😳 CrossFit's Last Chance Qualifier Kinda Flopped

June 18th, 2025

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

  • CrossFit’s Last Chance Qualifier sees record-low turnout

  • Pop your hips? Hold your horses

  • Level 1, redefined

QUOTE OF THE DAY
❝

People saw the workouts and decided that they had a low chance of getting the one spot and then chose not to compete.”

Matt Torres, Brute Strength coach, on the low LCQ turnout.
2025 CROSSFIT GAMES

CrossFit’s Last Chance Qualifier Sees Record-Low Turnout — Why Athletes Skipped Their Shot at the Games

Credit: @trainingthinktank/Instagram

The Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) — the 12th and final qualification event for the 2025 CrossFit Games — took place over the weekend. It featured an online competition in which athletes completed five workouts for a chance to earn the final men’s and women’s invites to the Games in Albany, NY, this summer. 

  • However, despite the promise of a potential Games spot, the turnout among the qualified athletes was low. Like, low, low.

What happened? Why did less than 10% of qualified athletes participate in the LCQ workouts? We reached out to coaches and athletes to find out what happened.

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SPEED READS

🏋️‍♀️ 🎉 Get Involved: Organización de Amigos, a charity dedicated to making CrossFit accessible to youth, announced that the fifth annual C4K Comp will take place on October 18 at CrossFit Wilsonville. Early registration for the fundraiser competition goes down on July 1.

🚦💪 Street Smarts: Just what in the heck is streetlifting? This unique mix of calisthenics and weightlifting is being hailed as a challenger to CrossFit, but does it offer enough to stand out? Read this deep dive from Men’s Health to learn more.

🍫😬 Power Up: Tasting Table recently put 14 different flavors of Barbells protein bars to the test to find the best one. Spoiler alert: Fans of the birthday cake flavor might want to skip this one.

🚶‍♂️💨 Stay Flatulent: Because we have lost the impact of shame in our society, it seems like fart walking is all the rage these days. Learn how this aromatic aerobic activity can actually help your digestive health.

ICYMI: HYROX’s World Championships weekend was a huge success…other than some frustrating issues with the sled turf.

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

Why “Pop Your Hips” Isn’t Helping Your Bar Muscle-Ups

Credit: Pamela Gagnon

The most overused and misunderstood cue, in my opinion, is “Pop Your Hips.”

Too often, when you attempt a bar muscle-up and end up slamming your chest into the bar instead of completing a successful rep, a coach will remind you about your hips.

Please stop using that cue until you understand when to use it.

Let’s take a moment to reflect on why the cue is used:

 When we look at a Games athlete, we see them “float” through the air as their hips drive towards the bar. 

  • In reality, we often forget that these athletes possess a tremendous amount of strength, both in pulling and pressing, and they know how to create tension while transitioning from the arch to the hollow.  

The tension and strict strength give the impression that they are only doing a “hip pop.” 

The kipping bar muscle-up is a strength skill that uses momentum to enhance speed, allowing for more reps to be performed within a set period.

INDUSTRY

“Own Your Health”: CrossFit Redefines Level 1 for Everyone, Not Just Coaches

Credit: @ithinkcrossfit / Instagram

In the early days, the CrossFit journey looked a lot like this:

  • You discover CrossFit, quickly start drinking the Kool-Aid, and then you sign up for the CrossFit Level 1 seminar, led by CrossFit founder Greg Glassman.

In the days before 2010, taking your CrossFit Level 1 wasn’t necessarily associated with becoming a CrossFit Level 1 coach. It was more of a rite of passage for the average CrossFit enthusiast who wanted to further entrench themselves in the community. In fact, most people who attended a Level 1 Seminar in the early days had no intention of ever being a CrossFit coach.

Somewhere along the way, though, the CrossFit Level 1 Certificate Course arguably became largely associated with becoming a coach. Find out why that was a negative for members of the community and see how CrossFit is course-correcting with a new perspective on Level 1.

HIGHLIGHTS

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