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CrossFit LA Community Faces Devastation in Wildfires; How to Help

January 10th, 2025

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

  • Wildfires have devastated the greater Los Angeles area, and many in the CrossFit LA affiliate community have lost their homes and more. Find out how you can help below.

  • If you don’t use it, you lose it, right? Well, not exactly. Learn more about “detraining” from EC Synkowski.

  • Join the Saddle Up CrossFit community this weekend as they take on “Gage," a new Hero WOD near and dear to their hearts.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“[D]evastating fires are tearing through parts of L.A., leaving the city, including members of our Oak Park / CrossFit LA community’s homes destroyed — including the affiliate owners. We are raising funds to help the families rebuild and recover. Insurance doesn’t always cover these kinds of fires. They have lost everything.” - Dusty Hyland’s GoFundMe description to aid victims of the L.A. fires.

COMMUNITY

Credit: @dustyhyland / Instagram

Wildfires Ravage L.A. County, Members and Owners of CrossFit Los Angeles “Have Lost Everything”

Editor’s Note: This is a developing story, and we are committed to sharing details and information as they become available. Please send us tips, donation links, and other details here.

The Pacific Palisades fire, one of three fires currently raging through Los Angeles County, was first reported at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 7. 

  • Since then, it has grown quickly as powerful and erratic winds swept through the region, causing the initial evacuation of 30,000 residents and gridlocked streets, as those who fled by car were forced to abandon their vehicles and flee on foot. 

Later that day, a second fire broke out in the hills above Altadena, in Eaton, a community in northern Los Angeles, which subsequently prompted 40,000 more people to evacuate their homes.

As the fires continued to rage, propelled by wind gusts of over 70 miles per hour, a third fire broke out on Wednesday, January 8, in the Hollywood Hills, resulting in further evacuations. 

  • At this time, according to CNN, nearly 2,000 structures have burned, 130,000 residents are under evacuation orders, and five people have died. 

One big thing: Among the structures that have already been destroyed in the fires were the homes of several community members and the affiliate owners of Oak Park/CrossFit Los Angeles, a 20-year affiliate that celebrated its 20th anniversary in December 2024. 

  • Games athlete Dusty Hyland asked for support on social media and shared that he had set up a GoFundMe account to raise money for those who have lost everything. 

The GoFundMe campaign description reads:

  • “Starting January 7th, devastating fires are tearing through parts of LA, leaving the city, including members of our Oak Park / CrossFit LA community’s homes destroyed- including the affiliate owners. We are raising funds to help the families rebuild and recover. Insurance doesn’t always cover these kinds of fires. They have lost everything.”

“Your donation will go directly to the gym owner and families who have lost their homes,” the description concluded.

A MESSAGE FROM ATHENS THROWDOWN 2025

Last Call – Don’t Miss Out on Athens Throwdown 2025!

This is it — your last chance to sign up for Athens Throwdown 2025!

With just two days left, now’s your moment to secure your place and get ready for: 

  • 1,376 athletes

  • 3-day Finals

  • Olympic Games Stadium

  • 1,500 sq.m. arena

  • 1,200 sq.m. warm-up area

  • 250 staff & judges

  • €61.850 in cash prizes

  • 2 new Team Pre-Scaled Divisions for less experienced athletes.

 Registrations close soon and the qualifier workouts will be published on January 13th!

 Are you ready to compete with the best?

Click here and join us in Athens this April!

SPEED READS

🏃👟 HYROX x PUMA Launch Co-Branded Footwear: The PUMA x HYROX collab, the SS25 collection, launched yesterday and features the first-ever HYROX co-branded footwear, including the Deviate NITRO 3, Deviate NITRO Elite 3, and Velocity NITRO 3. Check out the collection and gear up!

  • According to a press release: “Built with HYROX athletes in mind, the specially curated performance and lifestyle gear is designed to help athletes excel at their next HYROX race and will be worn by HYROX Elite 15 athletes including 2024 Women’s World Champion Meg Jacoby and Men’s Pro World Record holder, Hunter McIntyre.”

🐻 🏆 Northern California Classic Online Qualifier: The Northern California Classic, the recent addition to the 2025 CrossFit Games season’s slate of In-Person Qualifying Events, launched its online qualifier today. Check out the workouts and register now.

  • In case you missed the news, the in-person event will take place June 6-8 in Sacramento, CA, and two men and two women from a field of 50 each will earn tickets to the Games (provided they also placed in the top 1% in the Open).

  • Thirty-five of the 50 athletes on each side will come from the online qualifier; the other 15 will receive at-large invitations based on their 2025 Open performance.

🥶 🥶 Literally, it's freezing outside. And you know what makes that a whole lot better? Pajamas, comfy socks, and a warm mug of Beam Dream powder for some good quality shut-eye. Grab a Brownie Batter bag at 40% off with code "CHALKUP."

😎🌴 2024 TYR WZA Miami Beach The Gauntlet: Throwdown on the beach at TYR WZA! Registration for the 2025 TYR WZA Gauntlet, powered by the U.S. Army, is LIVE and the workouts were just released.

  • How It Works: After choosing a time slot, athletes battle through five stations in one hour. Each station provides a different workout style, and the top athletes in each division move on to the finals. Available Individual divisions include Scaled, Intermediate, and Rx. Register now!

ICYMI: The Masters CrossFit community lost one of its pillars last week when four-time Games champ Will Powell lost his years-long battle with cancer. Today, his friends and fellow competitors celebrate his life and legacy. 

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

Credit: John Araño / Unsplash

Use it or Lose It: What Every CrossFitter Needs to Know About Detraining

As CrossFitters, we pride ourselves on our fitness. We train hard to build muscle, gain strength, and improve our aerobic capacity. But what happens when life gets in the way and we're forced to take an extended break from the gym?

  • Periods of "detraining," whether due to injury, illness, or other circumstances, can rapidly undo our hard-earned gains.

For an episode of the Consistency Project podcast, I looked at a recent review paper by Casuso et al. that sought to understand the effects of muscle disuse on muscle mass, strength, and VO2 max.

By aggregating data from over 50 studies, the researchers shed light on just how quickly our fitness can decline when we're sidelined.

Muscle Strength Declines Faster Than Muscle Mass

One key takeaway from the review is that muscle strength declines significantly faster than muscle mass during periods of disuse. 

  • Muscle mass is the weight of your muscles, while muscle strength is your ability to generate force with those muscles through efficient neural connections.

COMMUNITY

Credit: Jill Hughes

Join Saddle Up CrossFit and Take on New Hero WOD in Honor of Navy SEAL Nathan Gage Ingram

Jill and Jason Hughes regularly program Hero WODs at their gym, Saddle Up CrossFit, in Decatur, TX.

  • “We have always made a big deal about doing Hero WODs, typically trying to do at least one a month. We put a lot of emphasis on the importance behind them,” Jill said.

That being said, in many ways, Hero WODs were just another hard, sweaty workout for her community to tackle, as nobody had any direct, personal connection to the fallen veteran or first responder the workout was named after.

But last January, the unthinkable happened. 

  • Hughes’ cousin, 27-year-old Navy SEAL Nathan Gage Ingram, was killed trying to save a fellow SEAL while on tour in the Arabian Sea with Navy SEAL Team 3. Jason and Jill suddenly found themselves designing a Hero WOD in his honor.

They applied to have “Gage” added to CrossFit’s canon of Hero WODs last spring and received official approval on November 15. 

On Saturday, January 11, a year after Ingram’s death, the Saddle Up CrossFit community will tackle “Gage” alongside a handful of other gyms in the area.

HIGHLIGHTS

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