Australian Teams Dominate 2024 CrossFit Games

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

• Australian dominance on the competition floor and heartfelt tributes to Lazar Ðukić characterized the 2024 CrossFit Games Team Division. Get caught up below.

• Are you trying to master kipping ring muscle-ups? Check out these three drills to help you get there.

• Bar Path CrossFit in Willmar, MN, uses CrossFit methodology to help aging men with Parkinson’s disease.

• Support the Professional Fitness Athletes’ Association here.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Effective immediately, no open water or pool swimming events until further notice.” - From an email sent to CrossFit-licensed event organizers by CrossFit HQ on Friday

CROSSFIT GAMES

2024 CrossFit Games Recap: Team Division Dominance From Australia

For more than 15 years, the Affiliate Cup at the CrossFit Games has been an ode to the heart of what makes the CrossFit community so special. 

It’s a love letter to the CrossFit community as affiliates from around the world put their best athletes forward to come together and push each other to new levels of fitness. 

• This year, we felt that sentiment more than ever.

On the morning of Thursday, August 8, before the start of the team competition, the individual division faced a tragedy that would cause shockwaves through the CrossFit community. 

After individual athlete Lazar Đukić drowned during Event 1, the field of athletes, including the team division, became paralyzed as they worked through the grief of what they just experienced. 

The first team event was canceled, and fans and spectators were asked to leave. 

While it was unclear if the competition would continue, CrossFit HQ announced on Thursday night that it would proceed with the Games.

While Đukić’s memory and incredible legacy remained at the forefront of everyone’s minds throughout the weekend, the team competition continued to showcase the work and dedication the athletes put into their sport. 

Here are the top stories from the weekend:

A MESSAGE FROM AIRWAAV

For CrossFit athletes, performance hinges on efficiency—especially when it comes to breathing. If you’ve been training hard but not seeing the results you expect, it might be time to focus on optimizing your breathing mechanics.

AIRWAAV is a scientifically engineered mouthpiece designed to enhance your stamina by improving how you breathe during intense workouts.

Trusted by 2024 podium athletes James Sprague and Dallin Pepper:

“The AIRWAAV mouthpiece makes me 1% better by allowing me to stay in that moment and focus on my bracing mechanics and my breathing. It’s one of the many tools I use to bridge my gap from being a semi-finals level athlete to a CrossFit Games athlete.” – James Sprague, 2024 CrossFit Games Champion. 

“I am able to breathe easier, lift heavier, and recover faster, and in our sport, that is a key to success.”  – Dallin Pepper, 2nd Fittest Man on Earth. 

AIRWAAV helps you:

• Boost Endurance: By reducing respiratory rate by up to 20%, AIRWAAV lowers lactic acid buildup, allowing you to maintain intensity longer.

• Increase Strength: The mouthpiece enhances neuromuscular activation from clenching, generating more power during heavy lifts.

• Accelerate Recovery: AIRWAAV reduces post-workout cortisol levels by up to 50%, promoting faster recovery.

Backed by peer-reviewed research and trusted by top athletes, AIRWAAV is a key tool for anyone serious about their performance. Learn more and discover how it can support your goals.

SPEED READS

“Independent Third-Party Investigation” Update: On Friday night, CrossFit CEO, Don Faul, emailed 2024 Games athletes directly to share an update about the investigation into Lazar Ðukić’s death in Event 1.

• CrossFit has contracted Peter Edge, the CEO and founder of Controlled Strategies and a former director at Homeland Security Investigations, the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Constantly Varied Conversations: In a video posted last night, John Wooley discussed some concerns that Peter Edge’s selection raised. Watch the video here.

• The most significant concerns Wooley pointed to were that the PFAA was not consulted in the selection process, and further, that a significant component of his career was connected to the U.S. Border Patrol, a multi-year sponsor of the CrossFit Games.

B. Friendly Fitness Games Q&A: Be sure to tune in today at 11 a.m. ET, as Briend Friend and Patrick Clark go live to answer questions and give an update on what they have been doing since the Games ended and “what’s next.” Watch here.

No Swimming Events at CrossFit Licensed Events: CrossFit HQ sent an email to organizers of CrossFit-licensed events on Friday that read:

• “In light of the tragic event last week, there is an important update on licensed event programming: Effective immediately, no open water or pool swimming events are allowed until further notice.”

• The email continued, “Our collective efforts are vital in improving water safety guidelines and ensuring the safety of all participants.”

Lazar Ðukić Support Funds have been set up here and here for those who are able to give.

Talking Elite Fitness Sunday at the Games: Tommy Marquez and Lauren Kalil were on the ground at the 2024 CrossFit Games and interviewed athletes, coaches, and managers on the final day of the competition.

• They discussed their thoughts surrounding the tragic death of Lazar Ðukić, the vibe of the athlete warm-up area, and what changes they hope to see going forward. Check the first episode of this series here.

ICYMI: As more information becomes available, and as we await the findings of CrossFit’s “third-party investigation,” we have been able to piece together more details from day one of the 2024 CrossFit Games and the decision to continue following the tragedy at Marine Creek Lake. See more here.

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

Want to Learn Kipping Ring Muscle-Ups? These 3 Drills Can Help

I get asked almost daily for tips and drills for kipping ring muscle-ups.

Throughout my career, I have created a lot of drills to help. 

Some have been great. Some have been flops. 

• They all have pushed me to find what works the most consistently for the most people.

I’ve distilled this article to the best 3 drills I have. 

Before we get too far, I have two notes: 

Note 1: The kipping ring muscle-up is a skill that requires strength. The former will not work without the latter. I recommend having a strict muscle-up first. 

• Not because it has any kind of direct translation (the strict and kipping variations are very much separate movements), but because I know an athlete that has the strength to do a strict muscle-up will have far less of a chance of injury than an athlete that doesn’t. 

COMMUNITY

Bar Path CrossFit Helps Dozens of Elderly Men with Parkinson’s Disease

It all started in 2019. 

A man in his 50s with Parkinson’s disease showed up at Lourdez Schwab’s gym and she couldn’t say no.

• “He had been traveling a couple hours to another gym with a program for people with Parkinson’s, and he didn’t want to travel so far,” Schwab, the nine-year owner of Bar Path CrossFit in Willmar, MN, said.

That opened the floodgates, as the man soon brought in others with Parkinson’s, a degenerative nervous system disease that causes unintended or uncontrollable movements.

• “We weren’t even sure how to begin a program for people with Parkinson’s,” Schwab explained.

She was determined to figure it out, so she and her husband Jason started visiting the gym two hours away with a Rock Steady Boxing program for those with Parkinson’s, to learn from them.

One thing led to another, and before she knew it, she had designed a program that combined Rock Steady Boxing with CrossFit and was training 40 men in their 70s, 80s, and 90s at different stages of the disease. 

• “We didn’t have the capacity, but they just kept coming to us and so we opened our hearts to it. And we started making them stronger,” she said. “Their wives would drop off their husbands and go to coffee together and talk about their stresses, so the gym became a thing for them, too. And for the members with Parkinson’s, their class became their community.”