Wodapalooza, the Second CrossFit Sanctioned Event, Comes to a Close

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“People may never get to know the real you, but they will know your work.”- – Ray Allen

Toomey, Vellner Punch Tickets to CrossFit Games

That’s a wrap.

The sun has set on the 2nd Sanctional of the CrossFit Games season as the Wodapalooza CrossFit Festival concluded Sunday. After three days of competition under the sun, rain, and city lights of Miami Patrick Vellner, Tia-Clair Toomey, and the team from Romwod/WIT earned themselves an invite to the 2019 CrossFit Games.

How’d it Go for the Men?

The 2nd Fittest Man on Earth Patrick Vellner made his Sanctional debut as one of the clear favorites to become the 2nd man to earn a spot at the CrossFit Games. The Canadian superstar from Toronto, proved as a cool as the weather he left behind when he made the trip to Miami by finishing every single day of competition in the overall lead.

Vellner now joins the man he’s looking to the dethrone, 3-time champion Mat Fraser, as the only other male qualifier for the 2019 Games.

And How About the Women?

If there was any pressure on Tia-Clair Toomey to set the tone amongst a strong women’s field this weekend she certainly didn’t show. The 2-time reigning and defending champion, successfully made the first step towards becoming the first woman to win 3 CrossFit Games titles by laying down a statistically dominant performance in season debut.

Toomey’s 66 point lead going into the final event meant an 18th place finish or better would seal her spot on top of the podium. Refusing to coast to the finish, she capped the weekend with her 3rd event win.

In her first year living in the United States and training with men’s champion Mat Fraser, Toomey showcased the early results of when the king and queen of the sport join forces to hold court over the CrossFit Games kingdom.

By earning her invite to the Games this weekend, Toomey has guaranteed that her reign will continue, in the very least, until the CrossFit Games wrap up in August.

Continue Reading…

Coffee Break Conversations

What to say when your boss compliments your sweet Miami tan lines…

You should’ve been there. But if you weren’t, Morning Chalk Up was burning the candle at both ends all weekend to bring you athlete interviews, daily updates, and all the news from Wodapalooza 2019 in Miami. We can’t promise that reading the entire Wodapalooza portal at home with give you a tan too, but there’s only one way to find out my friend. 

Oh? Are you tired on this Monday morning? 

Ha, says Kels Kiel (probably) after being one of the only athletes to compete all four days of Wodapalooza. Thought it was only a three-day event? Well, for Kels it started Thursday in the Wodapalooza Weightlifting Faceoff, then she immediately rolled into the main three-day competition on Friday, competing on an Elite team of three. 

Things To…

WATCH: Tia-Clair Toomey Just Getting Started

In Episode 3 of this series featuring Tia-Clair and her husband and coach Shane Orr, see how Tia-Clair spends her off day, how she focuses on recovery, and how they planned their training up until Wodapalooza last weekend. 

NETFLIX AND CHILL.

HEAR: Sam Dancer on Kill the Quit Podcast 

Two time CrossFit Games athlete and former college football player Sam Dancer joins Mark Zinno on the Kill the Quit Podcast. Sam discusses getting bullied in high school, developing keratoconus making him legally blind, and his transformation into a CrossFit athlete.

HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE HIM.

GET: Your Own Doctor with SteadyMD 

Ever wondered why so many elite CrossFit athletes, Mat Fraser included, use Dr. Dani Urcuyo and SteadyMD? It’s because he understands CrossFit and how it works. They even have family plans. Sign up now and get a doctor that gets you.

AN IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIP.

EAT: Crunchy Rainbow Thai Peanut Chicken Wraps

Bright, fresh crunchy rainbow thai peanut chicken wraps make the perfect lunch. They’re veggie and protein-packed with a delicious peanut dressing for drizzling and dipping.

PACK THOSE LUNCHES PEOPLE.

Today’s edition of the Morning Chalk Up is brought to you by

Chalk Up Community

• ROW FOR REVEILLE — The Row for Reveille event at Kitsap CrossFit took place on January 12 and 13th. With 75 in-house competitors and 21 remote competitors, they rowed in total 5,172,258 meters or 3,214 miles and raised more than $21,000 for the Reveille Project. Not a single person dropped out during the event. One of their most impressive competitors was Ella
  Ventura, a 14-year-old who registered at the very last minute and did it by herself in her living room. 
• WOD FOR NATALIE — Over the weekend, CrossFit Davis hosted a fundraiser for 22-year-old police officer Natalie Corona who was killed in the line of duty. About 200 people showed up for the event, bringing in $1700 for the Corona family. 
• NEW OWNERSHIP — Railyard CrossFit in Salem, VA  is under new ownership. It’s now CrossFit Unwritten and is taking on new members.
• NEW AFFILIATE — Vegvisir CrossFit in Houston, TX is open for business and hosting a grand opening on February 2nd with free classes every hour from 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM and will also be providing breakfast tacos.

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

Eddie Livote gets a 195 pound clean PR • Jessica Wester hits a 385 pound deadlift PR • Kristen Dunsmore hits a 440 pound deadlift for 3 • Julie Starrett gets her first WOD in just seven days after her double mastectomy • Congratulations to Games athlete Arielle Armstrong on the birth of her daughter Blakely • Stefi Cohen hits a 242 pound clean • Jacob Heppner back squats 405 pounds for five • Congratulations to both Denis Bengin and Justin Holmes on getting their first 30′ box jumps • Congratulations to Kalista on her first ring muscle-up.

…and if there’s no barbell by you on vacation, just squat your heaviest friend for five like Tamara Gray did. 

The 2019 CrossFit Open — The 2019 CrossFit Open is still open for registration, which officially kicks off on February 21st. 

The Brazil CrossFit Championship Online Qualifiers — The Brazil CrossFit Championship, a sanctioned event set to take place in Sao Paulo May 17-19, announced qualifying workouts number one and number two. The remaining two qualifying workouts will be released January 28th. Registered athletes have until
February 4 to submit their scores. 

Australian CrossFit Championship Releases Events — The Australian CrossFit Championship is the next sanctioned event, taking place this weekend, January 24-17, in Queensland. Over the weekend they released three Individual events: Event One, Event 4 and Event 5. (Hint: One of them is Fran.) They also released Team Event 1.

— Remind me: 32 men, 31 women, and 16 teams are on the Australian CrossFit Championship official roster competing for their ticket to the 2019 Games. One male, one female, and one team will get the golden ticket to Madison. 

— Don’t forget: Samantha Briggs, who won the Dubai CrossFit Championship and became the first woman to qualify for the CrossFit Games under the new qualifying system, will be competing again as she received a special invite to compete after bypassing the qualifiers.

Reykjavik CrossFit Championship Reveals an Event Hint — The Reykjavik CrossFit Championship, which takes place in Iceland in May, posted on Instagram over the weekend that there will be an “Icelandic theme” to their program. Icelandic burpees anyone?

Rogue Invitational Confirms Another Legend — Chrisy Adkins was confirmed to the already impressive Legends roster for the Rogue Invitational, which takes place in Columbus, OH at the Rogue Headquarters in May. 

Hard to Keep it All Straight — We mapped out the CrossFit Games season schedule for you. Also, make sure you follow our global leaderboard to follow along as the season progresses. 

“What is Fitness,” by the CrossFit Journal.

For CrossFit the specter of championing a fitness program without clearly defining what it is that the program delivers combines elements of fraud and farce. The vacuum of guiding authority has therefore necessitated that CrossFit’s directors provide their own definition of fitness. That’s what this issue of CrossFit Journal is about, our “fitness.”

Our pondering, studying, debating about, and finally defining fitness have played a formative role in CrossFit’s successes. The keys to understanding the methods and achievements of CrossFit are perfectly imbedded in our view of fitness and basic exercise science.

It will come as no surprise to most of you that our view of fitness is a contrar- ian view. The general public both in opinion and in media holds endurance athletes as exemplars of fitness. We do not. Our incredulity on learning of Outside’s awarding a triathlete title of “fittest man on earth” becomes apparent in light of CrossFit’s standards for assessing and defining fitness.

CrossFit makes use of three different standards or models for evaluating and guiding fitness. Collectively, these three standards define the CrossFit view of fitness. The first is based on the ten general physical skills widely recognized by exercise physiologists. The second standard, or model, is based on the per- formance of athletic tasks, while the third is based on the energy systems that drive all human action.

Each model is critical to the CrossFit concept and each has distinct utility in evaluating an athlete’s overall fitness or a strength and conditioning regimen’s efficacy. Before explaining in detail how each of these three perspectives works, it warrants mention that we are not attempting to demonstrate our program’s legitimacy through scientific principles. We are but sharing the methods of a program whose legitimacy has been established through the testimony of athletes, soldiers, cops, and others whose lives or livelihoods depend on fitness.

1/21: Helen for Hounds at CrossFit Pretoria (Pretoria, South Africa)

1/25 – 1/27: Australian CrossFit Championships (Queensland, AUS)

1/25 – 1/27: Judgment Day Hawkes Bay (Napier, NZ)

1/26: The Force Wars 2 (Pembroke Pines, FL)

1/26: Lost River Rumble (Bowling Green, KY)

1/26: The Blizzard Bowl (Little Canada, MN)

1/26: 2019 IceBreather Classic (Springfield, IL)

1/26: ATCF Cancer Crackdown: Revival of The Fittest (Pasco, WA)

1/26: Hung Like Coff at PFC CrossFit (Las Vegas, NV)

1/26: Steel Rail Shootout 2019 (McComb, MS)

1/26: Woid Beast Fitness Challenge (Cham, Germany)

1/26: Brick NY Midtown Throwdown (New York, NY)

1/26: Fifth Annual Cold Steel Classic (Oswego, IL) 

1/26: New Year’s Revolution (Seminole, FL)

1/26: Three Rivers Throwdown (Rome, GA)

1/26 – 1/27: Cougars and Cradle Robbers (Salem, MA)

1/26 – 1/27: Game Day Eau Claire (Eau Claire, WI)

1/26 – 1/27: NorCal Masters (San Rafael, CA)

1/27: Big Dawgs Athlete Development Camp (Letchworth, England)

1/29 – 2/2: Fittest in Cape Town (Cape Town, South Africa)

2/1 – 2/2: Battle of the Brave III (North Kansas City, MO)

2/2: Golden State Games (Stockton, CA)

2/2: Left Coast Classic Competition (Laguna Niguel, CA)

2/2: Golden State Games (Stockton, CA)

2/2: A League of Their Own (San Antonio, TX)

2/2: True Paw III Crossfit Competition (Annapolis, MD)

2/3: Coffland Hero WOD (Norwalk, CT) 

2/9: Valentine’s Day Crush (North Hollywood, CA)

2/9: The Garage Games Master of the Masters (Suwanee, GA)

2/9: Cupid’s Roar Partner Competition (Melbourne, Australia)

2/9: 3rd Annual Black Ops Partner Competition (Wheaton, IL)

2/9: Bedrock Heart Breaker (Calgary, AB)

2/9: Battle of the Ages (Jacksonville, FL) 

2/9: Battle for Bae 2019 (San Mateo, CA)

2/9: Battle of the Fittest 6: NYC Throwdown (New York, NY)

2/9: My Bloody Valentine (Vidalia, OH)

2/9: 2nd Annual Battle of the Ages (Fruitland, ID)

2/9 – 2/10: The CF Circus (Des Moines, IA)

2/16: Valentine’s Day Massacre (Kilgore, TX)

2/16: The Garage Games Xs & Ys (Valdosta, GA)

2/16: Couples Clash 2019 (Pensacola, FL)

2/16: Tuff Love (Boulder, CO)

2/16: Valentine’s Day Massacre (Selma, TX)

2/16: Vicious Valentine’s Partner Throwdown (Carlisle, PA)

2/23 – 2/24: Strength in Depth (London, England)