PRVN's Top Athletes Bring the Heat to Nashville

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

  • Elite athletes. No spectators. All focus. PRVN Fitness takes on Semifinals.

  • The truth about targeted fat loss.

  • Bill Leahy’s 2025 comeback season is fueled by grit, not hype.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

I want to make the CrossFit Games. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Bill Leahy on his 2025 comeback goals following his season-ending Achilles tear last year.
CROSSFIT GAMES

PRVN Fitness to Turn In-Affiliate Semifinals Into an Elite In-Person Throwdown

Credit: @prvnhq / Instagram

The 2025 CrossFit Games season is well underway, with the Individual In-Affiliate Semifinals for elite individuals beginning this week. 

Once the dust settles over the weekend and the leaderboard is finalized (by May 19), 11 more men and women will have tickets in hand for Albany, NY, later this summer. 

While many athletes will likely be doing these workouts alone or with a single training partner, PRVN Fitness is using this remote competition as an opportunity to bring together its elite athletes from across the U.S. and Oceania.

Kiefer Lammi, coach at PRVN Fitness, says he and the team are doing their best to treat the In-Affiliate event as an in-person competition experience. 

  • “I think in total, including the athletes that live here, we’re going to have 15 athletes on site. In addition, we’ve brought in a good chunk of our remote coaches as well, especially the coaches that coach some of the athletes that will be here,” Lammi told Morning Chalk Up in an interview.

Athletes

Ricky Garard

Maddie Sturt

Jay Crouch

Kyra Milligan

Sydney Wells

Olivia Kerstetter

Caroline Stanley

Anthonee Yim

Carson Wolfe

RJ Mestre

Rylee Beebe

Brad Wilson

Colten Mertens (not competing)

Emma Tall (not competing)

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SPEED READS

🌎🏆 Rich Froning and Crew Meet WFP: The 🐐 and crew recap their behind-the-scenes meeting with Will Moorad and Saxon Panchik of the World Fitness Project. They praised their athlete-first goals but raised questions about affiliate value, transparency, and the need to “own” their role as a potential CrossFit competitor.

🗣️ 🎙️ Castro’s Athlete Interviews: In case you missed it, Dave Castro brought back his Games athlete interview series for 2025. His most recent guest was Colten Mertens, who finished second for the men at the Mayhem Classic.

🏃🤖 Rise of the Machines: Here’s a fun read about 21 robots who raced against thousands of humans in a half marathon in Beijing this month. Get the details here.

🏋️🏋️‍♀️ 2025 CrossFit Individual In-Affiliate Semifinals: The Individual In-Affiliate Semifinals start today, and CrossFit released the workouts earlier this week. Check them out here.

🌎🏆 WFP Tour Stop I Fan Experience: The WFP released a list of spectator meet and greets, workouts, and other experiences for Tour Event I in Indianapolis, IN, on May 9 through 11. Check out the complete list here and sign up!

 🧑‍💻🏋️ Fantasy Fitnessing is Back!: Love fantasy sports? Draft three men and three women for the WFP Tour I Salary Cap Challenge! Join the Morning Chalk Up league—top score wins!

ICYMI: Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr and PRVN Fitness are going all-in on HYROX in 2025.

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

Can You Actually Spot-Reduce Fat? Here’s What the Research Says

Credit: @optimizemenutrition / Instagram

You've probably heard it a thousand times: "You can't spot-reduce fat." Yet a new study claims to overturn this fitness maxim every few years, promising that we can shrink specific “trouble” areas with targeted exercises.

I've always been skeptical, but when a listener of The Consistency Project, Andy, sent me some intriguing recent studies from 2017, 2021, and 2023, I decided to take a closer look.

What I found might surprise you – but not in the way you think.

PROFILE

Credit: @marc_costaa / Instagram

Unfinished Business: Bill Leahy’s Comeback and the 2025 CrossFit Games

Bill Leahy was on track to make the CrossFit Games at the 2024 West Coast Classic.

Then, in an instant, everything changed. During the third of six events, Leahy was completing his final round of tall box jump-overs.

He jumped awkwardly and glanced behind him, thinking he had kicked his judge. When he saw no one there, he realized the devastating truth – he had ruptured his Achilles tendon. 

  • Just like that, his dream was on hold and his future was in question. Remarkably, he still managed to finish the workout in fifth place. The grit he showed that day bodes well for his future. 

Fast-forward less than a year, and Leahy is doing more than rehabbing; he’s returning with a vengeance.  

In arguably the most competitive season ever to qualify for the Games, the 24-year-old is not only back to competing but also back in contention. 

POLL

Which trash talking co-host of the Boys Interrupted podcast will finish highest at the In-Affiliate Semifinals?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

HIGHLIGHTS

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

  • 👏Congratulations to Jen from Tolland CrossFit in Tolland, CT, on getting her first bar muscle-up.

  • Congratulations to Bridget of CrossFit Strode Station in Winchester, KY, on her 86-kilo/190-pound bench press PR.

  • 🏋️Check out Bayley Martin prepping for heavy Isabel. Individual In-Affiliate Semifinals kick off today — let’s go, Bayley!

  • Well done to Taylor Williamson, who took on the Rogue Bandit Challenge, maxing out her front squat at 136 kilos/300 pounds, finishing a shuttle-run mile in 6:08, and completing a max set of unbroken chin-ups within a 12-hour period.

  • 🔥Check out how adaptive athlete Emily Cairns is prepping for Semifinals and the Torian Pro.

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