Inside Abbie Domit's Impressive West Coast Classic Win

June 12th, 2024

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

  • Abbie Domit secured her second career invitation to the CrossFit Games by winning the North American West Semifinal. In August, she’ll make the four-hour drive from her home in San Antonio to Fort Worth, but first, she’ll have to travel through the toughest two months of the Games training season.

  • Are you stressing about stress hormones? EC Synkowski, owner of OptimizeMe Nutrition and host of the Consistency Project podcast, has got you covered on all things cortisol.

  • Reps4Recovery uses fitness to fight substance abuse disorder and stop generational cycles of substance abuse within families. Learn more about how you can help below.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“It’s science when we're exercising. You have a lot of happy chemicals…not just when you are doing the movements; they are also released when you're connecting with people. We are social creatures who need to connect, and there's a lot of isolation when you're in the midst of your use of substances,” - Sophie Moeller, program director, Reps4Recovery, on why fitness is such a powerful tool to fight substance abuse disorder

CROSSFIT GAMES

Credit: @domit_media / Instagram

Abbie Domit Wins West Coast Classic, Embarks on the Toughest Two Months of CrossFit Season

A handful of months after her first CrossFit workout, Abbie Domit told her husband that she wanted to make a real go of it: train full-time, qualify, and compete at the CrossFit Games. 

  • To repeat: this was only months after she had tried CrossFit…for the first time. 

Her husband didn’t bat an eye and never questioned or doubted her, but instead, pushed her to set the bar as high as she could. 

He encouraged her to focus not only on qualifying for the Games, but also to challenge the elites and secure a legitimate placing once there. 

And in her sophomore season as a Games competitor, Domit is doing just that. 

Last month, Domit won the West Coast Classic. 

This secured her a second consecutive ticket for the CrossFit Games, which will be conveniently held in Fort Worth, Texas, just a four-hour drive for the San Antonio resident.

Breaking Onto the Scene

Domit qualified for Semifinals in 2022 in only her second competitive season (she competed in the Open in 2021). She took 16th place at the 2022 Syndicate Crown.

In 2023, she qualified for Semifinals once again and finished eighth at the North America West Semifinal, including a top-five event finish. 

As a rookie at the 2023 CrossFit Games, Domit took 26th place, falling below the cutline on Saturday night, unable to finish out the weekend.

A MESSAGE FROM WODCELONA

WODCELONA, The Most Inclusive Competition in The World

This past Monday 10th the online qualifier for WODCELONA 2024 began, a competition hosted by the city of Barcelona, ​​and supported by the Nike Well Collective team.

Its third edition will take place right on the seafront, in the Barcelona Forum park, and will offer up to 46 categories for any type of athlete:

  • Standard athletes: Teens, Rx and Elite

  • Adaptive athletes: with15 adapted divisions

  • Teams of 3: Master, Elite, Rx, Intermediate and Open

This year WCN will offer one of the largest prize pools in Europe, and with its 3 competition stages, and hosting over 1,500 athletes, it promises to be the best WODCELONA version yet seen. 🙌🏼

Join HERE the online qualifier, available until June 24th.

WODCELONA, PEOPLE HAVING FUN 🌍

SPEED READS

✍️✅ Morning Chalk Up Rx Program Survey: Hey Rx member! We are gathering feedback about the program and our premium content. Please take a few moments to help us out by providing your thoughts and comments here.

🏋️‍♀️💙Reps4Recovery is Hiring: The 501(c)(3) organization that uses fitness and community to combat substance abuse disorder is hiring a new executive director. Learn more and apply now! 

📋📋 Unofficial 2024 CrossFit Games Rosters: Although the final leaderboards are pending until the completion of drug testing and any backfills, check the full Individual and Team CrossFit Games fields now.

🥇🏃New HYROX World Champions: Congratulations to Alex Roncevic and Megan Jacoby are the 2024 HYROX World Champs, taking the men’s and women’s elite medals.

  • According to a press release, this was HYROX’s “most successful season ever with a landmark event [the World Championships] welcoming 4,200 athletes and 6,000 spectators to the Palais Des Expositions” in Nice, France. Check out the full live stream now.

⬆️🏋️‍♀️ UPLIFT Challenge: UPLIFT is an annual fundraiser workout initiative created and organized by Mark Moss to help bring awareness to suicide and suicide prevention.

  • Every month, UPLIFT runs a challenge with great prizes — this month WODZombie and Hero Barbell. Check it out and learn more.

📸🎥 Dylan and Susana's Lost Gear Recovery: At the North America West Semifinal by West Coast Classic, two friends of the Morning Chalk Up, Dylan Shoemaker and Susana Rodriguez Mata, who are photographers/creators in CrossFit media, had some of their valuable camera equipment stolen.

  • Heber Cannon of the Buttery Bros arranged a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to replace the lens and the camera. Check it out and help if you are able.

🏆🏆 Celebrate the launch of the all-new Jocko Hydrate Drink by winning some epic prizes! Win a Jocko Fuel x Blue Cube Ice Bath ($20,000 value), a year's supply of the brand-new drink, or be one of 10 lucky runners-up to snag prizes from YETI and GORUCK. Stay hydrated and win big!

🔥💙 Geaux CrossFit x Working with Larger Bodies: Later this summer, Geaux CrossFit in Baton Rouge, LA, will host the Working with Larger Bodies seminar. The seminar will provide members and the broader community with access to expertise and resources about fitness, nutrition, and working with athletes with varying needs for movement adjustments. Register now!

📊📈 Rogue Invitational Qualifying System: The Rogue Invitational announced a new qualifying system for its annual event, which is moving to Aberdeen, Scotland, in 2024.

  • From the announcement: “Over the past few years, we have been working on the method to select the best CrossFit athletes in the sport. This system takes into account the most recent event performance along with the last five years. There is a predictive component to replace missing scores due to various life events.”

  • The post clarified that Rogue “reserve[s] the right to invite anyone but plan on using this to choose a MIN of 10 along with 5 MIN from the Q.”

  • Check out more details on the qualifying system and search for athletes here.

ICYMI: So, was there a “moving day” at the 2024 CrossFit Games Semifinals? Borrowed from professional golf, the term refers to athletes setting themselves up on the second-to-last day for a final run up the leaderboard. But with the new Semifinals format featuring half the points on the final day, how did things shake out this year? 

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

Credit: @welcome_to_the_mill / Instagram

Stressed About Stress Hormones? Here's What You Need to Know

On a recent episode of the Consistency Project podcast, we tackled the belief that cortisol, the so-called “stress hormone,” was the culprit behind your weight gain or inability to lose fat. 

Here are some key takeaways, clarifications, and recommendations.

What is Cortisol?

Cortisol is a glucocorticoid hormone that plays a vital role in the body's stress response and energy mobilization. 

  • It is released during stressful times to keep the body alert and responsive. 

Cortisol helps break down stored carbs and fat for energy (and eventually protein) to provide the body with the fuel it needs to face stressful situations.

Cortisol is often portrayed as the villain of hormones, but it serves an essential purpose. 

A MESSAGE FROM POWER MONKEY TRAINING

Looking to improve your gymnastics skills? The Power Monkey Training app is designed to help you build a strong foundation and progress towards your goals.

Features:

  • Programs built by Elite Athletes: Beginner to advanced programs focus on gymnastics skills like muscle-ups, handstand push-ups (HSPUs), pull-ups, build by elite athletes. It's like working with a personal gymnastics coach.

  • Strength & Mobility Assessments: Build a customized program for your current level and identify areas for improvement.

  • Instructional Videos: Learn proper technique and movement patterns for each exercise with detailed video demonstrations.

  • Focus on Technique: Prioritize safe and effective movement patterns to avoid injury and maximize results.

The Power Monkey Training App can help you:

  • Develop foundational strength and mobility for advanced skills.

  • Master proper technique for various gymnastics movements.

  • Build confidence and progress towards your fitness goals.

COMMUNITY

Credit: @reps4recovery / Instagram

Reps4Recovery: Using Fitness to Fight Substance Abuse

Krissy Mae Cagney started what later became known as Reps4Recovery unofficially in 2015. 

  • Cagney was in recovery herself and owned Black Iron Gym in Reno, NV. 

On a whim, she began offering classes to anyone in the community who was recovering from any kind of substance abuse. 

The classes were packed, and this program took off like wildfire.

Cagney knew she had something.

Early on, Cagney entirely funded the program, but its popularity soon made this impossible. 

In the spring of 2017, the informal program Cagney started was christened Reps4Recovery, and through crowdfunding and the release of a documentary, the organization was able to raise money to hire more coaches and build the program. 

The program quickly transitioned into a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Cagney sold her gym just before the pandemic, and the management of the organization went primarily to Sophie Moeller, a program director who had been bringing clients from a sober program into the gym to utilize Reps4Recovery. 

The fit was perfect. The timing, however, was not.

  • “It was the time of COVID, and I didn't know what to do,” Moeller said in an interview with the Morning Chalk Up. “We didn't have a gym and had nowhere to meet as a group because the pandemic was looming and all the gyms shut down. So we marched ahead, put our classes online, and somehow hung on by a thread with people checking in online.”

The pandemic was brutal for everyone, but when it came to the sober population, it was even more precarious.

HIGHLIGHTS

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

  • 🐕Check out this new rope climb challenge from Jackson in Florida. How long can you hang on?

  • Congratulations to adaptive athlete Dr. Heidi Ward McGrath of New Zealand, who won her division at the Torian Pro and will be competing at the Adaptive CrossFit Games this summer.

  • Congratulations to Rach of the UK, who just hit a 90-kilo/198-pound snatch.

  • Congratulations to Leticia of Patropi gym in Brazil on getting her first bar muscle-up.

  • ❤️Happy belated anniversary to Sam and Jenn Dancer.