How Is CrossFit Games Vet Alexis Raptis Preparing for Fort Worth?

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

• How is Training Think Tank athlete, Alexis Raptis preparing for her third trip to the CrossFit Games as an individual? She broke it down with us today.

• Does your affiliate offer a punch card option? We talked with gym owners, business mentors, and others about the pros and cons.

• Jim Luurtsema’s story was similar to many others, until it wasn’t. Learn how he found CrossFit, lost almost 200 pounds, and discovered a new purpose in life.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I'm a big proponent of CrossFit itself. As much as I say I'm a runner, I'm a CrossFit athlete first. Without CrossFit, I wouldn't have been able to do what I have done.” - Jim Luurtsema on his fitness journey, so far

CROSSFIT GAMES

How Three-Time Games Qualifier Alexis Raptis Is Preparing for Fort Worth

Alexis Raptis has been competing in CrossFit since 2015. 

In her teen career, she took fourth in 2015 in the Girls 16-17 category before coming back and taking second in 2016. 

As an Individual, she broke through first in 2022, qualifying for the Games and taking tenth, and then last season, she took sixth overall, just behind Alex Gazan. 

• We sat down with the Alpharetta, Georgia-based Raptis to discuss everything that goes into her CrossFit Games preparation, from nutrition and training to her mental game.

Here’s what we learned:

Nutrition

Raptis keeps her nutrition as simple as possible. 

What that usually boils down to she said, is eating relatively the same day in and day out during the training season. 

• Raptis follows a macronutrient prescription—right now she’s at approximately 150 grams of protein, 70-80 grams of fat, and 500-550 grams of carbohydrates per day—that she and her Training Think Tank Nutrition Coach, Becky Rogers calculated. 

Although she has a prescribed set of numbers, Raptis said she tends to listen to her body and trust her feelings. 

• In other words, if she is hungry more on any given day, she doesn’t restrict herself from eating more because she’s limited to a strict set of macronutrient numbers, she simply eats more.

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SPEED READS

🏆🚨 Fifth Athlete Announced for TYR Wodapalooza SoCal: Justin Medeiros was announced as the fifth athlete in the mix for the inaugural TYR Cup, a battle between North America and the World. He was announced yesterday on Talking Elite Fitness:

• Jeffrey Adler, Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr, Danielle Brandon, and Lazar Djukic were announced last week. Medeiros will join Adler and Brandon on Team North America.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏋️ The Rogue Invitational “Q” in September: Announced yesterday, the Rogue Invitational qualifier will run September 6-9. Earn a spot to compete in the individual division in Aberdeen, Scotland. More details soon.

❤️🔥 Dottir Skin: “Dottir Skin” — Annie Thorisdóttir and Katrín Davidsdóttir’s new venture with Helga Hermannsdóttir — is a mineral sunscreen made to help athletes perform. Check it out on July 17.

🏆💪 FitFest Invitational: The UK’s up-and-coming athlete showcase and fitness competition festival is back on December 4-6, 2024.

• The invitational will feature teams led by Ricky Garard, Arielle Loewen, Bjorgvin Karl Gudmundsson, and Emma McQuaid in a “Europe vs The Rest of the World” battle. Learn more about all the competitions at FitFest and get super early bird tickets now.

ICYMI: Who are this year’s CrossFit “Doppel-Gamers” — athletes whose performances thus far in 2024 remind us of remarkable performances last season?

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

Are Punch Cards Hurting Your Business?

Zia Rohrbaugh offered punch cards for years at CrossFit Counter Culture in Encinitas, CA.

But she decided to stop when she realized they were doing more damage than good.

• “The people never bought into the community. They were half out but got all the benefits [of other members] and usually they needed more of the coaches' time,” Rohrbaugh told the Morning Chalk Up in an interview.

Further, Rohrbaugh noticed some of her punch card purchasers started doing her programming at Globo gyms in the area. So she abandoned them.

• “When we got rid of them, we converted the good ones and it has been great. [Now] I focus on the members that pay monthly memberships,” she said.

For Rohrbaugh, it came down to confidence, and to standing up for what made sense for her business.

• “I think gym [owners] sometimes are too accommodating. It can hurt them. I always say have the confidence to set your worth,” she added.

The big picture: While most gym owners strive to sell recurring monthly memberships, as they bring predictable income, many affiliate owners also continue to offer punch cards, which provide people with the flexibility to come to a class periodically and at their own convenience, and without having to commit to a monthly recurring fee.

• But, although punch cards provide the client with flexibility, the gym owner never knows if and when the punch card user will decide to punch in, not to mention whether they’ll purchase another card when they run out of punches.

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COMMUNITY

“Trust in the Process”: How Jim Luurtsema Found CrossFit, Lost 200 Pounds, and Now Runs Marathons for Good Causes

Taking that first step and walking into a CrossFit affiliate can be intimidating. 

It was especially so for Jim Luurtsema. 

When Luurtsema was finally coaxed into taking a CrossFit class at CrossFit Override, in Thomaston, CT, it was in the middle of the pandemic; he weighed 360 pounds and had to wear a mask while working out.

• Luurtsema laughs as he recalls what it felt like. “Imagine being that weight, doing your first class with your mask on, and feeling like you're being waterboarded because you can’t breathe. It was very humbling,” he said in an interview with the Morning Chalk Up.

Like most first-time CrossFitters with no experience, Luurtsema began the onboarding process. 

He took his time, taking two months to complete it (at his affiliate, the average time was one to two weeks), as he was too intimidated to walk into a class at his size. 

Luurtsema had minimal previous athletic experience, coupled with a busy career in music and getting older, which led to a slow and steady weight gain as he closed in on 40 years old.

• “Most of my life was great,” Luurtsema said, “but taking care of your body, which translates to your mental health, was suffering. So I wanted to make a change.”

Making the jump from one-on-ones to classes was tough, so he decided that a long warm-up before each class would help him get there mentally and physically. 

He started doing a short run before each class.

HIGHLIGHTS

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

• 🎂Happy birthday to Amanda Barnhart.

• Nice work Jason, on the 124-kilo/275-pound push jerk PR.

• Check out Teen CrossFit Games athlete Dennis from Sweden with this 115-kilo/253-pound snatch PR.

• 😳Check out this Tola Morakinyo snatching his way up to 149 kilos/330 pounds.

• Watch Games athletes James Sprague and Cole Sager prep for Chad with some weighted box step-ups.