Winemaker Wisdom

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Special thanks to CrossFit Back on the Bar and CrossFit Magna in the Phoenix-Scottsdale area for playing host this weekend. Today’s edition is powered by Blonyx.

Blonyx believes there is too much marketing hype in the supplement industry and it needs to change. Out of respect for the athletes they work with, they only sell a small range of supplements that are easy to understand, deeply rooted in science, and proven to increase performance. If you’re serious about your training check them out at blonyx.com, and use code “MORNING10” for 10% off your next order.

“Be the person your dog thinks you are.” — Unknown

COFFEE BREAK CONVERSATIONS

What to tell your friend who just won’t give up…

You’re zero for two. CrossFit and the NSCA have been at it for some time now. After the 2013 peer-reviewed article claiming that CrossFit was dangerous was retracted, CrossFit wanted to know the names of those who peer-reviewed it, but the NSCA said “no way Jose,” so the lawyers suited back up. On Friday, the San Diego Superior Court told the NSCA to give up the names by January 29, but CrossFit can’t reveal them to anyone else. Why it matters: “This decision is good for science. CrossFit’s legal efforts are helping establish a precedent that will help incentivize legitimate science, and punish scientific misconduct,” according to Russ Greene, one of CrossFit’s chief defenders. 

What to tell your friend who just rediscovered Simon & Garfunkel…

Hello. That was CrossFit Games’ one word tweet on Friday, which unfolded into a whole a random back-and-forth between other CrossFitters, including quoting Simon & Garfunkel’s “Hello darkenss, my old friend.” 

What to tell your friend who hasn’t sprinted in years but just did Helen…

Back from a break. However long it’s been since your last 400m sprint, it’s almost assuredly not as long as Charles Eugster waited, who at 95-years-old rediscovered a love for sprinting. Yes, as in the classic mano-a-mano foot race. He won more than 100 fitness awards in multiple sports, including bodybuilding and rowing, and multiple medals at the World Masters Regatta. Charles was competing until he died at 97, attempting to break a long jump World Record and earning the title of World Champion in the 100m. “You can start a new life at any age,” said Charles, words he truly lived out.

What to tell your friend who’s having trouble WODing through this bitter cold winter…

You need to grow another layer of skin, but since that’s not actually possible you can grab some Second Skin compression apparel, which just so happens to have 50% off everything right now. We stopped by the say Hi to Christmas Abbott at their booth last weekend and she handed us a bag of gear. This gear had us feeling nice, cozy, warm and comfortable in no time. 

THINGS TO…

WATCH & EAT: The WAG Cooking Show

Join Molly Vollmer and Dani Sheriff from Team WAG, in the kitchen as they walk though how to create two much loved dishes: Mexican Hot Po and Bolognese with Zucchini and Beetroot Noodles.

WAG IN THE KITCHEN.

HEAR: Ben Smith and Training Partners

2015 Games champion Ben Smith joins Beyond the Barbell and talks about the Ben Smith Blueprint, the online programming developed for all athletes inside and out of Krypton and what it’s like being one of Ben’s training partners. 

TUNE IN.

Today’s edition of the Morning Chalk Up is powered by

CHALK UP COMMUNITY

• CHECK THAT HEART RATE — Wodify just announced a new partnership with Myzone to launch Wodify Pulse, a dashboard displaying members’ heart rates, calories burned and intensity in real time. Following a workout, athletes can receive a detailed summary of their performance via email.
• EFFFF THOSE RDLs — Said Mattie Rogers during her Reddit AMA session — that’s Q&A for those non-redditors out there. Thankfully FloElite compiled all the best questions and answers so you don’t have to do the endless page scroll thing cause it was loooooong. 
• MAKING THE MOST — Only have 20 minutes some days to workout? Well if that’s all the time you’ve got then you better make the most of it. Pat Sherwood walks through how he’d modify CrossFit.com WODs to fit the tight timeframe.
• CONTEST TIME — Since no one could complete “Bring Sally Up” with strict pull-ups, we’re extending the contest to win a free pair of Nike Metcon 4s another week, but we’re switching up the movement. We’ll be announcing the movement standards and details today at 3:00 PM Pacific live on our community page.

CHALK UP IN 2 MINUTES (a highlight reel around social media of CrossFit pros and average joes)

Tasia Percevecz hits a clean, front squat complex at 225 pounds • Some dude shotguns a beer while squatting 235 pounds • Watching Melanie from CrossFit LionHeart burst into tears after getting her first muscle-up is everything we love about CrossFit • Because regular ‘ol planks are boring, Bethany Shadburne had to turn the volume up to 11 • Justin King snatches 300 pounds • Watching this video will make you realize there are athletes who can do dubs backwards better than you can forwards • Mat Hathaway got his first strict muscle-up and Julie Foucher gave him a thumbs
up • 2018 CrossFit Open picture frames are now available on Facebook.

How the O’Driscoll’s Found CrossFit Together…“In 2009, my wife decided to join the Navy. There was a weigh-in that she had to pass and once in the Navy, she has to do a PT test twice a year in order to stay in the Navy. It was at that moment I decided that I too needed to make a change. I didn’t want to be “that spouse”. There is absolutely no reason why I shouldn’t be right there next to her working out and getting healthy and staying healthy! Part of being in the military is having a rock solid support system and I can’t do that from the couch…”

By Margaux Alvarez

One glass of wine will inhibit platelet aggregation, it will improve blood pressure and help prevent strokes and heart attacks.

Two glasses of wine will help you relax and prepare for the next day.

Three glasses of wine will help you not care if you believe in the benefits of one glass of wine.

A bottle of wine will make tonight amazing but tomorrow’s work and workout a little harder to get started.

“Twenty-Four Hours with Rich Froning” by Men’s Health

A person only ever visits Cookeville, Tenn.—about an hour east of Nashville—for one of three reasons: 1. Check out Tennessee Tech 2. Eat a glazed cruller at Ralph’s Donuts on South Cedar 3. Do CrossFit. It was the sport’s four-time Fittest Man on Earth, Rich Froning, that brought me there in early December. (The donuts were a nice bonus.) Pulling into the quarter-mile-or-so driveway, I was in instant awe of both his two-story straight-out-of-a-magazine home and the 70-acre property. As I put my rental car in park, it was impossible to overlook the massive barn off to the right of his front door.

This isn’t your typical barn. Slide one of the towering doors to the side, walk in, and there aren’t any horses, farm equipment, or animal feed. Instead, there’s a massive black Rogue rig with Froning banners draped from two different pull-up bars. Side-by-side assault bikes. A glute ham developer. A sea of barbells, weight plates, kettlebells, and Rogue sandbags. A couple of ATVs. A Harley. A fridge, loaded with chocolate milk.

Anyone who follows the sport will tell you that Rich is a legend. The father of two has a 570-pound deadlift and can do 75 pull-ups unbroken. Before his surgery for a torn meniscus after the 2017 CrossFit Games, the now 30-year-old could crush a 475-pound back squat and snatch more than 300 pounds. In short: Rich is to CrossFit what Shaun White is to snowboarding—essential.

1/27: Winter Chiller (Fairmont, WV)

1/27: NorCal Masters 2018 (Richmond, CA)

1/27: IceBreather Classic (Springfield, IL)

1/27 – 28: The Fittest Experience (Austin, TX)

2/3: No Weak Links “V” (Whitesboro, NY)

2/3: Caution Grounds 7 (Hialeah Gardens, FL)

2/3: Output Fitness Trials (Miramar, FL)

2/3: 6th Annual Women’s WOD Jam (Broomfield, CO)

2/3: 5th Annual Golden State Games (Stockton, CA)

2/3: Garage Girls Tour (Milton, GA)

2/10: Mirror Image CrossFit’s Cupid’s Clash (Panama City, FL)

2/10: New WODs On the Block – The Third Wheel (Nationwide)

2/10: Tuff Love (Boulder, CO)

2/10: A League of Their Own: A Women’s Only Challenge (San Antonio, TX)

2/10: Mayhem Showdown 2018 (Cookeville, TN) 

2/17: Lovers and Lifters (Springfield, KY)

2/17: Steel Rail Shootout 2018 (McComb, MS)

2/22: CrossFit Open 18.1 (Worldwide)

3/1: CrossFit Open 18.2 (Worldwide)

3/8: CrossFit Open 18.3 (Worldwide)

3/10: Women Who WOD (Barbados)

3/15: CrossFit Open 18.4 (Worldwide)

3/22: CrossFit Open 18.5 (Worldwide)

4/21: Festivus Games (Nationwide)

4/28: Battleground SoCal (Wimington, CA)

4/28: Girls Gone Rx (Cincinnati, OH)

4/28 – 4/29: Walter’s Cup Throwdown (Amsterdam, Netherlands)