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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition was chalked up while listening to Spotify’s new unofficial CrossFit playlist.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Strength doesn’t come from what you can do, It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t.” — Rikki Rogers
CHALK UP IN 2 MINUTES
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU HIT THE BOX
Melissa Doss hits a 210 pound 4RM clean PR. Read the story of how one South African scientist dared to take on the giants of the food industry. This looks like the worst kind of weighted lunge you can do with a friend. This is what it looks like when Rogue Fitness powder coats their bars. Camille Leblanc-Bazinet hits a new 1RM back squat at 2.6x body weight. Ever looked like this when gearing up for a box jump PR? This is what Annie Thorisdottir looks like underwater. This former UGA football player used CrossFit to stay in shape before making firefighting a career.
For readers with a competitive edge who suspect that athletes nearby are shaving reps, you’ll enjoy this video Dane Smith put together.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
Brooke Ence on Facebook LIVE with Brute Strength yesterday discussing different training programs and how Brooke’s training for the 2017 CrossFit Games season.
ON THE RADIO
Adee Cazayoux joins Girls Gone WOD Podcast this week for a conversation about having realistic expectations for yourself, defining your identity through something other than your body and how she handles the pressure to be successful.
P.S. Girls Gone WOD Podcast episodes have been listened to more than 1 million times (that’s a total of 114 years of streaming for you non-math majors). Congratulations Joy and Claire on the huge milestone!!
CHALK UP READS
“How 50 Year Old Firefighter Ed Kranski Used Strength to Excel in His Career,” by BarBend
Chances are you’ve seen Ed Kranski’s deadlift in his full firefighting gear video on Instagram. Kranski, 50-years old, originally shared this video on December 5th to mark his retirement after a successful 30-year long career.
The video features Kranski pulling 600lbs for 3-reps in 80 additional pounds of firefighting gear. He made this video as a goodbye tribute to his career and to show his love for strength training.
“Deadlifting is by far the most important real life strength exercise. When you pick anything heavy up – you don’t squat, bench, or snatch it – you deadlift it. If a heavy beam falls on another firefighter you deadlift it off them. If you’re dragging a fallen firefighter out of a burning building you deadlift them.”
“The Shared Meaning of Community Fitness,” by Katie Rose Hejtmanek, PhD
The room was packed.
I stood shoulder to shoulder with a woman, about 45, who had “just started doing CrossFit.” She was there to cheer on her husband. “I could never do this but it is so great that they are doing it,” she tells me. A woman walks by and shouts to a boy about ten years old behind me, “Your mom is doing awesome. You’ll be doing cleans like her one day!” I’m asked to scoot over to let the woman carrying the month-old baby and leading the pit bull mix pass under the yellow caution tape into the competition section of the box.
For about seven hours one Saturday in October, I observed a masters level functional fitness competition at a local affiliate. However, as much as I observed the competition, my attention was attuned to what I keep hearing as a quintessential aspect of CrossFit’s growth, as a branded functional fitness practice: the community.
CHALK UP AFFILIATES
In Williams County, North Dakota, when it’s too cold for outdoor recess, kids play basketball and CrossFit inside instead.
Apple Valley High School, whom your author used to play against in his high flying high school basketball days, is now an official CrossFit Affiliate. Their grand opening is set for January 10.