Why the Games Was Never Part of the Plan

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 powered by Prospera Supplements.

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“I think the key is to find something that makes you uncomfortable and overcome it every day, then you can see how that plays into everything else.” — Jason Khalipa

By Jim Wild, Production Director for the Down Under Championship Sanctional

It was day 3 of competition and I was riding back to the Alliant Energy Centre with a former CFHQ media staffer. Our discussion had turned to the viability of the CrossFit Games business model. We had some down time between events and spitballed out some guesstimate numbers and what we’d do if we were in charge.

Neither of us could work out how it was profitable and most of our ideas to make it so seemed just too drastic. I’m not sure how much he already knew about the upcoming changes and his future at HQ.

Another friend told me “enjoy this while you can, because next year won’t be anything like this”. There was definitely a feeling of big changes coming, but everyone just carried on as professionals to get the job done. I had the time of my life in Madison and loved every moment.

Skipping back a few years, my first exposure to CrossFit was through a girlfriend at the time. I’d been doing functional training for a while and she’d recently joined a local box. I literally knew nothing about it other than some obscure pop culture references. After a few weeks of teasing her, I decided to go for a workout. I was literally hooked (and very sore) from day one.

My first box membership was at one the earliest affiliates to open in Sydney, they coached the methodology very well and it was highly accessible to anyone. I can’t ever remember having a discussion about the Games the whole time I was there. They were all about the fitness.

In the background though I was rapidly consuming all and any CrossFit content I could get my hands on. I knew all the big athletes, their stories and had watched the “Fittest on Earth” numerous times. Now I was not just only hooked on the fitness side but the sport side too. I was the least popular person at parties for the next six months trying to explain Froning’s latest performance or my new deadlift PB. It came from a good place though and fortunately for me, my friends could clearly see my passion. I quickly gained my L1 purely because I was interested in learning more.

Continue Reading. 

In 2015, after placing 9th at the CrossFit Games, Margaux Alvarez decided to share her passion for wine by starting her own small business, the Vine Yard. In doing so, she also built the foundation of her future life after the CrossFit Games.

lot has changed for Dani Speegle in the past year. This time last year, she was a relatively unknown athlete, no individual Regionals experience, and zero media coverage. Now she’s gearing up for her third sanctioned event this year and everyone’s paying attention.

With all the excitement of the Open, let’s not forget that this weekend is CrossFit Strength in Depth at the ExCel London. Here’s how you can watch as the next man, woman and team earn their ticket to the CrossFit Games. 

By the end of this weekend, Sara Sigmundsdottir will have officially competed in more workouts than she did in the entirety of the CrossFit Games season last year. While that may seem extreme to some, for Sigmundsdottir it is motivating her to perform her best to return to the Games as she gets her “mojo” back.

The CrossFit Open kicked off Thursday night around the world with athletes in England, France and Brazil doing 19.1 live on Facebook. These simultaneous broadcasts were  

In CrossFit’s own words, the Open is “a grassroots competition” “for athletes of all ages and abilities”. CrossFit is, in fact, for everyone and no where is that truth more on display than the next five weeks.

Here are eight things you need to know going into the weekend.

1. Review the 19.1 WOD and the standards, and get some tips and tricks from the pros.
2. Make sure you’re in the know and stay there with the Morning Chalk Up Open coverage.
3. Stacie Tovar didn’t let being six months pregnant stop her from scoring higher on 19.1 than most of us.
4. Since he already has a spot at the Games locked up, the Open is going to be a little less stressful for Patrick Vellner. He’s also looking forward to #TrashTalkThursday.
5. As of the start of the Open registration was down 32%, not 44% as we originally reported. We were wrong and we apologized.
6. If you want to track all Open movements that have ever been used in the Open, we made a fancy chart for that. P.S. Don’t show this to Jillian Michaels.
7. Noah Ohlsen is ready for the Open, “I’ve a little bit of confidence that I’ve done well during the Open before, so I hope to do the same [this year],” Ohlsen said.
8. And, if you’re still looking for motivation to do the Open, look to Ann Ritchie from CrossFit Diablo who was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer after the 2016 CrossFit Open. She’s currently stage 4 and terminal, and will be doing her first Open WOD RX.