Your Next CrossFit Sanctioned Event

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is fueled by LÄRABAR, a delicious gluten free blend of unsweetened fruits, nuts, and spices. Made from whole food, each flavor contains no more than 9 ingredients – minimally processed, and as close to their natural state as possible.

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“I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.” — Thomas Jefferson

Not Every Woman Wants to Be Lean

Some background.

Wednesday, Josh Bridges announced on his IG that he and WODSTAR are releasing a new program for women called “Lean.”

Well that’s cool.

Except, maybe not. The Internet had a field day in the comment section and by Thursday the post was deleted. But WODSTAR is still releasing the program, which they called the “Get fit, but don’t make me bulky in the process” program.

And that is cool. Because there is no rule that says women have to want to get bulky.

Buttttttt…it’s the next line that has us scratching out head a little.

“Let’s face it…men and women have different goals.”

Wait. We don’t know about you but we know lots of women that have the same goals as a lot of men in the gym.

…and

The description continues. “So, say goodbye to one rep max bench days! This program is built to make you a lean and mean female machine. This program is going to target all those spots with endurance and conditioning training. You will maximize your training sessions by learning the right movements to target the right areas to get the lean and tone body you desire. This program combines muscle isolation with moderate weights to unleash your fat-burning metabolic engine.”

They didn’t.

Oh but they did. Right and wrong body areas? What are these right and wrong movements? And where are these spots that women are supposed to be targeting? Pretty sure no one told athletes like Cayla Haney that she wasn’t supposed to be lifting heavy. Or Stefi Cohen. Or Brooke Ence.

Language like this bolsters the underlying notion that there is one specific form of beauty to be attained. That there is a wrong or a right way for a woman, any woman, to look.

There is not.

Stereotypes like these are how athletes like Maddy Espinoza get teased at school.

Beauty, and health, does not mean the same thing for any two people. If a woman wants to “lean out” and train for a 5k, awesome. If she wants to mass and lift heavy and have traps that break tank top straps, fantastic. It is not right vs. wrong. Have at it.

And, for the record, we’ve been saying this for a minute. Strong is beautiful and ladies, you get to define both.

Down Under CrossFit Challenge Next Sanctioned Event

Some news…we think.

The Down Under CrossFit Championship appears to have let it slip that they’re the next CrossFit sanctioned event.

What is it?

Their website reads, “Your way to proving you way to the CrossFit Games in 2019. The Down Under CrossFit Challenge will be hosted in the City of Wollongong. This three day event May 17, 18, 19th will test the athlete in a variety of CrossFit style events.”

That sounds like a sanctioned event to me.

That’s what we said. And it’s looking like it’s true. The Down Under CrossFit Championship will be held at WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong, the same venue where the 2017 Pacific Regional was held. No word from CrossFit yet, but the Down Under CrossFit championship  even has the fancy little registered trademark sign after CrossFit, so mark your calendars for next May and we’ll see ya down under. 

Things To…

WATCH: CrossFitting Through Cancer 

Daniel Stewart was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2017. At the time, he was an active-duty Royal Marine and a member of CrossFit Aberdeen in Scotland. Stewart didn’t let the diagnosis derail him, still going to the gym every day that he could. “Having CrossFit there gave me motivation,” Stewart says. “It gave me something to focus on. It took my mind off everything.”

HIS BEST DAILY.

HEAR: Brent Fikowski on Being a Professional Athlete

Brent Fikowski sat down with the Mind Muscle Project podcast to share what it’s like being a professional athlete, his plans to compete in China, his thoughts on the CrossFit Games changes, and his new venture the Professor Project.

WE LOVE PROFESSORS.

EAT: Apple Sunbutter Teeth Bites 

Going to a costume party this weekend? No need to blow your macros at the snack table. Bring these impressive little monstrosities with you. You’ll awe the crowd with your skills and you’ll have something safe to eat all night. 

GHOULISHLY GOOD. 

TRY: Simple and Healthy SmoothieBox

Each SmoothieBox comes with 20 smoothie packs filled with frozen organic fruits and vegetables, nuts, 20g of grass-fed collagen protein, and no added sugar and artificial ingredients. Choose from creamy cacao, tropical green, and coconut clementine to have delivered with free shipping. And, new customers who sign up for SmoothieBox in October will get a free, custom Healthy Human 20 oz. tumbler.

A DELICIOUS DEAL. 

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

Chalk Up Community

• WODAPALOOZA ADAPTIVE ATHLETES — Adaptive athletes now have 12 more spots for Wodapalooza Miami. A video review will be done on the 27th and then the first round of invites will follow.
• HELEN FOR HOUNDS — Over 100 athletes participated at Four Leaf CrossFit for the first annual Helen for Hounds event with Reps for Rescues. They collected supplies and cash for Maxx and Me Pet Rescue in Tampa and one lucky dog was adopted at the event.
• BURPEE WORLD RECORD — Greg Amundson and Mark Divine are teaming up this Veterans Day weekend to break the Guinness Burpee World Record for a group. They plan on doing 22,000 burpees to raise awareness and funds for veterans with post-traumatic stress. 

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

Happy one year CrossFit anniversary to Megan Lien • Wodndone is giving away 40 pairs of grips for max effort toes to bar and this baby shows you how • Annie
Thorisdottir deadlifts 364 pounds for seven reps • Congratulations to Carleen Mathews as she celebrates eight years of sobriety • Kari Pearce joins WOD on the Waves • EMOM Box is doing an all veteran box for November • Kels Kiel designed a collaborative necklace with Mae Cargo • Jenny Borda is three weeks post shoulder surgery • Mitch Spjut dropped-in at Cole and Genasee Sager’s garage. 

…and what does Kenzie Riley do when her EMOM ends and her favorite jam is on? Perfectly executes the music video choreography. NBD. 

Wodapalooza Leaderboard Shuffle — Now that the video reviews are underway, the official Wodapalooza Online Qualifier leaderboard has adjusted a bit. 

— Who’s gone: Travis Mead, Dex Hopkins, Constanza Cabrera, and Emily Tanner. 

— Men: With Travis Mead and Dex Hopkins off the leaderboard, everyone from 4th place on has bumped up a place. Austin Spencer jumped three places, from 20th to 17th. With two spots added, Jake Frye and Tyler Eggimann made it into the top 20 qualifying spots.

— Women: Chantelle Loehner dropped to 8th from 4th and Emma Ferreira fell to 9th from 8th. Elizabeth Bradley and Winter Nicolette Rodriquez moved up into 19th and 20th, making it onto the leaderboard, replacing Constanza Cabrera and Emily Tanner. 

Final Leaderboard: Dubai CrossFit Championship — The final qualifying leaderboard is set and invitations have been sent out to these 35 male and female athletes. Athletes have 48 hours to accept their invitation or it will be passed onto the next athlete on the leaderboard. 

NOBULL Launch — Last night at 7:00 PM ET, about 300 fans lined up around the block in SoHo to get the first look at the new NOBULL retail store in New York City. Brooke Wells, Sydney Wells, Aspen Parks, Ben and Heather Bergeron, NOBULL staff, Hunter McIntyre, Matt O’Keefe, Morning Chalk Up CEO Justin LoFranco, Katrin Davidsdottir and Annie Thorisdottir all showed up to the party. 

Lindy Barber on Deciding Not to Compete in 2019 — “I have been training non-stop for the CrossFit Games for the last seven years…This last year became more of a job and something I ‘had’ to do rather than what I wanted to do and I did not like that feeling. I wanted to win the Games more than anything else and I would never let my teammates down. So for the rest of the season I put my head down and I worked my ass off and we got it done. However, when I made my announcement at the end of the games after we had been introduced as the winners that I was leaving,  I would be lying if I said
that all the tears were of joy and happiness. In reality, they were more of relief and sadness. I knew immediately that I needed a change and that my body and my mental toughness needed a bit of a break.

“This is my time to do that. I am fired up about being able to spend more time helping people and less time focused on my training. I am excited to do more seminars, take on more athletes and continue to develop amazing programs to share with the fitness world. I want to do my part in making this world, that I have devoted my time, talent and knowledge to, a better place and experience for as many of you as possible.

“I will not be competing in the 2019 CrossFit Games season. I may never compete at the Games again, but what I will be doing is pursuing my passion for helping other people and doing my best to serve you as the best coach that I can be.” 

“Is it Ethical for Nutrition Scientists to Accept Industry Money?” by Ingfei Chen, Undark Magazine

In recent years, we’ve seen journalism exposés revealing the powerful hand of food and beverage companies in manipulating nutrition research to self-serving ends. There was the NIH’s trial of moderate drinking, shuttered last June after it came to light that beer company-funders had inappropriate influence over the study design.

And there was Coca-Cola’s strategy of funding investigators who emphasize physical activity as a solution to obesity — rather than dieting and avoiding, say, soda. So pardon if I raise a dubious eyebrow when the latest headlines announce that a daily glass of milk can lower blood sugar levels and help manage diabetes — or that a prescription fish-oil pill dramatically cuts the risk of heart problems.

Indeed, in her soon-to-be-released book “Unsavory Truth: How Food Companies Skew the Science of What We Eat” nutrition researcher and New York University emeritus professor Marion Nestle (no relation to the food manufacturer) urges us to “envision a red warning flag flying high in the air,” whenever a report claims that a single food product, ingredient, beverage, or supplement raises or lowers the risk of obesity or disease. For one thing, overall dietary patterns, and not any single factor, are what matter most to our health, she notes.

And in many cases, as she details in the book, studies boasting positive health effects are underwritten by corporate manufacturers. Conflicts of interest from such funding are damaging nutrition science, Nestle says, by skewing research toward producing data more useful for marketing purposes than for basic science or public health.

10/26 – 10/28: JAKTRX Atalas Games (Montreal)

10/27: Tough Temple Invitational (Rockville, MD)

10/27: Rock Your Box Throwdown (St.Cloud, MN)

10/27: Halloween Havoc (Harrisburg, PA)

10/27: Push Pull for Pancreatic Cancer @ CrossFit Trumbull (Trumbull, CT)

10/27: Saberspook Throwdown (Minneapolis, MN)

10/27: Monster Mash (Ann Arbor, MI)

10/27: The Foundry 5K (Steamboat Springs, CO)

10/27: Rock Your Box Throwdown (Saint Cloud, MN)

10/27: Beartown Halloween Beatdown (Lebanon, VA)

10/27: 9th Annual Fall Brawl (Gibsonia, PA) 

10/27: Boo Bash (Cleveland, TN)

10/27: Crush Cancer at Dogtown CrossFit (Los Angeles, CA)

10/27: Sin City Championships 2018 (Singapore)

10/27: Barbells For Boobs at CrossFit New Albany (New Albany, OH)

10/27: Barbells For Boobs Fundraiser (Nyack, NY)

10/27: WOD League Black River Edition (São José do Rio Pret, Brazil)

10/27: Amy’s Warrior Project (Brenham, TX)

10/27: 2018 CrossFit Juke Joint Halloween Mayhem (Grand Junction, CO)

10/27 – 10/28: GI’s and Janes ( Jackson, MS)

11/2: Wodapalooza Qualifier – Team (Online)

11/2: WOD League Mixed Doubles Edition (São Paulo, Brazil)

11/2 – 11/3: Women’s WOD Jam Individuals (Denver, CO)

11/2 – 11/3: Fenrir’s Mayhem at CrossFit Iron Legion (Ocala, FL)

11/3: The Battle of Port Royal Sound (Okatie, SC)

11/3: Battle for the Badges (St. Charles, MO)

11/3: PPS CrossFit Fall Throwsdown (Portland, OR)

11/3: CFT’s 2018 Strongman Classic (Carol Stream, IL)

11/3: WODamania (Riviera Beach, FL)

11/3: Barbells For Boobs at CrossFit Florian (Norwood, MA)

11/3: Bar Wars 2018  (Harker Heights, TX)

11/3: Masters Of The Midway (The Hills, IL)

11/3: Dynamic Duo Deathmatch 2018 (Southlake, TX) 

11/3: Inferno in the Forge (Lawrenceville, IL)

11/3: Perimeter Rowdown (Atlanta, GA)

11/3: Central Texas Showdown (Seguin, TX)

11/3: Rookie Rollout 3 at Troy CrossFit (San Diego, CA)

11/3: Masters of the Midwest (Greenwood IN)

11/3: Fit Wars Competition (Cedar Park, TX)

11/3: Super Awesome Fun Time Pairs Challenge (Toronta, Canada)

11/3- 11/4: Reignited Games 2018 (Wilmington, NC) 

11/3 – 11/4: Charlotte Throwdown for Mental Health Awareness (Charlotte, NC)

11/3 – 11/4: GameDay Championship (St. Paul, MN)

11/3 – 11/4: Clearwater Beach Brawl (Clearwater, FL)

11/04 – 11/05: WODNATION BR (Vinhedo, Brazil)

11/10: The Battle at Branded One (Las Vegas, NV)

11/10: Emerald Coast Honor Games (Destin, FL)

11/10 – 11/11: Extreme Games (Piauí, Brazil)

11/10 – 11/11: South Loop Games (Chicago, IL)

11/10- 11/11: Southie Showdown (Boston, MA)

11/10: Metcon 4 Hope (Reno, NV)

11/10: Best of the Wurst (New Braunfels, TX)

11/10: Warrior Affiliate League Delta Force (Duarte, CA)

11/10: USA Powerlifting Veterans Day Championship (Philadelphia, PA) 

11/10: Blue Cooler Throwdown (Deland, FL)

11/10: Bromageddon 2018 (Chandler, AZ)

11/10: Garage Games Masters Tour 2018 (McKinney, TX)

11/10: First Annual Sergeants Fitness Patriot Games (Caldwell, ID)

11/11: Bonsai Brawl (Philadelphia, PA)

11/11: CFF Team Marathon Row 2018 (Metuchen, NJ)

11/15: Push Pull for Pancreatic Cancer @ Hybrid Athletics Bridgport (Bridgeport, CT)

11/16 – 11/17: Veterans Day Bash at CrossFit Wild West (Lubbock,TX)

11/17: MetCon Mashups CrossFit Lubbock (Lubbock,TX)

11/17: CrossFit TIG Turf Wars (Brighton, MI)

11/17: 2018 Energy Games (Houston, TX)

11/17: MetCon Mashups (Tulsa, OK) 

11/17: Green Valley Clash of the Fittest (Green Valley, AZ)

11/17: Push Pull for Pancreatic Cancer @ Invictus Boston (Boston, MA)

11/17: North County Fall Brawl (Watertown, NY)

11/17: BCF for Homeless Kids Kettlebells4Kids Fundraiser (Derry, NH)

11/17: Team SuperFit Charlotte (Charlotte, NC)

11/17: 2nd Annual Well Seasoned Masters Competition (Burlington, MA) 

11/17: Guardian Games National Championship (Ashland, VA)

11/20: Ben Marconi Memorial WOD (San Antonio, TX)