“Courage is found in unlikely places.”- J.R.R. Tolkien
COMPETITION
Dubai Fitness Championship Kicked Off with Iconic Burj Khalifa Challenge
The 10th anniversary of the Dubai Fitness Championship kicked off Friday morning in Downtown Dubai, UAE with a historical first event. The athletes climbed 160 stories wearing a weighted vest, grinding their way up the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.
The Burj Khalifa Challenge was for completion, meaning there was no time cap to spare the athletes from finishing what is expected to be the longest event of the weekend.
All 40 athletes completed the challenge with times ranging from 30:27 to 43:30.
Alex Kotoulastook first place for the men, climbing the 828-meter building’s staircases in just over 30 minutes, and Jamie Simmonds continued to solidify her place in UAE fitness history with her winning time of 32:10—fourth fastest of all 40 competitors.
The DFC team has released four additional workouts, two that will be done on Saturday and the other two being saved for Sunday.
What’s missing? Three workouts still remain a mystery, but based on what’s been released and looking at programming from the previous years, we can speculate as to what formats and movements may show up by the end of the competition.
Time domains: We haven’t seen workouts programmed in the five-to-eight, eight-to-12, or 12-20 minute time ranges. Thus far, we have a long endurance event, long chipper, sprint intervals, sprint execution-style barbell complex, and the heavy strength event. Expect to see more of the mid-range time domains released in the final three workouts.
Couplets: Every workout up to this point is either a single modality workout or triplet. Expect to see some classic couplets and be on the lookout for multiple couplets being performed back-to-back as one giant workout.
Movements: There are movements that are unique to Dubai that haven’t been released yet. Some of these are A-Jumps, Flying Push-ups, Goblet Deck Squats and the Devil Press. Since the programming was a collaboration, expect to see some of these movements to honor the history of DFC on its 10th anniversary.
Movement patterns: Expect to see more upper body pulling, which may show up in the form of a rope climb variation and/or a form of muscle ups.
The bottom line: With the long endurance event in the books, athletes still have seven opportunities to grab as many points as possible. One of the mystery workouts will be released at 2:00pm on Saturday, and the final two workouts will be announced at 2:00pm Sunday. To stay up-to-date, visit our Event HubandInstagram throughout the weekend.
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In case you missed it: Morning Chalk Up’s Lauren Kalil caught up with nearly half the field competing during athlete check-in for the Dubai Fitness Championship.
Get some: Entries are open for the 12 Days of CrossMas and we are on day two of 12 straight days of fun fitness giveaways to get you in the holiday spirit. Every day until Dec. 12 we’ll be drawing a lucky winner daily to receive a special prize pack from one of our partners. Enter now!
Grab a cup of joe: Tune in today at 11am CT for an exclusive Coffee Break Conversation from Dubai hosted by Preslie Hirsch with the founder of The Progrm, John Singleton. He’ll be chatting about the future of the sport of CrossFit, how his approach to coaching has changed over time, how he helps his athletes choose which off-season competitions to do, and more (Rx only).
Fashion update: Khan Porter, James Newbury, swimwear, what more do you need to know? 🤩
Local love: Great story out of Nebraska about how clinic manager Katie James turned to CrossFit during the pandemic.
Great read: Great piece in the Greatest about how great CrossFit’s women are, and how the sport is for girls as much as guys.
INDUSTRY
MEMBER EXCLUSIVE
Coaching Development Series: Team Building
Part four of our five part series dives into the importance of getting your team together for regular collective development. The specifics of these group sessions should be tailored to the needs and goals of your staff, but scheduling these meetings consistently can help create a culture of learning, collaboration and growth. Today we’ll dive into a basic framework for keeping these sessions organized, interactive and productive for your team.
Scheduled consistently: These sessions should be scheduled well in advance so coaches can block their calendar ahead of time. If you try and book these from meeting-to-meeting, it will be more difficult to get full attendance from the team.
Guess who said: "I don't want to just win, I want to make a statement..."
Ahead of finding out five of the eight events this weekend at the Dubai Fitness Championship, Morning Chalk Up’s Lauren Kalil caught up with nearly half the field competing during athlete check-in. For some, this is their only off-season event but for a handful, this is just one of many. Yet, all had a different response as to why they chose to compete at DFC and what they’re looking to take away from the weekend.
“Strong Like Moose” Freya Moosbrugger Checks off Bucket List Item with Dubai
“It’s like my first week back”, 21-year-old Freya Moosbrugger said, joking about how the Dubai Fitness Championship is a demonstration of her kicking the dust off. The Canadian resident took most of August and September off after her rookie appearance at the 2022 CrossFit Games, and really didn’t expect to be at the biggest throwdown in the UAE.
“I wasn’t anticipating qualifying. I just did a qualifier and I didn’t book anything…I only did the qualifier just to get back into training,” she said. “And then I qualified and I was like, well, why not? I wanted to come. Dubai has always been a bucket list thing, so I’m happy that I qualified in the first place, and I just want to get going and get motivated to train for the next season.”
After feeling like the Rogue Invitational qualifier was too soon after her debut with the Fittest on Earth, Moosbrugger decided the DFC lined up perfectly timing wise. However, not for the schedules of everyone in her support circle.
A close friend of hers, her dad and coach, Michele Letendre, all weren’t able to make the last minute flight arrangements work. So, with three days notice, her mom, a physician, moved her clients around and hopped on a flight across the world to support her daughter on the competition floor.
“I feel 100% supported,” Moosbrugger said. “(Michele) wasn’t able to come because it was a last minute decision for me to come — so it’s totally okay, we’re in constant communication.”
And in addition to her upbeat mother grabbing water, helping carry bags and serving as moral support in a foreign country to the young athlete (the youngest in the field, in fact), Moosbrugger found support in a fellow Canadian competitor: Brent Fikowski.
The 2022 Zelos Games wrapped up last week, and as a competition that was created largely in part to bring earning opportunities to athletes around the world, the tallies have been made and payouts are in progress. Several competitors at the time of this publishing have already received their earnings, which are sent via direct deposit about five days after athletes confirm their banking information.
The total prize purse for the online competition (Nov. 11-21) was over $35,000 cash for the elite division, with over $32,000 in prizes for the other nine available divisions.
Today’s workout is programmed by the Fittest Man in Australia two years in a row, Jay Crouch. Coming off of the Down Under Championship two weeks ago, where he took first place overall in the men’s elite division, he knows a thing or two about grinding through a tough training session.
Jay Crouch
For time:
Buy in: 200 Double Unders
Then, directly into:
30 Overhead Squats (135/95lb, 60/42.5kg)
30 Chest to Bar Pull-Ups
20 Overhead Squats (155/110lb, 70/50kg)
20 Chest to Bar Pull-Ups
10 Overhead Squats (175/135lb, 80/60kg)
10 Chest to Bar Pull-Ups
Time cap: 18 Minutes
Note: Change weight after each pull-up set.
Scaling options: For a scaled version, do regular pull-ups and modify the weights to:
Weight 1: 90/55lb, 40/25kg
Weight 2: 100/65lb, 45/30kg
Weight 3: 110/75lb, 50/35kg
Some advice from Jay: “I chose this workout from our program ‘We Are Unifyd’ (led by Rob Forte) which we did on October 19th. I thought it was cool and I had heaps of fun doing it with our training crew.“
To inquire about submitting an upcoming workout of the week, shoot us a note.
THINGS TO...
...REMEMBER
The Pinch Your Purse Cue
Sometimes the easiest cues are the ones that we remember. This is one of those cues. To engage your lats, this will be your new favorite cue.
The Ultimate Christmas Gift: His New Favorite Shorts
Are you looking for a gift for the male fitness lover in your life? Look no further than the Unbroken Short from TYR. With Hydrosphere™ Fabric and maximum flexibility, these shorts are designed to keep up with every athlete. He'll love the mix of comfort and style, so wrap them up under the tree!
We all know the feeling of trying to transition out of the rower to the next movement… only to get stuck with our feet in the rower and not be able to move and waste precious time in our workout. You need to check out this video!
Ready to learn helpful information about yourself and your training? Whoop helps you monitor your recovery, sleep, training and health and gives recommendations to become a more efficient and healthy human. And don’t worry, for new members we’re hooking you up with a free Whoop 4.0 and a month of membership on us!
Congratulations to Amy Morton from Ocean State CrossFit in Cranston, RI on her time of 3:39 in Zelos Games Workout 1.2— the fastest time of all divisions.
Infinitely scalable indeed— this man is learning ring rows at 90 years old.
Congratulations Amanda Fischer from Roswell, GA on the back squat triple at 300 pounds/136kg.
Congratulations Christine Middleton from Ocean State CrossFit on the 295 pound/134kg clean.
Foster Fit is hosting a 5 Minute Burpee Challenge fundraiser to sponsor CrossFit memberships for teens in foster care. Register now for $25 and you could be eligible for prize winnings.
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