🏋️‍♂️ 5 CrossFit Games storylines to pay attention to

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Here is what’s on tap for this edition:

• The top storylines heading into the 2024 CrossFit Games

• Why your smartphone may be limiting you in the gym

• How to use dumbbells to get a wider back

CrossFit

The Story of the Games

Sports are about more than just balls going through hoops and records being set — they are about the stories behind the stats and win/loss columns.

The 2024 CrossFit Games is full of personal journeys being fulfilled, renewed, and started through the vehicle of competitive fitness. Morning Chalk Up picked out five of these stories to highlight what you need to be following when the action starts in Fort Worth, TX, next week.

Former teen phenom Haley Adams is returning after taking a year off to focus on her mental health, and many fans will wonder if she can finish her story in a Cody Rhodes moment. Serbia, despite becoming known for its dominant athletes in recent years, has never had a CrossFit Games podium finisher. Lazar Dukić looks to rectify that and take some national attention away from the Joker’s NBA dominance. These stories and more will define this year’s CrossFit Games. Will you be watching?

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Gym Culture

Smartphone, Dumb Idea

It’s become socially acceptable to scroll mindlessly at the dinner table, grab selfies with your food, and generally ignore your in-person social obligations in favor of living exclusively on your phone. But should you really be carrying these habits with you to the gym?

Olympic weightlifter Clarence Kennedy thinks it’s hurting your performance in the gym just as much as your dwindling interpersonal abilities. He has three specific and increasingly common situations he sees where your phone obsession is ruining your time in the gym.

Most controversially, Kennedy thinks plugging in your earbuds and ignoring the world to blast music into your head is doing more harm than good. Scientists think hermiting yourself away in a state of noise-reduction might impede your body’s ability to probably regulate fatigue stimulus, and, according to Kennedy, just straight-up makes you anti-social in an environment where swapping sensory experiences can elevate your game. Find out if unplugging from your screen is exactly the performance enhancer you need the next time you step into a gym to improve your body and mind.

Workouts

Bells for Backs

One simple trick our modern-day strength culture sometimes overlooks is swapping out a hefty barbell for a humble pair of dumbbells. This can be especially true for heavy back training, but these five dumbbell workouts prove that they are anything but easy or lightweight.

Having innately more ability to adjust your range of motion and angle than a barbell, dumbbells allow you to tweak your setup to really tap into the posterior muscles you want to hit during any given workout. (And yes, that means performing all the row variations your body can handle.)

For both a change of pace and a new lease on your back training, check out these five workouts that you can do with just a pair of dumbbells.

Everything Else

How to Watch

• The Olympics are well underway in the sweltering heat wave consuming Paris. Still, the hottest action on the platform doesn’t begin until August 7, when all the coverage for the weightlifting portion of the contest kicks off. Here’s how to stay on top of the action. 

• Powerlifter Jamal Browner went into the gym dead set on improving his personal best on the deadlift but came up just short. Still, pulling 1,014 pounds during his “worst training week” isn’t too shabby. 

• Running faster doesn’t just mean doing endless repeats at the local high school track. Use these eight exercises to build up your speed in the gym before you show it off in your lane.