Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is fueled by Kettlebell Kitchen.

Designed to take your performance to the next level, KBK’s Perform Meal Plan is perfect for those looking to crush their goals during this year’s Open. Sign up today, share your goal, and commit to four weeks of meals here. Check back in after week four and you’ll get $75 off your fifth week of meals.

“Don’t expect front row seats if you’re giving nosebleed effort.” — Eric Thomas

CrossFit Affiliates, You’ve Got Mail

The story.

Midday yesterday, affiliate owners received an email update from CrossFit HQ outlining some of the recent changes to the Sport of Fitness in an attempt to “offer some clarity.”

“The 2019 CrossFit Games season has been marked by change,” the email began. “The changes are both exciting and may at times be confusing. We’d like to offer some clarity.”

You can read the entire email here.

In late August 2018, when these changes were first announced, they were billed as a refocus of the companies resources away from the CrossFit Games to support the broader mission of the work affiliates are doing across the globe and pursue more health initiatives.

However, according to a handful of affiliate owners we spoke to for this story, this is the first communication they’ve received directly from HQ regarding the changes.

One 10-year affiliate owner who asked to remain anonymous, even went so far as to say, “It is the first ‘affiliate owner’ email update I’ve ever received.”

Can you hear me now?

The lack of communication over the past six months has been jarring for some, creating more questions than answers. This perceived silence coupled with news of the third round of layoffs, which brings the total to around 100 employees let go, has left emotions running high.

But with the 2019 CrossFit Open around the corner, the communication couldn’t come at a better time.

“I think it was wise, and will be very well-received by the affiliate community that CFHQ has shared more about the strategy behind the extensive changes to the Games season,” said C.J. Martin, owner of CrossFit Invictus. “As I wrote on the Invictus site when the changes were initially announced, uncertainty creates anxiety, so even if someone doesn’t like or agree with the direction taken, the statement creates some order and allows for better decision making.”

Emotions on social media posts about CrossFit’s changes have run high over the past several months, a clear indicator that the community is concerned over the lack of clarity which could affect participation in the 2019 Open. However, according to the email, HQ expects “over 13,000 boxes participating in this year’s Open.”

The 2019 CrossFit Open kicks off next Thursday at 5:00 PM Pacific on Games.CrossFit.com.

GAMES NEWS

The CrossFit Open Numbers Game and Who to Watch for the Top 20 Worldwide

In just one week, the 2019 CrossFit Open kicks off with five weeks of competition. This year, elite athletes will be competing to qualify for the CrossFit Games one of two ways: as national champion or by finishing top 20 on the worldwide leaderboard.

In previous years, an athletes’ worldwide standing was largely irrelevant except for bragging rights. The stakes are much higher this year.

We’ve analyzed the worldwide leaderboard for the past five years to identify some trends and establish some benchmark performances.

Continue Reading. 

Coffee Break Conversations

And you thought everyone on Tinder was extra strange on Valentine’s Day…

Brace yourself. There’s an app called Tudder, which ironically rhymes with udder. It’s pretty much Tinder but for cows. Yup, cows. The app lets livestock owners find matches for their cattle. Instead of selfies at that just right angle in that just right light, Tudder includes data on milk yield, protein content and calving potential. Farmers can swipe right to make the next move for their cattle. So, if you’re having steak tonight, you can thank both Tinder and Tudder.

Things To…

WATCH: Cole Sager in South Africa

Cole and Genasee Sager share their trip to South Africa for the Fittest in Cape Town CrossFit competition. They get in some training and competing, but they also explore Cape Town and climb Table Mountain, go on a safari, and swim with sharks.

BUT FIRST A TRIP TO TARGET.

HEAR: Adee Cazayoux on the Big Red Express

Adee Cazayoux is the CEO and Founder of Working Against Gravity, an online nutrition coaching service that provides one-on-one nutrition coaching. They talk about their reach, their team, and how Adee got into the nutrition business. 

NUTRITION IS KEY.

GET: Your First Muscle-Up

Everyone needs help improving their gymnastics. If it’s getting your first muscle-up or stringing 20 toes-to-bar together, Invictus has an online Gymnastics Program to help and with three levels of programming; beginner, intermediate and advanced, it’s perfect for anyone.

LET’S GET GYMNASTY.

EAT: Sweet Potato Muffins

These healthy flourless sweet potato muffins are a quick, easy and no mess recipe. Made in a blender or one bowl, they are fluffy on the inside and tender on the outside. Made with no butter, oil, grains or sugar, they are naturally gluten-free, vegan, sugar-free, dairy free, with a paleo option too.

MESS FREE RECIPES.

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

Chalk Up Community

• ROW FOR A REASON –– The fifth annual Row For A Reason will be held in Nashville, TN on March 30. The event raises funds for GiGi’s Playhouse, a nonprofit Down Syndrome achievement center. 
• ROWATHON FOR VETS — On February 16th, CrossFit Leverage in West Chicago, IL will host the 9th Annual Reckless Rowathon event to benefit the Silent Warrior Foundation who gives support for veterans and their families by providing access to emergency assistance, mental health services, education, and scholarships.
• RAISING COMPETITORS — Jake Thompson of Compete Every Day is launching a new email series on how to raise kids with the core pillars of a competitor like grit, gratitude, learning and leadership. If you’re interested in this email Raising Competitors.
• AFFILIATE REVIEW — Cameron Bucek, the CrossFit Nomad, recently dropped into CrossFit Iron Shamrock in Winter Garden, FL and wrote an affiliate review. 

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

Kara Saunders front squats with the She Bear • Vernon Hills High School CrossFit WODs for PE • Bobby Frey gets a 40-inch box jump • Leandro gets his first bar muscle-up • Lauren Fisher goes unbroken in a kettlebell
complex • While she was competing in Miami Sara Sigmundsdottir learned her grandmother passed away • Kaitlin, who lives with Cerebral Palsy, deadlifts a 115 pound PR • Cayla Harper power cleans 260 pounds • Congratulations to Larry Gaczewski on his overhead squat PR. 

…and thank you for these Make Wods Great Again. We love you. 

Reykjavik CrossFit Championship — Scores are due for the RCC online qualifiers this Sunday, February 17 at 3:59 PM PT. 

Strength in Depth 19.1 Live Open Announcement — Strength in Depth announced they will be hosting and broadcasting a live open announcement for 19.1 from Royal Docks CrossFit in East London next Thursday at 5:00 PM PT/1:00 AM Friday in London. The broadcast will be streamed on the Strength in Depth and CrossFit Games channels. ⠀

— Then…on Saturday morning, the entire competitor field will be doing 19.1 as the first event of the two-day sanctioned event. 

Catching Up With Lukas Hogberg — Morning Chalk Up caught up with third fittest man in the world, Lukas Hogberg, at Fittest Freakest in Barcelona. 

— “It’s going to be a long season…Training is going good, I’m excited to compete again. But the thing is now, with the changes…I don’t know if I’m going to do Strength In Depth anymore because the Open is so important, and a sanctioned event doesn’t matter as much. So I’m probably not going to do it, and just focus on the Open.”

— “I’m going to try and rank as high as possible on the leaderboard [in the Open]. A lot of people are going to try to qualify through the Open, it’s going to be harder, I’ll have to push it and be in really good shape for the Open.”

— Last year’s setbacks “motivated me a lot. I just wanted to go back to the Games and compete against all the amazing athletes and feel the atmosphere there. I love the Games. The events there are my most favorite, I wanted to come back.”

CrossFit For First Responders — The Marlborough Police Department in MA, is launching a new fitness program for officers, called MPD FIT, in partnership with Crag Fitness. “Other than firearms expertise and tactics, there is no other component of law enforcement preparedness that
will aid an officer’s success and survival on the street like being physically fit. The program will consist of officers participating in high-intensity fitness classes and nutrition seminars with a CrossFit coach,” wrote Officer Patrick Hogan, president of the Marlborough Police Patrol Officers Association.

— Reminds us of…CrossFit Repentance in Waterford, WI who just moved their entire box into the Village of Waterford Fire Department to provide personal training and support to the first responders in their community. Members of the gym walk into the fire station and train with the fire department. “The fire chief Rick Mueller has participated in CrossFit for several years. He knows this is the best way to prepare his first
responders for anything they may encounter prepare for the unknown and unknowable,” wrote CrossFit Repentance owner Kris Baxter.

— A New Type of Relationship: While first responders and law enforcement have always had a working relationship with CrossFit, this seems to be a new trend. It’s like the difference between dating and moving in together, and we like it. 

“Federal Judge Delivers Another Blow to NSCA,” by Justin LoFranco, Morning Chalk Up 

On Monday, the NSCA suffered another blow in their years-long battle with CrossFit, Inc. after a California federal court shot down their request to dismiss a second lawsuit brought by their own insurance company, Insurer National Casualty Co.

CrossFit Inc. and the National Strength and Conditioning Association have been locked in a legal battle for the past several years over a false study published which claimed that CrossFit was dangerous.

The lawsuit hasn’t gone well for the NSCA.

In 2016, the court ruled that the “NSCA fabricated the injury data” and the study was published “with the intention of protecting [NSCA’s] market share in the fitness industry.”

By failing to comply with court orders on multiple occasions — including lying under oath and withholding documents — they were required to pay seven figures to hire a forensic accounting firm to comply with their court’s request.

In May 2017, the court awarded CrossFit $400,000 in attorneys’ fees. Then in June 2017, the NSCA’s own insurance company — Insurer National Casualty Co. — brought a lawsuit to remove them from the liability of covering the NSCA any longer, which further exposes the NSCA to legal costs and liabilities.

2/15 – 2/16: 2nd annual Tough Love Competition (Louisville, KY)

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

2/16: Cupids Revenge (Kapolei, HI)

2/16: Masters of Fitness ( Cape Coral, FL)

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

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

2/16: Tuff Love (Boulder, CO)

2/16: 2019 Reckless Rowathon (West Chicago, IL)

2/16: Reps For Rescues at Timberwolf CrossFit (Roseville, MN)

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

2/16: Winter War Games (Spanish Fort, AL)

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

2/16: Ice Breaker 3 at Unbreakable Athletics Academy (Plainfield, IN)

2/17: RGA GAMES 2019 Online Qualifiers (Online)

2/23: Amicus Ambush: Mixed Teams (Dickinson, ND)

2/23: Long Beach Box Crawl Sprint (Signal Hill, CA)

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

3/24: The Rockwell Championships Series Team Qualifiers (Online)

3/30: Row For A Reason 2019 (Nashville, TN)