• Morning Chalk Up
  • Posts
  • How Are Top Athletes Preparing for the Busiest CrossFit Season in History?

How Are Top Athletes Preparing for the Busiest CrossFit Season in History?

January 28th, 2025

POWERED BY:

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

  • We talked with elite coaches—Justin Cotler, Adam Neiffer, and Kyle Rolfe—on how they are preparing their athletes for the 2025 season, arguably the busiest in CrossFit history.

  • Check out these three key lessons about downsizing from Compound CrossFit in Chesapeake, VA.

  • In the final part of a three-part series, Progrm founder John Singleton discusses integrating CrossFit and HYROX training in your gym.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I think there’s a little more level of pacing yourself, especially mentally, for a long season” - Adam Neiffer, coach of two-time Crossfit Games champ, Justin Medeiros

CROSSFIT GAMES

Credit: Scott Freymond

Elite Coaches Talk Preparation for the Busiest CrossFit Season in History

As the 2025 CrossFit Games season details have trickled in, in recent weeks, a couple of things have become clear: 

  • There appear to be more opportunities for elite athletes to compete this year than any other season and more opportunities to make money.

Opportunity comes with other challenges for the athletes in terms of peaking, tapering, and staying mentally and physically healthy in a season that doesn’t appear to give athletes an off-season at all. 

We had the chance to catch up with three coaches whose athletes plan to compete in the CrossFit Games season and the World Fitness Project (WFP) to hear their thoughts as we head into the busiest CrossFit season in history.

Justin Cotler, Adam Neiffer, and Kyle Rolfe all have athletes hoping to qualify for this summer’s Games, who have also signed contracts with WFP, and all agree their athletes—Alex Gazan, Justin Medeiros, and Emily Rolfe—will be competing “considerably more, likely double,” Cotler said, than in previous years.

  • And while “Plan A” for Gazan, Medeiros, and Rolfe is to qualify for the Games via the In-Affiliate Semifinal, if that doesn’t happen, then they will have to add yet another taxing, multi-day competition or two into their schedule, as they try to qualify through one of the In-Person Qualifying Events.

As a result, all three coaches say there likely won’t be an opportunity to take as much downtime from training as in the past.

A MESSAGE FROM NOBULL

Spend $125 and Save $50 Instantly

Looking to upgrade your workout game? NOBULL delivers high-performance athletic footwear, apparel, and accessories designed for any challenge. Right now, get $50 off your first purchase of $125 or more using code “FIRST50” at checkout. Whether you’re crushing weights, hitting the track, or just leveling up your style, NOBULL has you covered with gear that’s built to perform and last.

Don’t miss this chance to save big and start strong—shop now at nobullproject.com and unleash your potential!

SPEED READS

🇧🇷🦎 2025 Copa Sur Qualifying Event Dates: The South American Qualifying Event, Copa Sur announced its dates and location: April 18-20, 2025 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

  • From the post: “It’s official! We are thrilled to announce that the Copa Sur 2025 will take place on April 18, 19, and 20, during the Easter holiday, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, RJ.”

🚨🚨 The CrossFit Open is Coming: The 2025 CrossFit Open will take place February 27-March 17, so get signed up now!

  • Bundle and save on 2025 CrossFit Open shirts and Judges course registration here.

📋 ✍️ Volunteer for the World Fitness Tour: Volunteer registration for the World Fitness Project’s World Fitness Tour inaugural event is now live. The first event will be held at Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, IN.

  • Find onsite volunteer registration, as well as online and in-person judge applications here.

💪👷Rogue Fitness is Hiring and Expanding: In Columbus, OH, the major equipment manufacturer and primary CrossFit sponsor, Rogue Fitness, is building a 400,000-square-foot addition to its facility and seeking to fill several roles.

  • These roles include: Director of Finance — Manufacturing, Manufacturing Cost Accountant, Business Team Manager — Manufacturing, Quality & Maintenance Mechanical Engineer, and Industrial Engineer, among others. Apply here.

📊🗓️ Known and Knowable Open Registration Tracker: From now through the Open, Known and Knowable will provide daily numbers and year-over-year comparisons for Open registrations. Follow here.

ICYMI: Sprague makes a statement, and Campbell completes her comeback at 2025 TYR WZA. On the team side, The Boys (Ohlsen, Mayer, and Smith) and Team YETI Outkasts (Neal, Brandon, and Lawson) topped the podium.

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

Credit: @compoundcrossfit / Instagram

3 Lessons on Downsizing Your Affiliate from Compound CrossFit

Sara and Mike Jensen, owners of Compound CrossFit in Chesapeake, Virginia, had a familiar dream: owning a big, bustling affiliate. 

But as they settled into their new 5,000-square-foot space, reality started to clash with the vision.

  • "It was falling apart," recounts Sara. "It was also always too big."

At its peak, the affiliate only had about 45 members, with much of the cavernous space sitting idle. When their oversized lease came up for renewal at double the rent, they knew a change was in order.

The Jensens made the tough call to downsize to a 2,000-square-foot affiliate. 

  • "It just felt like a step backward because we were so big," Mike admitted.

But they soon discovered that a smaller footprint was the key to building a tighter community, gaining clarity, and creating a better business.

Sara and Mike recently shared what they learned with us. We've distilled their hard-won wisdom into three powerful lessons.

HYROX

Credit: @theprogrmhyrox / Instagram

CrossFit Meets HYROX, Part 3 — John Singleton and The Progrm on Preparing Your CrossFit Gym for HYROX Classes

(Editor’s Note: This article is the third and final piece in a three-part series on the topic of integrating HYROX and CrossFit training. See part two here.)

As a micro gym owner, we've discussed how HYROX is one of the smartest, most natural inclusions you can make to your gym’s schedule. 

  • However, we also know most gym owners already have their hands full running their facility, while being strapped for time and energy. 

Under these conditions, making the addition can appear as a big headache, making it a huge deterrent to the incorporation of HYROX.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

  • CrossFit gyms are ideally set up to take on the new training format, and with the right plan of action the process can feel smooth, seamless and much less of a headache than you’d expect. 

In the final installment of this series, we’ll discuss the simple steps an owner has to take to ensure their gym is ready to host HYROX classes. 

  • Spoiler alert: It’ll feel easier than you think. We’ll guide you through the preparation process, focusing on the key elements of equipment, space, coach training, and affiliation.

HIGHLIGHTS

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