“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.”- Martin Luther King, Jr., Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, 1964.
COMPETITION
Mertens, Rolfe Win Loud and Live’s The Trials Finals, New Digital Format Revealed
The Trials Finals, hosted by Loud and Live Sports, aired this past weekend on a new digital platform.
Following the global Trials online competition in the fall, top competitors from three regions (Spanish, Latin American, and the US), in multiple divisions, were identified behind closed doors by the event organizers and the Trials Finals began to take shape.
Competitors who qualified were not even aware that they’d made it to the finals until last week. In essence, What fans were able to watch was a competition that had taken place several weeks prior, and athletes and fans alike were able to enjoy it as though it were happening live. The top three elite men and women receive a cash prize. $3,000 USD for first, $2,000 USD for second and $1,000 USD for third.
Here’s a recap of the elite division for men and women, as well as the final leaderboard for the other divisions.
Elite Division
Men
Consistency is typically king in CrossFit, and CrossFit Kilo’s Colten Mertenswas the epitome of that. Across six events he never finished worse than fifth. He won Devil Woman, placed third in four other workouts, and had a fifth-place finish in Jacklyn. Mertens is very adept at online competitions, having qualified in both of the previous seasons for the Rogue Invitational via the online qualifier, and bookending the 2020 Rogue Invitational last season with event wins in the online format against top Games competition.
The CrossFit Open is around the corner and now is the perfect time to improve your double unders, 10 reps at a time! Sign-up for the RXSG “10 a Day Challenge” and get access to our private Facebook group for tips and special guest appearances, you’ll also get a 15% off discount code to shop RXSG. 100% of your registration goes to the Keala Foundation, a non-profit devoted to supporting the youth of Hawai’i through fitness. Sign-up and join us now for the Challenge starting Feb 1, 2021!
SPEED READS
Wanna get chills up your spine? Watch this commercial from CompTrain.
Free Online Fitness: WIT is offering free fitness classes. All you have to do is create an account, select and online (for free) and show up!
NOW HIRING: Rx Smart Gear is on the hunt for an in-house Head of Social Media. Apply now.
In the UK,“Part of the Solution” is selling t-shirts as a way for community members to raise money for their local gyms. For every shirt sold, £10 will go to the local gym of the buyer’s choice.
ICYMI: Inside the Reebok Nano X1 with Tal Short, Sr. Product Manager.
Fit To Function: Brain Injury Specialist and CrossFit Games Veteran Use Fitness To Help Stroke Patients
For most CrossFitters, the call of 3…2…1… Go! Is the signal to turn your brain off and work. The battle cry, “don’t think, just go” is a common refrain amid the slamming of barbells and heavy breathing. But for the athletes of CrossFit Coaches Jenna Muri-Rosenthal and Spencer Hendel, the workout of the day has turned into a way to help heal their brains.
One big thing: Traditional healthcare options often fail to bring stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients back to a level of function they seek. Hendel and Muri-Rosenthal are looking to change that and provide these patients with alternative forms of recovery that bring them beyond what insurance-covered recovery has in the past.
Who are they: Muri-Rosenthal has worked as a speech-language pathologist and certified brain injury specialist, aiding in stroke, and recovery. Hendel is an eight-time CrossFit Games veteran and member of the CrossFit Seminar Staff. Together they have created “Fit to Function,” based in in the Boston, MA area.
“Traditional healthcare and limitations of insurance often consider recovery via the lens of a “good enough” model. In the months and years following a brain injury or stroke,survivors have ongoing recovery potential that goes beyond limitations of the support of insurance and standard rehabilitative care,” said.
Sliding-Scale Gyms Find Creative Ways to Make Fitness Affordable
Zach Filer and Adrianna Kara have one goal: to make CrossFit more affordable.
Filer and Kara are the co-owners of CrossFit Hinge, an affiliate in Seattle that offers sliding-scale membership plans. Together with the gym’s non-profit, 206 South, the duo says they have been able to create “a space and community that embraces physical training and positive aspects of physical culture without any income barriers.”
One big thing: A major criticism of CrossFit has been the price; on average, an unlimited membership costs over $150 in the United States, more if the membership covers multiple people. When compared to commercial gyms — who often run specials selling memberships for $10-20 — CrossFit prices often limit access for low-and-mid income earners. Sliding-scale gyms are finding creative ways to make fitness more accessible.
Any discussion of the "butt wink" usually focuses on the potential for injury, because as the spine moves under load, the risk of injury does increase. But, does it hurt performance as well? This video from Squat University answers that question and provides a primer on spinal mechanics.
Ready to earn extra cash doing something you love? This could be your ticket. WAG’s Nutrition Coach Certification is self-paced, comes with a personal digital mentor (real human) and a ton of practical application practice. Today could be the last day spots are available so register now to start transforming lives.
Lauren Fisher Crush the U.S. Marine Combat Fitness Test
CrossFit Games veteran Lauren Fisher took the Marine Corps' CFT that includes an 880-meter run, max ammo can presses in two minutes and an odd object obstacle course. Needless to say, Fisher's training in CrossFit more than prepared her to take on this test, and she crushed it.
You earn more money by creating more value and your staff can do the same. In this article from Two Brain Business, learn how to help your staff get the careers they want, how to communicate and lead and how to provide your staff with a pay raise.
Chalk Up Highlights is our section dedicated to celebrating our community’s wins in the gym. Follow @ChalkUpHighlights and submit your highlight to [email protected] to be featured.
Morgan McCullough snatches 332 pounds from blocks for a PR.
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