time to sign-up for this open style row workout. Each week for four weeks, a rowing workout for the Concept 2 Erg will be announced. You’ll have four days to complete the workout and submit your score online with a picture of your monitor. At the end of four weeks they’ll crown the kings and queens of the rowers.
• MIKE BURGENER ENTERS HALL OF FAME — Coach Mike Burgener, the subject matter expert for CrossFit Weightlifting, was inducted into the USA Weightlifting Hall of Fame last week, an honor shared with less than 100 other individuals in history. Congratulations from all of us at Morning Chalk Up. 
• FUNDRAISER FOR A COACH — The community of Zoom Fitness in Doral, FL came together Saturday with a fundraiser WOD to help coach Jourgan Rodriguez, who suffered a stroke while coaching a class on Christmas Eve. 
• ROW FOR REVEILLE — CrossFit Hogback will participate in Row For Reveille, a 24-hour rowing event in support of the Reveille Project, an organization aimed at helping veterans transition to a positive, healthy lifestyle as a civilian through psychological, physical and spiritual support. Through sponsorships and donations, the effort seeks to raise $2,000 locally, while the main competition hopes to collect $20,000 for The Reveille Project.

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

U.S. Navy Lt. Lisa Driscoll dumbbell snatches in the hangar bay aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis in the Arabian Sea • Congratulations to Coach Josh Lehew and member Valori Schubiger of CrossFit Soda City in Columbia, SC on their engagement • Greg Glassman held another CFMDL1 at CrossFit HQ in Scotts Valley, CA and sent an open invitation to other health care workers to attend the next one • Dante Vinet gets a 225 pound clean PR • Kari Pearce gets a 400 pound deadlift PR • Paige Sousa had a double PR day with a 165 pound snatch PR and then a 225 pound clean and jerk PR • Tia-Clair Toomey had a “mini double-under off” with husband and coach, Shane Orr • Ben Smith and his wife are pregnant.

…and here’s a surefire way to tell who Coach loves the most at your gym. 

Reykjavik CrossFit Championship Details Trickle Out — The Reykjavik CrossFit Championship, which will be held in Iceland´s national sports arena from May 3rd to May 5th, went live on their Instagram feed last week. As an official sanctioned CrossFit Games event, the first place winners will secure an invitation to the CrossFit Games. The online qualifiers will take place from February 8th to February 17th. 

CrossFit Italian Showdown Qual Kicks Off in 13 Days — There are 1,500 total spots up for grabs that athletes can earn in one of two ways: they can show up to one of five live qualification events taking place throughout Italy, or they can compete in an online qualifier in Febraury. For both the live and online qualifiers, athletes will complete the same 7-minute workout.

— Pay Attention: A qualification spot only earns an athlete a place in the first day of the CrossFit Italian Showdown in Milan, during which they will complete three additional scored workouts. The field of 1,500 will be cut down to the top 280 athletes for the rest of the competition. 

— Already Qualified: Flashback to early November when 211 former Games, Regionals and Age Group Qualifier athletes accepted invitations to bypass the qualifier and head to Milan. On the list: Alessandra Pichelli, Scott Panchik, Roman Khrennikov, Eik Gylfadottir, Stephanie Chung, Thuri Helgadottir and Nick Paladino.

Strength In Depth Invites Sent Out — Over the week, Strength in Depth confirmed several invited athletes to their official roster. Elliot Simmonds, Emma McQuaid, Willy Georges, and Thuri Helgadottir join the roster for this sanctioned event set to take place February 23 – 24th, 2019 in London.

Rogue Legends Roster Filling Up…Julie Foucher, Matt Chan, Scott Panchik, and Josh Everett are all confirmed for the Rogue Invitational Legends. 

“Where We are Failing in Physical Preparation,” by Jason Cooper, Box Pro

General physical preparedness is a frequently used phrase among the Affiliate community. But what it is it exactly? Generally speaking it is the fitness capacity and ability of an individual to overcome daily challenges of survival, both great and small. An overview of history has proven this has served mankind well in the fight against each other and the fight against disease.

An assessment of modern day is proving our society as a whole is greatly lacking. How does this affect our future as a species and as a society? And what does it mean for the generations to come?

Searching through the interwebs, I found many sites outlining Spartan culture the same. Spartan boys were removed from their homes at the age of seven to train in an educational setting known as the agoge. Literally defined as “the rearing.” While this training was exclusively for boys, I did find several sources indicating that spartan women maintained elite health and fitness, mostly so their future offspring would be strong.

Spartan society, one that predates all modern medicine, epigenetic testing and genetic consideration, understood the value of physical fitness, community and the survival of the tribe.

The North American Apache warriors are known as some of the fittest and most cunning guerrilla war fighters in all of written history. Much like the Spartans, the Apache boys began training for war at an early age. Their way of life consisted of lifting stones and heavy objects, wrestling and running ultra distances.

Both male and female Apache regularly ran distances in excess of 50 miles, as running was their primary form of transportation. Just like the Spartans, Apache women were not directly involved in training for war, but their culture and way of life ensured their future offspring were strong and fit from birth.

1/5: Barbell Classic 2019 (Plymouth, MI)

1/5 – 1/5: KO in the OK (Tulsa, OK)

1/10 – 2/4: Row’d Royalty (Online)

1/10 – 1/13: Feats of Strength Online Meet (Online)

1/11 – 1/13: CrossFit Fort Vancouver Championships (Vancouver, WA)

1/12: Granite Games Throwdown at New Ulm CrossFit (New Ulm, MN)

1/12: The BrickYard Brawl (South Windsor, CT)

1/12: Hometown Throwdown 4 at CrossFit 534 (Poplarville, MS)

1/12: Granite Games Winter Throwdown (Waite Park, MN)

1/12: Granite Games Throwdown (Snyder, TX) 

1/12 – 1/13: Scaled Flames (Amsterdam)

1/12 – 1/13: Row for Reveille at CrossFit Kitsap (Poulsbo, OR)

1/17 – 1/20: Wodapalooza (Miami, FL)

1/19: New Year New Throwdown Event (El Mirage, AZ)

1/19: Battle For The Axe (Baxter, MN)

1/19: Warrior Affiliate League Fantastic Four (La Puente, CA)

1/19: Battle for the Axe (Baxter, MN)

1/19: Great Lakes Games 2018 (Detroit, MI)

1/19 – 1/20: Chiang Mai Throwdown (Chiang Mai, Thailand)

1/26: The Force Wars 2 (Pembroke Pines, FL)

1/26: Lost River Rumble (Bowling Green, KY)

1/26: The Blizzard Bowl (Little Canada, MN)

1/26: 2019 IceBreather Classic (Springfield, IL)

1/26: ATCF Cancer Crackdown: Revival of The Fittest (Pasco, WA)

1/26: Hung Like Coff at PFC CrossFit (Las Vegas, NV)

1/26: Steel Rail Shootout 2019 (McComb, MS)

1/26: Woid Beast Fitness Challenge (Cham, Germany)

1/26: Brick NY Midtown Throwdown (New York, NY)

1/26: Fifth Annual Cold Steel Classic (Oswego, IL) 

1/26: New Year’s Revolution (Seminole, FL)

1/26: Three Rivers Throwdown (Rome, GA)

1/26 – 1/27: Game Day Eau Claire (Eau Claire, WI)

1/26 – 1/27: NorCal Masters (San Rafael, CA)

1/27: Big Dawgs Athlete Development Camp (Letchworth, England)

1/29 – 2/2: Fittest in Cape Town (Cape Town, South Africa)

2/1 – 2/2: Battle of the Brave III (North Kansas City, MO)

2/2: Left Coast Classic Competition (Laguna Niguel, CA)

2/2: Golden State Games (Stockton, CA)

2/9: Valentine’s Day Crush (North Hollywood, CA)

2/9: The Garage Games Master of the Masters (Suwanee, GA)

2/16: Valentine’s Day Massacre (Kilgore, TX)