July 11
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Good morning and welcome to the weekend edition of the Morning Chalk Up. Ten days ago we brought you the story of Dylan Kade, the 2018 “Third Fittest Teen in the World” in the 16-17 division. He remains hospitalized in the ICU with an unknown condition, learn how to help below. And, Tommy Marquez has the second in our series of profiles on Mayhem Madness qualifier teams. This week: Team MisFit.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Fears are educated into us, and can, if we wish, be educated out.” – Karl Augustus Menninger

Dylan Kade Remains Hospitalized With Unknown Illness

Former teen CrossFit Games athlete Dylan Kade remains hospitalized at C.S. Motts Children’s Hospital in the hospital’s intensive care unit as doctors search for answers and treatments for the 19-year old. What was thought to be a severe and rare case of bacterial meningitis is now thought to be Encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain, causing severe confusion, hallucinations, seizures, weakness, and loss of sensation.

Update: Since being admitted, Kade has had numerous spinal taps and has been placed in a medically induced coma in hopes of a decrease of swelling in his brain. He is suffering from seizures and this past Sunday had a breathing tube installed. Doctors and specialists still do not know what has caused the illness that has incapacitated the 2018 “3rd Fittest 16-17 Year-old on Earth.” On July 2 a meeting was held where Kade’s case was discussed by the top infectious disease doctors around the world.

How to help: With Kade’s father suffering from Alzheimer’s and his mother the sole source of income for the family, friends of the Kade family have started a GoFundMe page to help raise money for the expensive treatment and recovery. To date, the page has raised over $70,000 with a goal of $200,000.

Your Member Just Finished Physical Therapy, Now What?

One of the scariest times for a gym member is getting back in the gym after completing physical therapy.

Usually they have been told “ease back into it”.

They hope you know what it means, because they certainly don’t.

So, do you know what it means, coach?

At Active Life we teach coaches exactly what to do in this scenario. If you would like to be the next one to learn, click HERE. 

Mayhem Madness Team Profile: Team MisFit

Our coverage of the Mayhem Madness team competition continues even with the recent announcement that the competition dates will be pushed back three weeks to a tentative date of August 23-30. Last week we profiled the crew from CrossFit Krypton and this week we’ll be taking a look at the second team to earn a spot to through the online qualifier boasting a familiar name and a couple of familiar faces from the CrossFit Games.

Team MisFit finished third overall in the qualifier behind Krypton and P10 Performance with an incredibly consistent performance across the board. They finished all five of the qualifiers between 2nd and 7th place and four of those finishes were in the top five. All four of their athletes have high-level competition experience including two individual Games athletes.

• Paige Semenza: The former Ohio State University hockey player actually got her start at the CrossFit Games in 2017 as a member of Timberwolf CrossFit’s affiliate cup team that finished 8th overall. Semenza has since qualified for back-to-back Games as an individual, and become a fixture at Sanctionals. Her athleticism and grit as a competitor will be a huge asset during the throes of team competition, and having the high-level experience at the Games in both divisions will make Semenza one of the leaders of the team.
• Jordan Cook: In a similar vein as Semenza, Cook has the distinction of having extensive experience at the Games in both the individual and team competition. Cook made back-to-back individual Games appearances — winning his Regional in 2014 — before accomplishing the same feat in the team competition the past two years. In fact, Cook has been on the Don’t Stop team that finished 6th place overall at the Games the last two seasons. Cook isn’t flashy meaning that any one individual performance won’t jump off the page the way some other (normally) individual athletes in the competition will, but he’s as seasoned as they come in the upper echelon of team competitions and knows how to work cohesively with an eclectic mix of individual athletes. He’ll be a good glue guy that fits anywhere the team needs him.

Continue Reading…

THINGS TO…

…HEAR

Tommy and Sean Discuss the New Professional Fitness Athletes’ Association

On this episode, the TEF boys talk about the newly formed Professional Fitness Athletes’ Association, its goals are and how we might see it interact with competition organizers.  And, another competition has been postponed as Mayhem Madness pushes back to late August.

ATHLETES ASSEMBLE!

SPONSORED

…TRY

Ascent Recovery Water

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…EAT

Salted Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie Shake

It’s the weekend, treat yourself to this deliciously creamy peanut butter oatmeal cookie shake made with no banana in just 10 minutes! This healthy, vegan oatmeal cookie shake is naturally sweetened with Medjool dates and packs in sneaky veggies from cauliflower. And you can add your favorite protein powder and other delicious mix-ins.

SMOOTH.

…GET

Your First Muscle Up

Dreaming of life above the rings? Give Brent Fikowski’s 6-week ring muscle-up program a try. It only takes 30 minutes, 3 days a week and by the end, you will be up and over the rings.

LIVE ABOVE THE RINGS.

HIGHLIGHTS…

• Basil Samara deadlifts 510 pounds.
• Lindsay Millende gets her first ring muscle-up.
• Kris Philips clean and jerks 198 pounds.
• Liam Slater back squats 308 pounds for a PR.
• Sigurdur Hafsteinn power snatches 253 pounds.
• Rasmus Horslev 236.7 pounds for a PR.
• Congratulations to Emily Loogman and Holden Rethwill on the birth of their daughter, Payton.

COMMUNITY

Five Top Trending Stories at the Morning Chalk Up

Here are five of the top trending stories from the Morning Chalk Up this week:

• Mayhem Madness, the team competition in Cookeville, TN has been postponed, the new target date is August 23.
• Athena Perez lost 225 pounds, changed her life and has published Lifting the Wait.
• Margaux Alvarez makes the Titan Games finals on NBC.
• The Pit Fitness Ranch Elite Teen Showdown gains steam.
• The Masters Fitness Collective creates an online qualifier.

The big news: The Professional Fitness Athletes’ Association is born.