First-Time Masters Athlete, Hayley Murillo Talks 2024 Games Season

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

• For Hayley Murillo, competing at the CrossFit Games as an individual had been an elusive goal — until this year. Learn more about the veteran’s 2024 season and hopes for the future of the Masters Age Groups.

• Shifting your mindset can be the most important part of embarking on a new nutrition plan. Check out EC Synkowski’s advice to avoid sabotaging your progress.

• The 2024 Adaptive CrossFit Games wrapped up over the weekend. Get highlights and our recap below.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“A lot of us have been doing this for so long, and now we're aging up into the Master's divisions. I think if we can make this something that people love and are excited to do, it will keep growing. People need to embrace getting older and staying fit.” - Hayley Murillo on competing at the 2024 Masters CrossFit Games

CROSSFIT GAMES — MASTERS

From Backfill to the Top Ten at the Games — CrossFit Masters Athlete Hayley Murillo

Hayley Murillo knows all about heartbreak, at least in CrossFit. 

A CrossFitter since 2012, she competed at Regionals for the first time in 2014 and made five more appearances there overall, including Semifinals trips in 2021 and 2022.

Despite her success, Murillo had never qualified for the CrossFit Games as an individual. The closest she came was in 2021 when she finished 15th at the West Coast Coast Classic. That year, only the top five women advanced.

• Murillo did not take the last couple of years off completely, per se, but she will be the first to admit that her athletic identity had changed since giving birth to her daughter Rogue 21 months ago. 

This year, after focusing previously on supporting Bethany Flores’ journey to the Games and coaching Haley Adams with her husband, Josh, Hayley decided to make a run at Masters. 

She finished 42nd in the online 2024 Semifinal and failed to qualify for the Games — the cutline stopped at the top 40 in the 35-39 age group. Her story seemed to have yet another familiar ending…at least at first.

The Waiting Game

In the Masters divisions, the Semifinal stage is fully online. When the 2024 Semifinals workouts were released, Murillo saw them and “thought these were not wheelhouse for me in probably the worst way possible,” she told Morning Chalk Up in an interview, laughing.

Murillo tried to stay positive and keep her head down going into the competition weekend.

• “Going into those tests, I knew they weren’t ideal, but I will do them anyway. I will repeat them and give my best effort because that's what I do.”

A MESSAGE FROM THE FITTEST EXPERIENCE

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It's time to turn up the heat, Texas style.

The Fittest Experience Online Qualifier is here! Week 1 workouts are live NOW.

Divisions include PRO, RX, Intermediate, Rookie, Masters, Teens, Teams, Community, and Young athletes. If you're looking to jump in on some fun and see where your fitness lands you, let's rock and roll.

Head here to get signed up and get after the Week 1 workouts today! All Week 1 scores are due Tuesday, Oct. 01, at 8 p.m. CST. The registration deadline is Tuesday, Oct. 01, at 7:30 p.m. CST before scores are due.

SPEED READS

📊🧑‍💻Want to Get Tested by WOD-Science?: The team at Wod-Science is running a study on the effectiveness of low-intensity, high-volume “Zone 2” training for CrossFit. Can CrossFit athletes benefit from Zone 2 training?

• Get the details here and register now. The study begins on September 30 and lasts 12 weeks.

☀️🥇The Dubai Fitness Championship is Coming — Online Qualifier On Now: The Dubai Fitness Championship is coming to the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Stadium from December 6-8, 2024. The total prize purse is approximately $1.3 million AED or just over $350,000 USD.

• Thirty men and 30 women will compete, and the only way to qualify is through the online qualifier, which runs September 19-October 10. Register now and check out the workouts: 24.1, 24.2, and 24.3. Be sure to use the Official Video Recording Partner of the DFC, WODProof.

🤓💪 Greg Glassman “Returns”: On the Constantly Varied Conversations podcast, John Wooley discussed the announcement of Greg Glassman’s new venture, “MetFix.” Learn all about it here.

😎🏆 Team North America Wins Inaugural TYR Cup: When the dust settled over the weekend, it was Team North America on top, 7-6, over Team World.

• Both teams entered the final day tied at 4-4, but Team North America rattled off three straight wins to start the day and clinch the victory before the final event started. Get caught up on live stream coverage and check back this week for our recaps and takeaways.

ICYMI: In the final part of our three-part series on individualized gym and coaching practices, we take a look at the positive impacts it has on clients and members.

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

5 Diet Expectations That Are Sabotaging Your Progress

You've started a new diet with the best intentions, but after a few weeks, you find yourself frustrated and ready to give up. 

Sound familiar?

As I broke down in a recent episode of the Consistency Project podcast, the problem may not be your willpower or the diet itself but your expectations.

Mindset plays a crucial role in the success of any diet or lifestyle change. As I’ve seen with countless people I work with, shifting mindset is the first change they must make with a new diet – even more important than what’s in the cupboard or the fridge.

• Having realistic expectations and the right mindset can make all the difference in your ability to stick to a diet and see lasting results.

Here are five common diet expectations that could be sabotaging your progress.

Unrealistic Calorie Targets

Many believe that to lose weight, they need to drastically cut their calorie intake, often aiming for 1,200 calories per day or less. However, this expectation is not only unrealistic for most people but also unsustainable and potentially harmful.

Instead:

• Aim to maximize the number of calories you can eat while still achieving your goals.

• Start by weighing and measuring what you are currently eating and reducing it slightly (10-20% of calories from there). 

CROSSFIT GAMES — ADAPTIVE

The 2024 Adaptive CrossFit Games by WheelWOD — Results and Recap

The 2024 Adaptive CrossFit Games by WheelWOD came to a close last weekend as the top adaptive athletes competed in San Antonio, TX, at Morgan’s Wonderland and the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.

The details: CrossFit made the decision to separate age division and adaptive athletes from individuals and teams this year in hopes of expanding the fields and giving more exposure to the separate divisions. 

In previous years, the Adaptive CrossFit Games only featured three divisions in person, leaving most adaptive athletes without a Games end-of-season event. However, with the new format, the field was broadened to 15 divisions. Check out the highlights from the competition below.

Some Highlights 

First-Time Games Appearances

For many Adaptive Division athletes, this was their first in-person Games appearance. 

In 2023 only the Multi-Extremity, Lower Extremity, and Upper Extremity divisions competed at the Games. This year, the top ten male and female athletes across 15 divisions competed over the weekend. 

Tom Green made his first appearance at the Games this year in the seated with hip male division. His best placement before this year was 8th in Semifinals of 2022. He came into the weekend in fourth place out of Semifinals.

• Green hit an impressive lift of 190 pounds for a PR during the 1-rep-max clean workout. He attempted 195, but it unfortunately didn’t count towards his official score.

HIGHLIGHTS

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

• 🎂Happy birthday to Gretchen Kittleberger.

• ICYMI, congratulations to Arielle Loewen on her 90-kilo/200-pound snatch last weekend.

• Congratulations to Teenage CrossFit Games competitor Isabella Barclay, who won the Teen Girls 16-18 Division at TYR Wodapalooza SoCal.

• Check out this massive complex from the Tribe Games last weekend — 170 kilos/374 pounds on the barbell for Jordan Wilson. 

• 🔥Congratulations to Dani, who hit this 69-kilo/152-pound snatch complex for a PR. Great work, Dani!