CrossFit Open Registrations Increase for Fourth Straight Year

POWERED BY:

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

Reminder: To make sure you get the Morning Chalk Up promptly each morning, please move us to your primary inbox or simply reply to this email. (And let us know how you did during 24.1!)

In today’s edition:

• We now have a very clear picture of the total CrossFit Open registration numbers for the year. The Open Report, with Mike Halpin from Known and Knowable, breaks it all down

• How to the be the “bigger coach,” with Ben Bergeron

• Mayhem Mission continues the fight against human trafficking this March and you can help.

• And, how to watch CrossFit Open Announcement 24.1

Nominate your gym to be February's Affiliate of the Month. Drop us a note explaining why we should pick your gym!

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We wanted to use fitness as a platform to serve and grow God’s Kingdom and invite others to join our mission.” - Rich Froning Jr., on Mayhem Mission’s work.

CROSSFIT OPEN

The Open Report: Week 7

The 2024 CrossFit Open workout 24.1 is done!

So, how did it go? Did you repeat it over the weekend or Monday afternoon? How’s your lower back? Does the mushroom clue make any more sense?

The top times for 24.1 (unofficially) look to go to three-time individual Games athlete Colten Mertens, who posted a blistering fast time of 5:19 at CrossFit PRVN, beating second-place Taylor Self by over 20 seconds. For the women, it looks to be the five-time HYROX world record holder Mirjam von Rohr, who posted her video to the Games leaderboard with a time of 5:39.

• For perspective: I got 12:22, meaning both Colten and Mirjam could go back to back within the time I was still huffing through the final round of 9s. I felt good about it, though, regardless of what the elite athletes of the sport are doing, but hot damn!!

This is the day I have been waiting for. Not finishing 24.1, although that felt good, but the day we can finally look at the numbers (mostly) as a whole. While it may be odd, there will be some stragglers who see 24.2 and 24.3 and still sign up, but outside of a few hundred additional athletes, the gross number of registrations and participants is there.

The final numbers will come after 24.3 has concluded, but here is what we are looking at just after 24.1’s submission window comes to a close:

Decode your DNA to unlock your greatest potential – physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Cut the guesswork and get personalized care through Wild Health. This genetics-based personalized health care service analyzes your genetics, biometrics, and lifestyle data to personalize a health plan to help you achieve optimal wellbeing. Find your edge by tailoring and optimizing your nutrition, exercise, recovery, and supplementation routines.

Get started with a dedicated doctor and health coach today. Use code MCU20 to save 20% on a Wild Health Standard Membership.

SPEED READS

💪 Sign Up: Need more strength sports news in your life? Be sure to subscribe to The BarBend Newsletter to keep on top of the worlds of strongman, weightlifting, and more.

🥩💪ButcherBox for…Dogs?: ButcherBox, the direct-to-consumer meat and seafood retailer loved by CrossFitters for cutting down time at the grocery store and doing meal prep, will now offer a similar service for dogs. Owners can have “ButcherBox for Pets” delivered monthly, boxes that include dry food, treats, and hip and joint supplements.

🚨🚨 New Film: “Identity,” a documentary film following Tim Paulson through his final season as a competitor in the CrossFit season in 2023, just dropped. Check it out now.

New Lab MGMT Athlete: Congrats to U.S. Olympic Weightlifter Mattie Rogers, who joined Lab Management last week. The athlete management company also touts Amanda Barnhart, Katrin Davidsdottir, Mat Fraser, Justin Medeiros, Annie Thoridottir, Pat Vellner, and many other CrossFit greats and up-and-comers on their roster.

Games Athletes Take on 24.1: Here’s a quick round-up of some of your favorite athletes taking on 24.1, in case you missed them over the weekend:

• Annie Thoridottir (with clever modifications) | Rebecca Fuselier

• Bethany Flores | Noah Ohlsen | Chandler Smith

• Dani Speegle | Roman Khrennikov | Pat Vellner

• Lauren Fisher | Noah Ohlsen (again) | James Newbury

• EZ Muhammad | Justin Medeiros | Kelsey Kiel

The Mayhem Athlete’s Everyday Hero Games are back! This year, the top two athletes from each division on the online portion will be invited to compete at Crossfit Mayhem for a one-day in-person team competition where they will name The Fittest Everyday Heroes.

• The online competition will run May 1-6, and the in-person competition takes place on June 22. Full details will be released following the Open

🚨🚨 Syndicate Crown Community Event: Sweat before you spectate! The Syndicate Crown (North America East Semifinal) announces a new Community Event that will take place concurrently with the Semifinal Event on Friday, May 31 through Sunday, June 2.

• Community divisions will compete outside on Mary Costa Plaza, located directly in front of the Knoxville Civic Coliseum.

• Registration will go live on Wednesday, February 28, at 12:00 p.m. ET.

• Pick your format (Solo, Team of 3, Pair) and division (Rx, Scaled, or Intermediate) and get signed up now. Each format is scheduled to compete on a different day, starting with “Solos” on Friday.

Working with Larger Bodies Seminar and PRVN Fitness: Athena Perez and Scaled Nation will be joining PRVN Fitness at their new headquarters in Nashville, TN, to present the "Working with Larger Bodies" seminar. The event will occur on April 21, 2024, beginning at 9 a.m. Register now!

ICYMI: CrossFit’s VP of Global Affiliate and Operations does Open Workout 24.1.

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

Becoming a Bigger Coach: Confidence and Presence in CrossFit Classes

Each week on Chasing Excellence, we answer listener questions across the Five Factors of Health–Movement, Nutrition, Connection, Recovery, and Mindset. 

We also get a lot of questions from CrossFit coaches and gym owners, which we squeeze in as often as possible.

Here’s one from a coach, all about bringing what he calls the “bigger” you to class. Our answer, edited lightly for clarity and brevity, is below.

COMMUNITY

Mayhem Mission Aims to Raise $100,000 for Human Trafficking Nonprofit in March

Founded by 10-time CrossFit Games champion Rich Froning, Mayhem Mission is hosting its fourth annual fundraiser on March 23 with the lofty goal of raising $100,000 for Atlas Free, a nonprofit organization that is fighting human trafficking in 26 different countries.

In the last three years, Froning’s fundraiser has raised a combined total of $113,619 for Atlas Free.

Remind Me: Mayhem Mission is a nonprofit that raises money not only for human trafficking but also for at-youth risk.

Before founding Mayhem Mission in 2020, Froning was already involved in helping at-risk youth—a cause that is "close to his heart," Ben Brus, Mayhem Mission's Director of Operations, tells the Morning Chalk Up. So, it became one of the obvious four pillars Mayhem Mission wanted to support.

The final two pillars Mayhem Mission fundraises for are access to clean water and for the unreached.

Froning, the long-time owner of CrossFit Mayhem Freedom in Cookeville, TN, tells the Morning Chalk Up that he started the nonprofit with Brian Nelson because “we wanted to use fitness as a platform to serve and grow God’s Kingdom and invite others to join our mission.”

• “Our goals are to leverage our platform to support organizations within our four pillars and to mobilize like-minded people in the fitness community to take action,” Froning added.

GOOD NEWS

How to Watch Open Announcement 24.2

Week two of the CrossFit Open kicks off with the live announcement of workout 24.2 on Thursday, March 7, on the official CrossFit YouTube channel. And we’ve got all the details you need to know heading into the event.

The details: The second live Open announcement represents the middle of the 2024 CrossFit Open, the world’s largest participatory sporting event. The live announcements started during the 2013 season and grew in size and popularity through 2018. CrossFit elected not to host live Open announcements during the 2019 and 2020 seasons but returned to host them in 2021.

• 24.2 will be presented by GOWOD, the Official Mobility Partner of CrossFit and will take place in Boise, ID at CrossFit Shred Shed, aka Justin Medeiros’ garage.

• The Two-Time Fittest Man on Earth, Justin Medeiros, will take on fan-favorite Games veteran Colten Mertens.

• The 24.3 announcement will take place at PRVN HQ in Nashville, TN, on March 14. It will feature a head-to-head battle between Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr and Arielle Loewen. 

How to Watch the 2024 CrossFit Open Workout 24.2

Tune in to the CrossFit Games website or CrossFit YouTube channel for the live 24.2 announcement on Thursday, February 29, at 12 p.m. PT. 

THINGS TO…

…ENTER

2POOD Giveaway 

Enter to win an exclusive 2POOD Morning Chalk Up belt as well as an RX subscription to our newsletter for one year. Every weekend of the Open, a new winner will be announced, so you have three chances to win. 

GOOD LUCK.

The Difference Between the AIRWAAV Mouthpieces

Curious about AIRWAAV's HIIT and Endurance Mouthpieces? Discover their distinctions to find your perfect fit. Learn how to integrate them into your training routine and what to expect within your first few weeks.

FIND YOUR FIT.

…MOBILIZE

Struggle with Mobility in the Squat Snatch?

Jared Enderton shows how the Sotts press can help with your warm-up and eventually lead to better mobility in that bottom position.

IT BUILDS CHARACTER.

…TRY

Iron Bull Home Gym Equipment and Accessories

Check out the wide range of IPF-approved kettlebells, barbells, plates, and more. Find lifting straps, belts as well as apparel. Iron Bull is built on a community of like-minded individuals moving towards the same goal, training with exceptional tools.

JOIN THE IRON SQUAD.

HIGHLIGHTS

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

• ⭐️Happy one-year affiliate anniversary to CrossFit Camden Frontier, in Camden, MI. 

• Congratulations to Sofie, coach at Core City CrossFit in Detroit, MI, for competing at the Arnold Classic and setting a new American record for the snatch. 

• Happy eight-year affiliate anniversary to CrossFit Grahamstown in Africa.

• 🏋️‍♂️Congratulations to Craig Richey on his recent weightlifting meet and on qualifying for the British Championships. 

• Happy eight-year affiliate anniversary to Freakin Awesome CrossFit in Africa.