Arielle Loewen is "Pretty Strong For a Mom"

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Good morning, and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

• Arielle Loewen is building her brand with a love of community at the center. Learn more about her plans for this season and beyond.

• We examine the growing affiliation market facing gym owners and how they can balance cost and value.

• As we close the book on the 2025 CrossFit Open, we take one final look back at five of the highlights we’ll remember from this year’s test.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Women inspire me with stories of their strength.” - Arielle Loewen on her inspiration for her brand.

PROFILE

How the Love of Community Helped Arielle Loewen Build a Brand and How She Is Giving Back

Arielle Loewen is good at exercising quickly. 

This full-time wife and mom, who trains in her garage, has competed at the CrossFit Games for four consecutive years, with a third-place finish in 2023. 

Throw in a fourth-place finish at TYR Wodapalooza in 2024 and a third-place finish at the Rogue Invitational in the same year, and Loewen has been consistently successful and looks to be in the prime of her career.

She may make it look easy on the competition floor, but Loewen is the first to admit that none of this success was in the plans.

• “I’m trying to be smart about my career because I thought I would never make it to the Games,” she told the Morning Chalk Up in an interview. “Now, I’ve made it four times, and after I got third place at the Games, I thought my career was over, and then I got third place at Rogue, so I keep surprising myself performance-wise.”

Pleasantly surprised with her ability to stay strong and competitively relevant, yet knowing it would not always be the case, Loewen wanted to plan for the future. 

A MESSAGE FROM NOBULL

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SPEED READS

🏃 📋 Red Bull HYROX Coaches Camp: Submit your application for the Red Bull HYROX Coaches Camp now. This three-day coaching summit will elevate your knowledge and skills in data analysis, planning and periodization of training, and HYROX coaching methodology, all while building your coaching brand.

• The details: The camp will take place from August 4 to 7 at the renowned Silverstone Race Circuit and Red Bull Racing in Milton Keynes, UK.

🌎🥇 WFP Challenger Online Qualifier I Results: Though not finalized, check out the unofficial results of the first World Fitness Project Qualifier here.

🇦🇺 🐐 Catching Up With Tia-Clair: In a recent YouTube video, the seven-time CrossFit Games champ said she will focus on HYROX through the World Championships in June, but she will also attempt to earn her Games ticket at the Torian Pro at the end of May.

😎 🏆 The TYR Cup Is Back!: TYR Wodapalooza SoCal is back and bringing the TYR Cup to Huntington Beach on September 19-21 for the second annual team throwdown. More details about TYR WZA SoCal athlete registration, division breakdowns, and the TYR Cup are coming soon.

ICYMI: Laura Horváth marches to the beat of her own drum, and we got a chance to sit down and talk with the 2023 champ in Germany. Read all about it here.

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

The Growing Affiliation Market: Will the WFP, MetFix, or HYROX Pull Affiliates Away from CrossFit?

CrossFit is for sale, and affiliate owners will have a lot to consider in the upcoming weeks and months. 

• Should they stay the course and remain affiliated with CrossFit, or is it time to become an independent gym with its own brand?

While an emotional subject, the answer to this question, for many, will likely come down to a cost versus value analysis: Specifically, is being a CrossFit affiliate still worth it (especially for those in international markets with unfavorable exchange rates)?

New Affiliation Options on the Rise

Another consideration CrossFit affiliate owners may make is the potential value of affiliating with one of the many emerging affiliations in the space. 

Namely, The World Fitness Project (WFP), MetFix, and HYROX. 

CROSSFIT GAMES

5 Things We’ll Remember About the 2025 Open

Wall walks, walking lunges, thrusters, snatches — you name it. The 2025 CrossFit Open had it all, and now that it’s over, we can look back on an exciting three weeks.

Each week, thousands joined the CrossFit HQ livestream to view the Open announcement and learn what workout would consume the next three to four days of their life. (Or maybe that was just me?)

The community witnessed big moments in their affiliates and at the elite level. While there were countless memories to take away from this year’s Open, we whittled them down to our five favorites.

Mertens’ Overall Domination

Colten Mertens missed out on the 2024 CrossFit Games by two spots and returned this season with a fire in his belly. 

When his score appeared on the 25.1 leaderboard, it was stunning. The scorecard stopped at 10 rounds, but Mertens proceeded to complete round 10 and get 11 reps into round 11. He finished with the winning score of 361 reps.

Mertens’ domination continued into 25.2 and 25.3, where he took first and second place, respectively. 

• Mertens is setting the bar high for his 2025 season. Fans can see him next at the invite-only Mayhem Classic, which will be held April 5-6 in Cookeville, TN. 

HIGHLIGHTS

Celebrating a PR, hosting a fundraiser, this, that, or otherwise? Send us a tip.

• 💪Great work to Sangramjith from CrossFit Total Control West in Jacksonville, FL, on this 179-kilo/395-pound deadlift set of three.

• Check out this set of three hang squat snatches at 120 kilos/264 pounds from Icaro of Brazil.

• Great job to Dan Bailey on this set of three back squats at 204 kilos/450 pounds. Next up: 500!

• Congratulations to Ella Price on this 95-kilo/209-pound clean complex.

• 🔥Congratulations to Katla of CrossFit Sudurnes in Iceland on this 108-kilo/238-pound clean and jerk PR.

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