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  • 💥 One Year Later — Henrik Haapalainen Returns to Rogue

💥 One Year Later — Henrik Haapalainen Returns to Rogue

October 20th, 2025

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

  • 💥 One year post-Achilles tear, Henrik Haapalainen returns to Rogue — stronger and hungry for redemption.

  • 🛠️ Build bulletproof shoulders — Pamela Gagnon’s drills boost strength and stability without the wear and tear.

  • 🏃‍♀️HYROX’s global surge is tempting CrossFit boxes to affiliate, but the results are mixed.

QUOTE OF THE DAY
❝

My mindset is really good. I’m feeling more excited than in a long time to compete…overall, I feel ready.”

Henrik Haapalainen on his return to competition at the 2025 Rogue Invitational.
PROFILE

Henrik Haapalainen Returns to Rogue Invitational, One Year Post-Achilles Tendon Rupture

Credit: @hingane / Instagram

The 2025 Rogue Invitational is just days away, the rosters are finalized, and there’s one name in particular on the men’s roster that many of us were excited to see – Finnish athlete Henrik Haapalainen.

Remind me: At the 2024 Rogue Invitational, the fourth iteration of “The Duel” series was a short, intense event featuring fast-paced burpee box-jump-overs on a tall box, taking about 35-40 seconds for the top women and 30-35 seconds for the top men.   

Gabriela Migała injured her left leg when she landed on her fourth jump over the box during the third round. She did not finish the event, and afterward, she tried to move, putting little weight on her left foot as medical staff arrived to help her. 

After the women finished the event, the men took the stage, and Henrik Haapalainen suffered a similar injury during his first jump over the box in the second round. The medical staff helped him off the floor because he needed assistance walking.

  • After the second round, due to injuries, the organizers adjusted the event to ensure athlete safety. The five burpee box-jump-overs were changed to five burpee up-and-overs to reduce the rebounding stress on athletes’ legs.

Both Migala and Haapalainen had ruptured their Achilles tendons, and they spent the following year undergoing surgery, treatment, recovery, and rebuilding. 

Haapalainen is ready to compete once again, and, significantly, his first event back will be the 2025 Rogue Invitational.

  • After the jump — 12 months of recovery led to one goal, make it back to Rogue and this weekend, he’s doing just that.

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SPEED READS

📋✅ Take CrossFit’s October Brand Survey: HQ’s asking for your input on the brand’s direction — programming, events, media, and more. It’s quick, anonymous, and helps shape what gets built next for affiliates and athletes alike. Add your voice.

🤔🥵 Are You Addicted to Metcons?: Training Think Tank coaches Adam Rogers, Perrin Behr, and Max El-Hag unpack “intensity addiction” — why chasing daily redlines feels great (dopamine hit) but quietly kills consistency, progress, and longevity. 

🏃🤯 The Architect of HYROX: As the mind behind HYROX’s race format, Mintra Tilly walks through how she built the structure from scratch — from coaching roots to designing a sport that blends endurance, strength, and accessibility. She shares insights on philosophy, growth strategy, and putting female leadership front and center.

📉💡 Redefining Obesity: A new study suggests nearly 70% of U.S. adults would qualify as obese under updated criteria that factor in body fat distribution — up from 43% under BMI alone. The move could shift how doctors, insurers, and fitness pros define “healthy.”

📱😂 ROXFIT Gets Real: The hybrid fitness app just launched a “Meme Committee” — blending strength, sweat, and humor to build community in a space flooded with AI marketing.

ICYMI: 🔥 CrossFit is kicking off the 2026 hype early — all three live Open announcement locations have dropped.

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

How to Build Bulletproof Shoulders — Without Beating Yourself Up

Credit: @b.a.w_media / Instagram

We all know our shoulders can take a beating during CrossFit workouts. 

  • CrossFit often faces criticism for a high rate of shoulder injuries because athletes frequently skip the essential steps of building strict strength, stability, and mobility before attempting kipping movements, heavy snatches, and overhead squats.

With proper drills, you can build strong shoulders with greater mobility, allowing you to perform complex movements like kipping and snatching. 

Add these to your warmups and even workouts. Remember, not every day has to be a complete beatdown “for time.”

INDUSTRY

HYROX Is Booming: Should CrossFit Gyms Add HYROX Affiliation?

Credit: Scott Freymond

Love it or hate it, HYROX has become impossible to ignore.

As a result, an increasing number of CrossFit affiliates are offering HYROX programming or classes, or even becoming official HYROX training clubs.

  • Considering more than 1.2 million people will participate in a HYROX race in 2025 – a number that is expected to continue its astronomical growth with races in 85 cities and over 30 countries—it seems like a smart move. 

On the other hand, some uncertainties remain about HYROX, particularly whether it’s merely a passing trend without lasting power.

We reached out to a handful of gym owners who have hopped aboard the HYROX train to see how things are going, and their experiences have varied.

What They’re Saying

In North Bethesda, MD: A year and a half ago, John Weeks decided to add a HYROX affiliate to his Tough Temple affiliate, and he says it has been “a great addition to our overall offerings.”

  • After the jump — for some, HYROX means new members and fresh energy, but success may depend on your community, culture, and space.

HIGHLIGHTS

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

  • 🙌Happy affiliate anniversary to Red Wolf CrossFit in Huntington Beach, CA.

  • Happy birthday to Jen Dieter and Manon Lesur.

  • 💪Congratulations to these kids from Core City CrossFit in Detroit, MI, on the deadlift PRs!

  • Watch Harry Lightfoot build up to a 185-kilo/407-pound front squat double.

  • 🔥Congratulations to Graham Holmberg’s 12-year-old son Storm, who just got his first bar muscle-up.