Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. The Dubai CrossFit Championship kicks off later this week so today’s edition is going to be a tad more sports heavy.
In today’s edition:
16 very ridiculous lifts from high school CrossFit athletes.
Who are the podium contenders for Dubai?
Brian Friend’s picks to win it all.
Why winning the strength events doesn’t usually translate into an overall win, especially at the CrossFit Games.
“So. Monday. We meet again. We will never be friends—but maybe we can move past our mutual enmity toward a more-positive partnership.”- Julio-Alexi Genao
COMPETITION
MEMBER EXCLUSIVE
The Three Men and Three Women Who Can Win the Dubai CrossFit Championship
With many of the top athletes seemingly making the choice to do either the Dubai CrossFit Championships or Wodapalooza, it may at first seem like the caliber of athlete in Dubai this year isn’t what we’re used to; but that doesn’t mean we won’t have a fierce battle for the top of the podium.
The competition kicks off on Thursday with 20 men and 20 women fighting for a slice of a very lucrative $50,000 first-place pie, and here are my picks for taking the top spot this weekend.
MEN
Jeffrey Adler
There are four men from the top 20 at the Games this year who will be competing at Dubai, but only one of them clocks in on this list, and that’s Canadian Jeffrey Adler. Adler placed 8th the last time he competed in Dubai (December 2019), but six of the eight men who beat him that year won’t be here this time, and Adler has evolved as an athlete since then.
That’s exactly what Dena Garner, Ph.D. first thought when her research started to show the impact a mouthpiece could have on breathing during workouts.
Like all good scientists though, she then spent years trying to disprove her findings.
But…she couldn’t.
Don’t sleep on it: Over years of sleep studies, CT scans, and hands-on research Dr. Garner found that using a mouthpiece to alter your tongue and jaw position, you gain increased endurance, recovery, and even strength.
Brian Friend’s four athletes everyone should be excited to watch.
16 ridiculous lifts from high school (and a couple of middle schoolers) CrossFit athletes that should make the individual field very worried.
Red Eagle CrossFit was completely destroyed during the recent tornado that swept through Mayfield, KY that has claimed more than 60 lives.
Coach Leah: “I saw it last night and didn’t want to believe it. The whole town is hurting. I know the gym is just a small part but it’s a big part of me and a devastating loss. So thankful no one was in the building. I don’t even have the words to express how sad I am.”
Team USA lifting schedule at the IWF World Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Meredith Alwine (71kg A) Monday, at 9 a.m. ET
Olivia Reeves (71kg A) Monday at 9 a.m. ET
Mattie Rogers (76kg A) Tuesday at 9 a.m. ET
Ian Wilson (109kg A) Thursday at 6 a.m. ET
Laura Alexander (87kg A) Thursday at 9 a.m. ET
Juliana Riotto (87kg A) Thursday at 9 a.m. ET
Keiser Witte (+109kg B) Friday at 12 a.m. ET
Sarah Robles (+87kg A) Friday at 3 a.m. ET
Madrid CrossFit Challenger Seriesresults from over the weekend.
Giorgos Karavis | Ohaina Moya
Adrian Mundwiler | Valentina Rangel
Kristof Horvath | Megan Lovegrove
Axel Lundgreen | Linda Keesman
Gabi Castro | Silvia Garcia
CROSSFIT GAMES
Winning the Strength Event Means Missing the Podium; Unless You’re Rich, Mat, or Tia. So How Strong Do You Need To Be to Win the CrossFit Games?
With the Dubai CrossFit Championship kicking off this week — an event that has traditionally featured heavy events — and in light of how well Guilherme Malheiros has performed in strength events at the 2021 CrossFit Games and Rogue Invitational, CrossFit data nerd John Young and I were curious how strong you need to be to win the CrossFit Games, whether winning a strength even correlates to a podium finish and how strong is maybe too strong.
Strength Event Winners:
Unless your name is Rich Froning, Mat Fraser, Tia-Clair Toomey or Kara Saunders; winning the strength event at the CrossFit Games means missing the podium by the end of the weekend.
Other than Toomey, the women who have won the strength event at the Games have an average competition placement of 15th.
Excluding Froning and Fraser, the male strength event winners average an eventual finish of 17th place at the Games.
Handstand walks are 99% technique, but how do you practice them without falling over all the time? Try this beginner-friendly handstand walking drill to build comfort upside down, shoulder stamina, and practice shifting your weight.
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How can sitting down and standing up be so complicated? Oh but it is. Breathing makes such a difference but it's easy to forget in the middle of a heavy lift. Start using this breathing pattern when you practice and see your numbers go through the roof.
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Melt-in-your-mouth, gluten-free, and grain-free snowball cookies with a delicious, nutty crunch from walnuts? Sold. These soft, healthy snowball cookies are easily made vegan and are the perfect cookie for sharing (or not).
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