“The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more.”- Jonas Salk
LIFESTYLE
Five Outdoor Activities to Do While at the 2022 Rogue Invitational
In our fifth and final installment of this series, following where to eat, drink, caffeinate and workout while at the 2022 Rogue Invitational, we bring you: things to do outside.
“Austin has always been a community that enjoys fitness and being outdoors. In fact, we were recently named as one of the most physically-active cities in America,” said Drew Hays, Austin Sports Commission Director. “When you combine that with the sports momentum our city has, it only makes sense to host the fittest athletes in the world here in the form of the Rogue Fitness Invitational.”
The competition schedule indicates that there will be some down time in the morning and evening, and to maximize your trip to the greater Austin area, we encourage you to indulge in nature, stay active and embrace community by diving into an activity outdoors. There’s dozens of activities to choose from, but this list should give you a good starting point.
1. Jump in Barton Springs
2201 William Barton Dr, Austin, TX 78746
Taking cold plunge to a whole new level, Barton Springs is a natural spring in the heart of Austin with plenty of room to relax, catch some sun or go for a refreshing swim.
“I love being at Barton Springs because you feel like you’re out in nature in the middle of nowhere, when in reality you’re in the middle of a city. They are strict about no alcohol, no smoking and no loud music, which I personally love because it keeps the vibe super relaxed. It’s the perfect place to read a book or have a conversation with friends,” Katie Gray Mart, Austin local and Barton Springs regular, said. “It’s magical…I don’t know how else to explain it. I just feel so happy and relaxed when I’m there. It can be unbearably hot in Texas and diving into the ice cold fresh spring water is so refreshing. It heals the soul and your muscles.”
Entry is $5 for Texas residents and $9 for non-residents, and they accept credit/debit or exact change.
2. Bike, Scooter or Hike
Alternative transportation is both good for the environment and sightseeing! There’s an abundance of bike and scooter rental hubs across town. Or, to get your steps in, take a hike near famous Lady Bird Lake or Barton Creek. AllTrails, both a website and downloadable mobile app, helps you pick a trail from a wide database based on length and difficulty.
3. Practice Your Pickleball Skills
If you haven’t participated in the craze yet, you’re missing out! Pickleball is super-sized ping pong or miniature tennis — however you want to think about it. With a few friends, paddles and a 36-inch high net, it’s easily one of the most fun ways to exercise without realizing it. There’s numerous spots to play in the city but one of our favorites is Bouldin Acres (2027 S Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78704), where you can reserve a court ahead of time, or play giant Jenga outside while you’re waiting for your turn to throw down.
4. Play Sand Volleyball
One of the best things about sand volleyball is how adaptable it is; you can adjust the game based on how many people want to hop in, serve underhand or overhand, run a formation or just have a great time. The weather is expected to be beautiful this time of year, and Old Settlers park (3300 E Palm Valley Blvd, Round Rock, TX 78665) is just a half-mile from Dell Diamond (lunch break pick-up game anyone?). They have two courts available, plus a playground, picnic tables, a disc golf course and soccer fields.
5. Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP)
SUP is the perfect combination of a calm activity with a little bit of work, and when you get too hot, you can just jump in! SUPATX Rentals (1541 West Cesar Chavez, Austin, TX 78703) is open all daylight hours with no reservation necessary, so lather up the sunscreen and hit the water.
Honorable mentions:
Take a class with The Phoenix: A sober active community with a strong presence in Austin, sign-up for one of their local meet-ups which often involve rock climbing, tie-dying, yoga in the park or disc golf. The classes are free, and you must be 48-hours sober to attend.
Dance to some live music: No better place to enjoy some local live jams than the mecca itself! Walk down 6th Street and you’ll find no shortage of options, and we love Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Icehouse (701 W 6th St, Austin, TX 78701).
Get Your Laugh On: Okay, this one isn’t outside, but it’s a gem so we had to mention! Vulcan Gas Company (418 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78701) has several shows throughout the weekend, and Don’t Tell Comedy (location TBD) is a pop-up stand-up comedy show that reveals the location via email the day of to those who have signed up, and the acts remain a surprise. Either way, big belly laughs are a form of fitness in our book!
Enjoy your trip, and we can’t wait to see you there!
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Get your Rogue fix here: The schedule is out for the 2022 Rogue Invitational (Oct. 28-29), and we have you covered for the event with where to eat, drink, workout, grab coffee and also who is going to win the men and women’s divisions. We’re also going to have Morning Chalk Up team members on the ground so stay tuned for more in depth coverage.
Say what?: Apparently Rogue is starting a day early now for the competitors and we are getting word there may be an outdoor event to come.
Deadline reminder: If you’re doing the TYR Wodapalooza team online qualifier, scores are due tonight at 8PM ET. Good luck, and see you in Miami.
Speedy recovery: Wishing CrossFit’s own Gary Gaines a quick comeback from shoulder surgery. 💪
Shoe review: TYR is a new sponsor in the CrossFit space, so the question is, do their shoes hold up?
Heart health: Here are five foods a cardiologist recommends we should all be avoiding to maintain a healthy ❤️.
LIFESTYLE
MEMBER EXCLUSIVE
Welcome to the Age of Information Overload
For most of mankind’s history, everything has been scarce: food, resources, shelter, safety. Humans were forced to subsist on what they could find, or what was directly available to them.
Life in 2022 for those in the developed world is a far cry away from that existence. Food is abundant – albeit increasingly expensive – and the average person has adequate access to shelter and related resources. Then we get to information. Up until a few decades ago when the internet spread like wildfire through modern civilization, the transfer of knowledge was archaic at best.
Now we have the world at our fingertips, access to every bit of intel known to man, verified or not, via our phones and laptops. Scarcity has gone the way of the dinosaur, and it’s caused a crisis for many people: with so much information available, how do we know what is right, what is wrong, and what is useful?
Does Standardized Programming Impact Spectator Turnout?
With the change in decision to make all Semifinal workouts standardized this season, it raises the question of whether it will impact ticket sales and spectator turnout. Morning Chalk Up’s Lauren Kalil sits down with Dex Hopkins and Adrian Conway to discuss whether standardized programming will impact getting butts in seats and how it might ultimately affect the Crossfit Games season.
Lumber City Athletics Has Raised $150,000 and Counting for Barbells for Boobs
In 2012, new CrossFit affiliate owner Jennifer Greco was looking for a non-profit she felt comfortable asking her community to get behind. She soon came across Barbells for Boobs, and knew it was “the perfect fit.”
“It was really cool to me that Barbells for Boobs gave directly back to women. At the time they were funding mammograms and early breast cancer detection, so we started raising money, sending them the money, and it went directly to the women,” said Greco, the long-time owner of Lumber City Athletics in North Tonawanda, New York.
Remind me: Barbells for Boobs was founded by CrossFit athlete Zionna Hanson in 2009. In the last 13 years, the CrossFit community has raised more than $20 million for the non-profit, mostly through hosting competition fundraisers that include the classic CrossFit workout Grace—30 clean and jerks for time—the ultimate goal being to promote physical activity as the foundation for breast cancer risk reduction, treatment, and survivorship.
The money they raise then goes to education, resources and support for women—mostly women in the CrossFit community—in all stages of their breast cancer journey through the Barbells for Boobs RAD (Resources After Diagnosis) program.
The details: Greco and her CrossFit community have participated in the Barbells for Boobs Grace event in October—Breast Cancer Awareness month—every single year since 2012, and have raised $150,644.54 throughout the years.
In their first year, her community raised $8,027, a number that steadily increased every year until 2015 when they hit their highest annual total of $36,940.
It was admittedly harder to host the event during the pandemic, but Greco was determined, so she ran Grace outside in October in New York, and still managed to raise more than $7,000 in both 2020 and 2021.
This year, Lumber City Athletics has already raised more than $7,000 from a golf tournament and a burpee fundraiser, so she expects that they will eclipse the $10,000 mark after they run their annual Grace event on October 29.
Most recently, on top of being “a proud fundraiser” for a cause she believes in, Greco, a chiropractor, has also joined the Barbells for Boobs integrative team and will be working directly with breast cancer survivors in the RAD program.
One big thing: Anyone who runs an annual event knows it can be difficult to keep a community motivated year-after-year to raise money for the same cause, which can often cause donor fatigue, as well, but Greco won’t let that happen because she wholeheartedly believes in the difference Barbells for Boobs is making.
In light of this, she has always focused on ways to keep it fresh each year, often by adding new components to the fundraiser, such as raffles for a free membership or a rowing machine. “One year we even had the coaches eating a donut and then a round of Helen, and we had people throwing down money to watch the coaches eat donuts,” she said, laughing.
It also helps to find ways to make it personal. This year, for example, she introduced her community to a woman who had a double mastectomy six months ago. “She came and did a workout and ran at our gym for the first time since her mastectomy,” Greco said. “People could feel how real it is, that one in eight women (get breast cancer), and that it could be the woman they share a barbell with everyday.”
The big picture: While Greco is proud of her community for raising as much money for women and breast cancer as they have, she’s even more proud of what Barbells for Boobs, and CrossFit, is doing.
“People need to know how CrossFit has made these women strong and resilient. It just really nails home what we do everyday at our affiliates,” she said. “And the RAD program. Everyone needs to know about it. It’s changing lives. It’s elevating the care for these women. Without Barbells for Boobs, these women’s lives would be incredibly different.”
“It’s a huge message to get across. This disease isn’t going away, but we can change how we look at it, and how we support women.”
THINGS TO...
...TRY
These Two Drills to Use Your Wrists on Double Unders
You’ll hear the cue “flick your wrists”... but how do you actually do it? Here are two drills to learn how to incorporate your wrists into your double unders and string together big sets.
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Single leg squats are extremely challenging; partly due to the strength needed to perform the movement, but also because they require a lot of balance. When we do pistols, we often try to rush out of the bottom position, but this drill will have you getting nice and comfy down there.
Games teen athlete Kaiden Hogan does a heavy clean complex at 234 pounds/106kg.
Congratulations to 23-year-old Marcus from E3 Fitness in Salem, VA on making health and fitness a priority and being a standout E3 No Limits Athlete.
Congratulations to Javier Arencibia from CrossFit Syracuse in Syracuse, NY on the 335 pound/192kg squat clean.
Nicolas Martins, a CrossFit L1 Trainer from France, pays tribute to his 90-year-old client, Jean Luc, who recently passed away but made fitness a priority until his last days.
“He was a courageous man whom I will miss very much,” said Martins.
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