“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”- Aristotle
COMPETITION
2022 Zelos Games Recap: Tudor Magda and Andrea Nisler Take Las Vegas Event
The 2022 Zelos Games live showcase has come to an end, but the fun is only just beginning for this CrossFit licensed event with a hybrid twist.
Remind me: The main event takes place online around the world 11/11 through 11/21. There are several divisions available, four workouts in total, a new approach to no-reps and movement standard-setting, and cash payouts totaling over $35,000 (plus over $32,000 in prizes) up for grabs.
The live event portion took place at Camp Rhino in Las Vegas this past weekend where 12 women and 11 men (after a last minute withdrawal from Mike McDonald) were invited to do the same four workouts for a live audience and a separate cash pool. In a similar style to an Open workout announcement format, athletes globally can see a few of their favorite elite athletes throw down, and then get in on the action themselves.
The workouts were programmed by Underdog Athletics Assistant Head Coach Kiefer Lammi, all with names inspired by the city that never sleeps. Bleachers are set up in close proximity to the field of play, giving spectators an intimate view into the pain cave these athletes endure. Surrounded by industry-leading vendors, a Hibachi-grill food truck, a rockin’ DJ, family, friends and fans, it was an elevated local competition to set the bar for the rest.
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In case you missed it: Lauren Kalil, the host of The Bottom Line, was at the Zelos Games this past weekend in Las Vegas with colleague Preslie Hirsch, our senior manager of content and they crushed it, and we’ve got the interviews with both the winners to prove it: Tudor Magda and Andrea Nisler.
ELFIT: Check out our final day coverage from the Egyptian event, as Brent Fikowkski and Antonia Falt-Kottulinsky took home top honors.
European Championships update: Check out our story on how CrossFit athletes said they never supported a 2023 event to help pay for the 2022 event.
Great talk: Matt O’Keefe, HWPO boss, chats with CEO and Founder of Fluffy Duck Josh Pirtle about all of the new athlete additions to the team.
Team update: The TYR Wodapalooza keeps getting more and more exciting, now we have Kari Pearce, Arielle Loewen and Alex Gazan confirmed as another badass team.
Dynamic duo: Oh just Tia-Clair Toomey and Brooke Wells training for the upcoming Down Under Championship in Australia, no biggie. 😝
Local love: Great piece in local newspaper Current about a CrossFit gym in Zionsville, Indiana and how Sarah Strohl, who has Down Syndrome, has workouts designed specifically for her.
PROFILE
MEMBER EXCLUSIVE
Fueled by Doritos, Emma McQuaid sets Northern Irish Snatch, Clean and Jerk Records
Emma McQuaid set two Northern Irish weightlifting records a week after competing at the 2022 Rogue Invitational.
She set the National Record for the Snatch and Clean and Jerk in the sub-71 kg weight category, lifting a 82 kg Snatch and 104 kg Clean and Jerk, on November 5 at The Ulster Open Championships.
Her pre-competition diet was less than desired.
“I’d say I had one proper meal all week,” McQuaid, 32, said. “I was living off Doritos crisps. I don’t usually get to eat crisps all year. But because I didn’t get a proper off season as I was training for Madrid [Championship], I ate every single thing I wanted to eat and nothing I should have eaten after Rogue. I wasn’t really nutrition’d for the event.”
The 2022 Zelos Games live showcase has ended, and we have all the action of the biggest moments from the invitational as Morning Chalk Up’s Lauren Kalil gives you the play-by-play through her recap show.
CrossFit Mayhem’s Rory Mckernan on His Cancer Battle and Battle Cancer: “The right people doing the right things for the right reasons”
The next Battle Cancer fundraiser is taking place Saturday, November 19, 2022 at CrossFit Mayhem, and the cause runs deeper than just another opportunity to exercise fast.
Cancer is a diagnosis that hits particularly close to home for the Tennessee affiliate, with Mayhem’s own Rory Mckernan being a survivor of testicular cancer after being diagnosed in 2011 at 28-years-old.
At that time, Mckernan had already been CrossFitting since 2005, and working with CrossFit Media for a couple of years. Currently, he serves as the Director of Business Development and Athlete representation at Mayhem Nation.
“For me, they (Battle Cancer) represent a lot of why I was drawn to CrossFit in the first place, which is the right people doing the right things for the right reasons. And after my cancer journey, one of my top priorities was, ‘Hey, I want to give back to this community’.”
“Once it was clearly in my rear-view, I was like, ‘Okay cool, this is something that’s going to be with me forever. It’s part of my identity, and it’s something I want to give back to’. However, I never made it my job. And so people like Scott (Britton), like Battle Cancer, who put such a priority and work tirelessly to serve communities who are in need of help, like the cancer community, they have a big piece of my heart for those reasons,” Mckernan said.
Zelos Games Head Judge Andrew Hiller Divides and Conquers
When the Zelos Games announced Andrew Hiller would be the head judge, reactions from CrossFit fans poured in. “It’s provocative! It gets the people going!” wrote one follower on Instagram. “This is going to be interesting,” posted another. In a strategic move by the hybrid competition, they’ve appointed Hiller to pilot a revamped way of setting standards, enforcing penalties and judging both in-person and online events.
Remind me: Hiller, who has about 20,000 followers on YouTube and 27,000 on Instagram, is known for being outspokenly critical of athlete movements; often referred to as the “Batman of CrossFit”. And while his delivery doesn’t always sit well with many, he does possess valuable experience as a Semifinal level athlete, former affiliate owner, Level 1 coach and a CrossFit Certified Judge 10-times over (literally).
At approximately 8:30AM on Saturday morning (Nov. 12), 24 men and women gathered in the bleachers of Camp Rhino in Las Vegas, Nevada for the athlete briefing led by Zelos Games founder Jared Graybeal. After covering a variety of logistics, Hiller was invited to the floor to go over movement standards for the two workouts of the day: Snake Eyes and Royal Flush.
“I looked around as I was giving the athlete briefings and there were eye rolls; a couple, some people, and I’m not going to forget those,” Hiller said.
In reference to the outlined penalties for not following instructions, he continued: “…Maybe they don’t agree with it, but they also don’t understand the importance of it because they might not utilize them.”
After answering a few questions from the audience, he drove one major point home: “If you’re trying to game it, you’re going to be penalized.”
Where You Should Pull Towards When Doing a Strict RMU
Strict ring muscle ups are the holy grail of complex gymnastics movements. For the part of the population (those half human, half superhero) who are able to attempt these, knowing where to pull towards can be super beneficial in nailing the movement.
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We’ve all been there, you start your warm up with a few air squats and suddenly the gym sounds like a Rice Krispie commercial with the “snap, crackle, pop” coming from your knees. But did you know, that noise doesn’t mean there’s necessarily something bad going on in there? Learn the causes and how to help quiet down your loud knees.
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One of the best bodyweight movements that we all decided to get crazy with by flipping them upside down, a traditional push-up can be a soul crusher in a workout (hello Murph, our old friend). Using these two tips, you might be able to hang on for larger sets of push-ups or feel like you are doing them more effectively!
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