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When You’re Doing the Open, But Not Really

Good morning and welcome to the weekend edition of the Morning Chalk Up. This is Justin LoFranco, your Editor-in-Chief, to bring you a quick wrap-up of the major news items throughout the week.

Today’s edition is brought to you by Wodify.

Hey Affiliate owners! How much do you love your gym software? Probably not this much.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Don’t tell me how talented you are. Tell me how hard you work.” — Arthur Rubinstein

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
An Open Letter to Everyone Doing the Open Without “Doing” The Open (OPINION)

By Niki Brazier

I’ll start out by throwing all my perceived biases out into the open: I love CrossFit, since I started back in 2011 I’ve participated in the Open, I’ve worked for HQ and several sanctioned events, and I’m generally a pretty opinionated lady. I totally respect other people’s decisions when it comes to what kind of physical activities they participate in, and how much they decide to push or scale their efforts. And I generally like everyone. 

But I’ve been frustrated this Fall, because I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve heard people say “I’m not signing up for the Open this year.”  Typically, it’s followed up by a list of reasons why the changes to this past season have left them personally victimized, unable to cope with the new landscape, and reeling from the PTSD-like effects of the most recent Spring Open. Oh yeah, and it’s usually wrapped with a casual, “I’m doing the workouts, I just won’t actually sign up for the Open.”

I can’t eye-roll hard enough. 

Look, there are plenty of good reasons out there to refrain from actually committing to the open. Maybe you’re unable to make the time commitment necessary to get the workouts done. Maybe you can’t meet any of the requirements for the RX or Scaled divisions, maybe you’re injured. Maybe you’re on the next one-way mission to Mars. 

Regardless, this opinion piece isn’t about the many worthwhile reasons to stay off the leaderboard this year. This is about refuting the argument that the changes to the structure of the CrossFit Games and its season has a direct bearing on how and why we, as the general population, should approach registering for the Open.

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TOP STORIES
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CrossFit Open 20.3 Workout Description and Strategies
Morning Chalk Up

We’ve crossed the halfway mark of the 2020 CrossFit Open. If you’re taking on 20.3 this weekend, here is the workout description and strategies from Brute Strength, CompTrain, and more. 

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Sweeping 20.1 Penalties Knock 7 Athletes Out of Qualification
Tommy Marquez

Each week, the top 40 men and women worldwide are being asked to submit videos of their performance to the CrossFit Games staff. Late Wednesday night, CrossFit HQ announced a slew of penalties being assessed to top athletes in week one, by far the largest collection of penalties assessed for a single Open workout, ending some top athletes hopes of qualifying through the Open.

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Davidsdottir Joins Sport Champions in Empowering Women in Sports
Justin LoFranco

In its 10th year, the espnW Women + Sports Summit brings together world-class female athletes and business leaders to work towards creating more opportunities for women in sports across the globe. This year, CrossFit Games champion Katrin Davidsdottir joined them.

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The Open Be Damned. We’re Eating These 13 Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Snacks Now
Katie Ferraro

Fall is here and while we should be working on our weaknesses (thanks CrossFit Open) we’re focused on an even bigger issue: the best pumpkin snacks from good ol’ Trader Joe’s. Open or not, here’s all the pumpkiny deliciousness we’re currently smashing.

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How One Rep in 20.3 Can Buy You 8,487 Spots On The Leaderboard
Brittney Kleyn

With the not-so-generous time cap of nine minutes, it’s no surprise that every rep in 20.3 can buy you hundreds, if not thousands of positions on the leaderboard. If you needed any extra motivation to keep moving the barbell, let the following statistics sink in.

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Why The Former Third Fittest Man On Earth Quit The Open
Brittney Kleyn

Morning Chalk Up caught up with Lukas Hogberg, who shared the reasons behind his decision to drop out of the 2020 CrossFit Open. For the first time in five years, the title of Sweden’s Fittest Man is up for grabs.

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Today’s edition is brought to you by
COMMUNITY

You’ve got all weekend to get after 20.3, so here’s what you need to have on hand.

1. Here’s what’s in store for week three. 

2. Make sure you know the standards and have a plan. 

3. Make sure you are fueling your body well through the Open. 

4. Watch Annie Thorisdottir and Sara Sigmundsdottir do 20.3.

5. Bookmark our 2020 CrossFit Open Movement Tracker.

Oh and let’s not forget…

Stop Having Dumb Debates About CrossFit (Russ Greene/Morning Chalk Up)

Scaling Professional Training (Greg Glassman/CrossFit)

Outside’s Guide to Flannel, the Superior Fabric (Outside Magazine) 

The Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir is 72 and Still Working Out Like a Beast (Ross McCammon/Men’s Health)

The Decline in U.S. life Expectancy is Unlike Anything We’ve Seen in a Century (Sara Chodosh/Popular Science)

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