Today’s the last day to buy Morning Chalk Up merch

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is powered by Rx Smart Gear.

Winner of the 2018 Good Design Award in the Sport and Active Lifestyle category, the Rx Smart Gear Rapid Fit jump rope solves the age-old problem of finding the correct jump rope size. With the push of a button the Rapid Fit can adjust to fit any heights from 5 feet to 6 feet tall, with longer and short options too. No guesswork. No excuses. Problem solved! Pick-up the Rapid Fit jump rope for 10% off with code “MORNINGCHALKUP.”

“Once you accept that no one owes you a thing, you begin to hold more value in those who go out of their way for you. You are not entitled to a helping hand, a bring in, or a seat being offered to you. Anything positive you receive from someone is a gift that must be appreciated.” — Meggan Roxanne

So What are Electrolytes, Anyway?

Sweating it out.

Let’s face it, this summer has been hot AF and sometimes the sweat puddle got a little much. And since we were kids running around on the soccer field, we’ve been told to replenish those chemistry-sounding things after a tough workout. Which got us thinking…

What are electrolytes, anyway?

The short answer. Electrolytes are chemicals (sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium to name a few) that conduct electricity when mixed with water.

And why do our bodies need them?

Electrolytes control nerve impulses that keep your body functioning properly — think breathing, heart beating, and brain functioning. They regulate nerve and muscle function, hydrate the body, balance blood pressure, and rebuild damaged tissue.

So yeah, super important. This is why it’s crucial to replenish them after a serious sweat sesh. And if you want to geek out a little more, here’s a two minute video explaining it all.

How do we lose them?

During a WOD, electrolytes get deposited into sweat glands. Water follows the electrolytes and as the glands fill up, sweat is released. The water evaporates, which helps cool you down, and the remaining salt is left on the skin. Yay, science!

The takeaway?

Replenishing these electrolytes is important, but here’s the thing: unless you’re a pro athlete or an endurance athlete, chugging a Gatorade really isn’t necessary (especially when you consider all that added sugar).

You can replenish plenty of electrolytes by eating fruits and veggies and staying hydrated with good old fashioned H20.

Coffee Break Conversations

What to tell your kids the next time they complain about the apple in their lunch…

Fine, next time pick ’em yourself. Turns out, there’s a science to picking the best apples says Nick Moless, senior produce buyer at Whole Foods Market. If you’re looking for an apple to snack on, Moless recommends opting for a Fuji, Honeycrisp, or Granny Smith, because they’re harder varieties that maintain their crunch for longer. Softer varieties, like Red or Golden Delicious, don’t stay crunchy for long. Those are the ones Jr. probably tosses every day. 

Things To…

WATCH: CompTrain’s New Benchmark

CompTrain has released a new benchmark workout, just in time for the weekend. Called Lucky Sevens, it’s a doozy of a couplet with bar muscle-ups and squat clean thrusters. Watch Brooke, Ehea, Katrin and the other CompTrain ladies take this one on.

SO SPICY.

HEAR: Morning Chalk Up on Feed Me, Fuel Me

Founder and CEO of the Morning Chalk Up, Justin LoFranco, sits down with Jeff Thornton and Mycal Anderz on the Feed Me, Fuel Me podcast to discuss what it took to get Morning Chalk Up off the ground, how he’s kept it growing, and what he’s got planned for the future.

OUR FEARLESS LEADER. 

EAT: Paleo Pizza Crust 

It’s Friday night and pizza is on the agenda. Start your weekend off right with this paleo pizza crust that tastes just like the real thing, but is made without gluten, grains, or dairy. It’s the perfect primal canvas for all your favorite toppings.

HAVE AT IT. 

KNOW: How to Compete as an Olympic Weightlifter

New to Weightlifting? Want to try it out after watching all those badasses throwdown at the American Open? USA Weightlifting has a “How to Compete Guide” available to answer all your questions. 

SEE YOU ON STAGE.

BUY: Last Day for Morning Chalk Up Tanks and Shirts

Today is the last day to pre-order the limited edition Morning Chalk Up shirt and muscle tank. You’re gonna’ want one, you know it. Use code “CHALKUP10” to snag 10% off.

JUST DO IT NOW. 

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

Chalk Up Community

• STEADYMD FAMILY PLAN — SteadyMD has announced the SteadyMD’s Family Plan, medical coverage for the whole family for our introductory rate of $169 per month. Access to your own personal doctor online, with unlimited call, text and video chat. 
• CROSSFITTERS CLEAN UP — At Evolution Athletics East, CrossFitters came out to help clean up after Florence. “We just opened in 2016,” said Izdihar Eaton, the gym’s co-owner. “We’re not technically in a floodplain, so we never thought this could happen. But we’ve all come together to recover and rebuild.”
• CROSSFIT AND CANCER — Are you a young person who has or has had cancer? CLIC Sargent, the UK’s leading cancer charity for children, young people and their families, is holding an Ask the Expert session next Wednesday on their Facebook group for young people where social worker and CrossFit coach Simon Darby will answer all your fitness related questions. 

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

Happy tenth birthday Olivia • Meeshell Duke gets her first muscle-up • NOOMA’s organic electrolyte drink is on sale two for $4 at Whole
Foods until October first • Adaptive athlete Antonia, who has Cerebral Palsy, took her first unassisted steps since the age of five • Zion Clark, a collegiate wrestler born without legs, does box jumps • Happy one year CrossFit anniversary to 82-year-old tire-flipping Richard • Congratulations to Stephen Mclellan on getting his first set of double-unders • Well done Năstase Daniel-Ioan on his 140 pound CrossFit transformation. 

…and the next time you think an injury means time off in the gym, think again. 

2018 CrossFit Team Series — Is officially underway. It’s not too late to sign-up, either. You can register for the Team Series until Monday at 6:00 PM PT. The first four events were announced Wednesday night, and they are: 

— Event 1: 7 Min AMRAP of synchro bar-facing burpees.

— Event 2: 7 Min AMRAP of synchro squat cleans ascending weights. 

— Event 3: 21-15-9 Synchro pull-ups and synchro deadlifts (225/155).

— Event 4: 5 Rounds for time of 50 Double-unders and 50 foot synchro single arm dumbbell overhead lunges.

“Human Power Output and CrossFit Metcon Work,” by Tony Leland, CrossFit Journal.

I have had many conversations with CrossFitters, and others, about the efficacy of CrossFit programming. As somebody who teaches about physical conditioning at the university level, I am interested in the unorthodox nature of CrossFit and the results it achieves. While the majority of trainers and athletes easily understand many aspects of CrossFit programming, there is a certain mystique (the infamous “black box”) regarding the metcon (metabolic conditioning) workouts.

We all know that a “Deadlift 1-1-1-1-1-1-1” WOD is a strength workout and that “Run 10K” (everybody’s favorite!) is an aerobic workout. However, one of my favorite quotes from the CrossFit philosophy is Greg Glassman’s injunction to “strive to blur distinctions between ‘cardio’ and strength training. Nature has no regard for this distinction.”

But how does CrossFit blur this distinction given that strength/power training and cardiovascular training are at different ends of the power spectrum? More simply put, when you do “Grace” or “Fran” or “Angie” or even “Linda,” what kind of training are you doing? Is it power, strength, or cardio? Can they be combined? To what extent do they overlap? Obviously, they in fact do, and this is one of CrossFit’s huge contributions to fitness, but it flies in the face of much of the accepted knowledge in exercise science. How does it work? What are the mechanisms? These are complex questions and the answers depend on many factors.

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)

9/22: 2018 GR Games (Grand Rapids, MI)

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)

9/29: 2018 515 Wingman Challenge (Grimes, IA)

10/3: Wodapalooza Qualifier (Online) 

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: Garden State Open 2018 (Berkeley Heights, NJ)

10/6: T-Town Throwdown (Toledo, OH)

10/6: 7th Annual Dog – WOD (Minneapolis, MN)

10/6: Hulks and Ninjas (Bangor, ME)

10/6: Barbells for Boobs @ CrossFit Torque (Foxborough, MA)

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)

10/13: Older, Wiser, Faster, Stronger (Plymouth, MI)

10/13: The Greenville Games (Greenville, SC)

10/13: Reps For Recovery (Hickory, NC) 

10/13: Kal-Haven Trail Ruck (Kalamazoo, MI)

10/13: Fall Brawl (Saint Michael, MN)

10/13 – 110/14: Box Wars 3 (Fort Valley, GA) 

10/14: CrossFit for Kayden (Fallsington, PA)

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

10/20: Head 2 Head in Hamilton (Hamilton, NJ)

10/20: Fittest on the Valley VI (Lahaina, HI)

10/20: Crossfit Bona Fide Third Wheel Throwdown (Portsmouth, NH)

10/20: Femme Royale @ CrossFit Napa Valley (Napa, CA)

10/20: WOD for a Cause @ CrossFit Strength Within (Port St Lucie, FL)

10/20: Dynamic Duo Competition (Hopkinton, MA)

10/20: Monster Mash (Boulder, CO)

10/20: WOD for the Fallen (Columbia, SC)

10/21: Me Jane, You Jane (Santa Rosa, CA)

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

​10/20 – 10/21: The Lincoln Invitational (Spokane, WA) 

10/20 – 10/21: Girls Gone RX Los Angeles (Canoga Park, CA)