Tia-Clair Toomey Moves to Mayhem

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is fueled by O2 natural recovery drink, a product developed by a CrossFit trainer focused on delivering a world-class wholesale program for affiliate owners wanting a non-carbonated recovery drink for their members.

Affiliates, pick-up some free samples, no strings attached. In the words of CrossFit 43123, “We are selling it like crazy! Margins are good, customer service is great, ordering is easy, delivery is fast, and product is worth selling.”

“You should never be comfortable. Once you’re comfortable you stop improving and become complacent. If you’re always uncomfortable you’re always getting better.” — Matt Vincent

Tia-Clair Toomey Moves to Cookeville

Say what?

Tis true folks. The 2x Fittest Woman on Earth is trading in Australia’s East Coast for Cookeville, TN, the hometown of Rich Froning and CrossFit Mayhem. Toomey confirmed the news to BoxRox after weeks of rumors.

Why now?

“Tia and I have had the pleasure of visiting Cookeville a few times now and each time we leave with saying that it reminds us of home.,” Shane Orr told BoxRox. “The people are supportive and very friendly, world class facilities and for the most part the weather is extraordinary.”

They said they’re committing to staying for 12 months before making any decisions.

But what about the changes to the Games season?

Tia, who was the third fittest in Australia in the 2018 CrossFit Open behind Kara Saunders and Jessica Coughlan, would have been 8th in the United States. While not all details are ironed out, Toomey will likely have to contend against even more top U.S. competitors to qualify for the 2019 CrossFit Games out of the Open. However, she will be much closer to any North American and European sanctioned events.

“The new system is something that I am excited for.,” Toomey said. “We still don’t know a lot of the sanctioned events however moving forward I am just focusing on what I can control and that is to get fitter and stronger.”

ATHLETE FEATURE

“So I went Demo Team” by Jason Carroll

So I was on the demo team.

People, athletes especially, need to stop thinking that the demo team is only for a bunch of back benchers who just aren’t good enough. I don’t think I’d consider athletes like Graham Holmberg, Neal Maddox, Cassidy Mcwherter, Christy Adkins, Matt Chan, Jennifer Smith, or Austin Malleolo back benchers.

I bet you didn’t know that demo team athletes have a combined 56 individual Games appearances. Neither did I until I joined. But first we need to rewind back to the end of May at the West Regionals in Del Mar, CA.

It was literally Monday, the day after I failed to qualify for my second CrossFit Games that I got an email from Dave Castro asking if I wanted to come test some of the Games workouts.

I was local to the area, only about an hour and twenty minute drive, and it seemed like a good opportunity to continue my training for the tests that I’d face next year. So I said “let’s do it”, and a week later I headed down to his secret facility to train.

Continue reading…

Coffee Break Conversations

What to say the next time someone makes yet another comment that Brooke Ence must be on steroids…

Or maybe it’s just CrossFit? Adrian Conway argues that anyone making blanket statements about steroid use in CrossFit has not met a CrossFit athlete in person. CrossFit, he argues, is still a young sport, but the fact is that it works. Most of these physiques are built in the gym, not the pharmacy. And CrossFit is well on it’s way to maintaining the same stringent clean sport policy as the Olympics.

Things To…

WATCH: Willful Behavior With a Deadly Outcome

CrossFit founder Greg Glassman addressed a room full of doctors in a Level 1 Certification Course on what he calls willfull behavior. “(The problem is) excessive refined carbohydrate and not enough quality movement in your life.” 

PREACH IT COACH.

HEAR: Morning Chalk Up on Girls Gone WOD

Justin LoFranco, the founder of Morning Chalk Up, joins Joy and Claire on the Girls Gone WOD podcast to discuss some of the big changes coming to CrossFit and how he snagged that exclusive interview with CrossFit’s founder Greg Glassman.

HE’S A CHAMP.

EAT: Creamy Sweet Corn Chowder 

This easy vegan-friendly corn chowder recipe is so delicious, thick and creamy but without the cream. The secret is blending half of the soup. Perfect for using summer sweet corn and keeping your macros in line at the same time.

SOUP FOR YOU. 

SAY: That You <3 “Love” the Morning Chalk Up

Only if it’s true, but we sure hope it is. CrossFit wants to know your favorite news source to get CrossFit news from.  We hope it’s us and if it is, let them know.

SHOW US SOME LOVE.

BUY: Iron Bell for Men 

Belle & Bell have just released a brand new men’s line. Perfect for in and out of the gym with all the designs and snarky sayings the women have loved for years. 

DOG DADS FOR THE WIN.

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

Chalk Up Community

• NEW BOX IN CANADA — Liz White has officially opened the doors of Bow Valley CrossFit in Banff, Alberta. “I’m a big believer that you use the fitness you gain in the gym to go outside and enjoy where we are,” White said.
• MOVING ON UP — Clipper City CrossFit in Baltimore, MD moved from their old location to a brand new, bigger location. And with the help of their members, they did it in one day. 
• LOVE AND DEDICATION — Thirty-three-year-old George Gordon suffered a series of strokes last July while working out in the gym. After five weeks in the ICU, he’s been fighting his way back, and his fiancé has documented the whole thing. 
• AN ACCIDENT AT THE GYM — Daryl Kelly, owner of Ideal Crossfit in Broken Arrow, OK had an accident while repairing the roof of his gym on Sept 12th. Members of his box have started a Go Fund Me to help him and his family. 

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

James Townsend is opening his own gym called The Brave One Gym in Clive, ID • Craig Kenney joins the athlete roster for WOD on the Waves •
Chase Long gets a 570 pound deadlift PR • Barbell Apparel announces their new monthly subscription box • Rich Froning goes head-to-head with this little boy in a burpee brawl. 

Continuing Through the Weekend, American Open Series 3 — The 2018 Nike American Open Series 3 has landed in Viva Las Vegas today. This is the first U.S. national weightlifting event since the International Weightlifting Federation announced the new weight classes in early July.

Thursday Round-up: With the livestream acting up and the results not posted to USAW’s website, these are the only details we could glean from yesterday’s sessions. 

— Brey Kobashigawa took Gold Thursday in the open division of the 55kg category with his frst clean and jerk attempt of 130 kg/287 pounds. FUN FACT: He was also the 2017 AO champ. 

— Cortney Batchelor took Gold Thursday in the 49 kg category with a 101 kg/222 pound and Gold in total with 178 kg/392 pounds.

Lifting Today: 

— 10:25 AM: Caitlin Hogan. Watch Live.

—  5:40 PM: Maddy Espinoza. Watch Live.

— 8:05 PM: Camille Leblanc-Bazinet, Jessica Lucero, Sarabeth McLendon. Watch Live. 

…up next:

— Saturday at 8:00 AM: Nick Paquin. Watch Live.

— Saturday at 10:25 AM: Colton Barnes. Watch Live.

— Sunday at 10:25 AM: Mattie Rogers, Quiana Welch, Crystal Plouffe, James Townsend. Watch Live.

— Sunday at 12:50 PM: Taylar Stallings. Watch Live.

— Sunday at 3:15 PM: Sarah Robles. Watch Live.

— Sunday at 5:40 PM: Dylan Cooper, Cesar Flores, Jason Starts. Watch Live. 

SPOTLIGHT: From Olympic Gymnastics Medalist to Olympic Weightlifter — Mohini Bhardwaj de Freitas is about to lift in her second Olympic Weightliting meet of her life. After winning silver and bronze medals at the Olympics, the 39-year-old thought her competitive days were behind her.

Her husband is 1996 Barbados Olympic gymnast Shane de Freitas. Bhardwaj de Freitas qualified for the American Open in August at the PFB Weightlifting Summer Open in Oregon, posting lifts of 52 kg. in snatch and 66 kg. in clean and jerk. She lifted yesterday in the 45 kg weight class. 

“Ten Tips For Better Sleep,” Examine.com

Sleep is important. It allows your body to recover, but also to perform vital metabolic processes, such as the cleanup of toxic proteins in the brain, a mouse study showed. And of course, during REM sleep, your “sleeping” brain is very busy consolidating short-term memories into long-term memories.

Unsurprisingly, lack of sleep has been associated with a multitude of health issues. It has been shown to increase inflammation and impair focus, fat loss,insulin signaling,testosterone production, and cardiovascular health.

Getting enough sleep, enough quality sleep, isn’t only a health necessity, either; it can also help you perform better mentally,physically,and sexually, and it can certainly make you a lot happier! So let’s review some of the sleep-improvement methods available to you.

There are five factors that can impair your sleep: llight, noise, heat, alcohol, and caffeine.

There are also five factors that can benefit it: exercise, a routine, melatonin, magnesium, and lavender.

9/15: Box Bash 2018 (Broomfield, CO)

9/15: Warrior Affiliate League Three Amigos (Pomona, CA)

9/15: No Mans Land 4 (Painesville, OH)

9/15: Average Joes (Troy, MI) 

9/15: Stateline Throwdown 2018 (McHenry, IL)

9/15: Project Uplift (Fort Collins, CO)

9/15: Barbells for Bullies (Lexington, SC)

9/15: Barbell Brawl IV (Kennett Square, PA)

9/15: Double Date Got Twisted (Bowling Green, KY)

9/15: Doomsday CrossFit Team Competition (Beachwood, OH)

9/15: Unravel Pediatric Cancer WOD/Fundraiser (Gilroy, CA)

9/16: 2018 Battle at the Rock (Castle Rock, CO)

​9/16: 5th Annual North East Masters Classic (Plainville, MA)

9/16: The Brazen Cup 2018 (Fairfield, NJ) 

9/22: Shatter the Stigma III (Boyertown, PA)

9/22: New Kids on the 321 Block 2018 (Topsham, ME)

9/22: Femme Royale at Eagle Wing CrossFit (Orange, CA)9/22: 2nd Annual CrossFit TUFF Charity Row-A-Thon (Nashua, NH) 

9/22: Girls Gone RX Denver (Denver, CO) 

9/22: Legends of the WOD (Grapevine, TX)

9/22: Beers and Burpees (Charlotte, NC)

9/22: Burpees 4 Autism at Lucky’s (Roswell, GA)

9/22: Lt. Nathan Flynn Memorial WOD (Columbia, MD) 

9/22: Fall Jam (Columbus, OH)

9/23 – 9/23: Field of Teams (Cedar Falls, IA)

9/22 – 9/23:The D-Town Throwdown (Decatur, Illinois)

9/22 – 9/23: The Cascade Classic (Seattle, WA)

9/22 – 9/23: Heartland Havoc 3 (Davenport, IA) 

9/23: Games of the Ages Masters Team Competition (Hanson, MA)

9/23: Cadre Crucible Team Competition (Hudson, OH)

9/23: Detroit Red Wings WOD (Detroit, MI) 

9/23: IronWorkz Gauntlet (Medina, OH)

9/24: CrossFit New England 3rd Annual Fundraising Golf Tournament (Hudson, MA)

9/28 – 9/29: Pensacola Beach Brawl (Pensacola Beach, FL)9/28 – 9/29: The Primal Games (Savannah, GA)

9/29: Kilo Crush Fest (Hampton, VA) 

9/29: Barcode Team Competition (Leander, TX)

9/29: Long Island Masters Team Competition (Hauppauge, NY)

9/29: Fallout Powered by Battleground Events (Long Beach, CA)

9/29: Battle for Boise (Meridian, ID)

9/29: 5th Annual WOD for a Cause (Murrietta, CA) 

9/29: K-9 Pursuit (Bristol, CT)

9/29: Swolemates (Cincinnati, OH)

​9/29: CrossFit Be Someone Charity WODathon (Houston, TX) 

9/29: Garage Girls (Pousbo, WA) 

9/29: Adoption Fundraiser WOD (Millcreek, UT)

9/29: Warrior Slam at CrossFit Waldwick (Waldwick, NJ)

9/29: Fall Face Off 2018 (Albany, NY)

9/29: CrossFit Knightsdale Autism Awareness (Knightdale, NC) 

9/29: Push Pull for Pancreatic Cancer @ CrossFit Petram (Middletown, DE)9/29: Push Pull for Pancreatic Cancer @ CrossFit 88 (Park Ridge, IL)

10/5: The Hopper (Asheville, NC)

10/6: Beer City Beatdown (Asheville, NC) 

10/6: Gallant Gauntlet 2 (Bedford, TX)

10/6: WOD for Water Troy (Troy, AL)

10/6: Cactus Games (Phoenix, AZ)

10/6: Pound-4-Pound Competition (Denver, CO)

10/6: Invictus Boston Barbells for Boobs (Boston, MA)

10/6: Girls Gone RX @ Old Line Crossfit (Millersville, MD)

10/6: The Battle To Benefit Badge (Utica NY)

10/6: Iron Eagle Challenge (Cookeville, TN)

10/6: The Grit Games (Jacksonville, FL)

10/6: Fit For Freedom (St. Peters, MO)

10/6: Fitness Freedom Project Jay WOD (San Marcos, CA)

10/6: OUTWOD (Philadelphia, PA) 

10/6 – 10/7: The Iron Clash (Fayetteville, NC)

10/6- 10/7: 307 Throwdown (Casper, WY)

10/12: 10/14: Faith RX’d (Denver, CO) 

10/13: Barbells For Boobs 2018 (Sutton, MA) 

10/13: WOD for a Cause (Bloomsburg, PA) 

​10/13: C4 CrossFit Co-Ed Classic (Brunswick, NJ)

10/13: 2018 War in the Woods (Norton, MA)

10/13: The Festivus Games (Online)

10/13: Grand Games 2018 (Westfield, IN) 

10/13: Push Pull for Pancreatic Cancer @ Red Island CrossFit (Smithfield, RI)

10/13: Barbells for Boobs (Steamboat Springs, CO)

10/20: BCS Classic 2018 (Bryan, TX)

10/20 – 10/21: The Independence Games (Florence, SC)