The Rx Review: Reporting on Fitness and CrossFit News, John Michael Bric

Annie Thorisdottir is back! The two time CrossFit Games champion finished second overall in her return to competition at the 2014 CrossFit Games.

Iceland Annie missed last year’s competition after suffering a back injury during the 2013 CrossFit Games Open, however she showed the world this year she is still one of the fittest athletes in the world with a dominant performance over the dour days of competition. In the end, Thorisdottir fell just shy of Camille Leblanc-Bazinet, despite winning two of the last three events on the final day.

Thorisdottir broke down in tears during a press conference shortly after the podium presentation at the StubHub Center. The 2014 CrossFit Games runner-up also spoke about what she did during the year off in 2013, how she found this year’s competition and life outside of CrossFit.

Hear Thoridottir’s thoughts in the video above.

Annie Thorisdottir: 2014 CrossFit Games Runner-Up

The Rx Review: Reporting on Fitness and CrossFit News, John Michael Bric

Heading into the 2014 CrossFit Games it was widely speculated this year would be Rich Froning’s last as an individual competitor.

Shortly after claiming his fourth consecutive CrossFit Games title at the StubHub Center, Froning fronted the media about his victory and confirmed he is going team in 2015.

Froning says the ‘time is right’ to step away from individual competition and will hopefully be back competing at the 2015 CrossFit Games with CrossFit Mayhem, his affiliate.

But Froning isn’t the only big name male athlete to leave the individual competition next year, with 3rd place finisher at the 2014 CrossFit Games, Jason Khalipa confirming he too is going team in 2015.

You can check out Froning’s thoughts on moving to the team division in the video above.

What do you think abut Rich Froning going team in 2015? Let us know in the comment section below.

Rich Froning Going Team in 2015

The Rx Review: Reporting on Fitness and CrossFit News, John Michael Bric

The 2014 CrossFit Games saw a large number of rookies take part with 19 male and 19 female athletes competing for the first time in the individual competition.

Mat Fraser was probably the most impressive rookie, finishing overall in the men’s half, while a number of other first timers, including Noah Ohlsen and Lauren Fisher, also put in impressive performances during the week in Carson, California.

Games Director Dave Castro spoke briefly about the rookies at the 2014 CrossFit Games during a media conference shortly after the final event of this year’s competition.

You can hear his thoughts in the video above.

Dave Castro on the Rookies at the 2014 CrossFit Games

The Rx Review: Reporting on Fitness and CrossFit News, John Michael Bric

A number of hight profile celebrities made their way to the StubHub Center for the 2014 CrossFit Games, including professional athletes, actors, and television stars.

Hollywood star Michael Ealy was one of them.

Ealy has starred in a number of well known movies including Barbershop, Seven Pounds, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Last Vegas and current new release About Last Night.

What people don’t know about Ealy is that he is also a CrossFitter. The 41 year old trains out of Reebok CrossFit LAB, using the fitness regime to get in shape for movies and keep fit.

We caught up with Michael Ealy at the 2014 CrossFit Games to find out more about his love for CrossFit, what he’s like as an athlete, and what his plans are in the near future.

Check out the video above.

Hollywood Actor Michael Ealy at the 2014 CrossFit Games

The Rx Review: Reporting on Fitness and CrossFit News, John Michael Bric

The six individual podium finishers at the 2014 CrossFit Games fronted a media conference shortly after the final event of this year’s competition.

During the conference, Rich Froning, Mat Fraser, Jason Khalipa, Camille Leblanc-Bazinet, Annie Thorisdottir and Julie Foucher all revealed just how many hours they workout each day to get so fit.

To find out how long these athletes train each week, check out the video above.

Top Athletes Reveal How Many Hours A Day They Workout

The Rx Review: Reporting on Fitness and CrossFit News, John Michael Bric

As functional fitness continues to grow, so to do profiles of the top athletes across the world.

Compared to 2007 when the CrossFit Games first began, fans are now walking around with shirts of their favourite CrossFitters and stars like Rich Froning and Annie Thorisdottir can barely walk through the crowds at major events without being bombarded with requests for photos or autographs.

Shortly after the final event of the 2014 CrossFit Games, the top three female athletes spoke about how often they get recognised in every day life and how they can spot fellow CrossFitters.

Check out the short clip with Annie Thorisdottir, Julie Foucher and 2014 Champ Camille Leblanc-Bazinet in the video above.

Thorisdottir, Foucher & Camille: Getting Recognised

The Rx Review: Reporting on Fitness and CrossFit News, John Michael Bric

There is no denying the crowd at the CrossFit Games is one of the ‘fittest’ and ‘hottest’ going around.

With so many athletes and fitness enthusiasts among those inside the StubHub Center, there was plenty of eye candy for both guys and girls at the 2014 CrossFit Games.

We bumped into Matt Healey, 4th place finisher at the 2013 Australia Regional, at this year’s competition, and two of his good friends, Nick Evans and Mitch Josland.

We sent them on a mission to find out, ‘who is the hottest CrossFitter?’.

Check out the video above to see how they went…

Who is the Hottest CrossFitter?

The Rx Review: Reporting on Fitness and CrossFit News, John Michael Bric

After seven years at the CrossFit Games, including three podium finishes, the ‘Californian Bear’ Jason Khalipa is going to go team in 2015.

Unlike Rich Froning, who’s decision to go team from 2015 was widely speculated about in the lead up to the 2014 CrossFit Games, Khalipa kept it quiet until the final day of competition when he fronted a media conference shortly after being crowned the third fittest man on Earth at the 2014 CrossFit Games.

Hear Jason Khalipa open up about his decision to ‘switch gears’ going into the future, and his love for team sports in the video above.

Jason Khalipa Confirms He’s Going Team in 2015

The Rx Review: Reporting on Fitness and CrossFit News, John Michael Bric

Camille Leblanc-Bazinet has been crowned the fittest woman on earth.

After five years as a competitor at the CrossFit Games, the Canadian beat out former champion Annie Thorisdottir for the top spot on the podium at the 2014 showpiece.

Over the course of the weekend Leblanc-Bazinet recorded a first place finish on the 21-15-9 Complex, and six top five finishes to take the title.

Leblanc-Bazinet broke down into tears when Dave Castro announced her as the champion in front a packed tennis stadium at the StubHub Center.

Shortly after the podium presentation, she fronted the media to talk about her victory, being a role model for women across the world and her plans now the Games are over. Hear Camille Leblanc-Bazinet’s thoughts in the video above.

Camille Leblanc-Bazinet Wins 2014 CrossFit Games

The Rx Review: Reporting on Fitness and CrossFit News, Michael McCoy

As some our regular readers know, besides running The Rx Review one of my many hats is a field producer for CrossFit HQ. At this years CrossFit Games I had honour of filming the Masters Division of athletes.

Over the last few years I’ve filmed with many top level CrossFitters, but I have to say shooting the Masters has been a real highlight. To see these men and women put their bodies on the line is really something impressive. Their grit and determination is one thing but I’ve never come across of group of people that were all so pleasant to interview and work with.

To all the 2014 CrossFit Masters this video is small way I wanted to say thank you for inspiring me.

The 2014 CrossFit Games “Masters of Fitness”

The Rx Review: Reporting on Fitness and CrossFit News, Megan Drapalski

The 2014 CrossFit Games has come to an end and left us with a stack of great memories from one of the best year’s of competition yet.

There were plenty of other highlights throughout the week in Carson, Cali. Here’s a look at the top 10 moments of the 2014 CrossFit Games:

10. Cody Anderson wins the Muscle Up Biathlon – the next Chris Spealler?

In recent times CrossFit has seemed a sport for the bigger men, but lightweight Cody Anderson made one hell of an impact in his first Games appearance. While he finished 22^nd overall, his finished with three top 10 placings and a first place on the Muscle-Up Biathlon. At 5”7’, 160lb and 22 years of age, Anderson has the potential to be the next Chris Spealler. After he won the Muscle-Up Biathlon by more than half a minute, unbroken, his mark was certainly left on the 2014 CrossFit Games.

9. Rich Froning walks during the Triple-3 Event

It’s very rare we ever see Rich Froning struggle. Ever. But for the first time in year’s we saw the world’s fittest man battle his way through a workout. Heading into the first day of competition at the StubHub Center, Froning was in first place overall and on track for another first place finish at the CrossFit Games. But he showed everyone he is human by finishing 37th overall in the Triple 3,  his worst ever placing at an event at the CrossFit Games. At multiple times during the 3-mile run, Froning stopped running and had to walk, and looked completely exhausted in the Californian sun. It was the first time we had ever seen him struggle so much at the Games, and many started to doubt he was able to complete the ‘fourpeat”.

8. Chris Spealler’s last event

Anyone who loves CrossFit loves Chris Spealler. He embodies everything great about the sport. At 150lb and 5”5, he’s proof that size isn’t a limitation and is consistently the smallest man on the floor. In his seventh year competing as an individual at the Games, Spealler made it clear this year would be his last. So when he finished his final event, Double Grace, it was no surprise to see the crowd gave him one of biggest standing ovations seen during the competition.

7. Brandon Swan is cheered through Push Pull by his fellow athletes

CrossFit commentator Sean Woodland once said that the athlete who finishes last during an event, often gets a louder cheer than the athlete who finishes first. This was evident during the men’s Push Pull event at the 2014 CrossFit Games. The event tested athletes with increasing deficit, strict handstand push-ups and progressively heavy sled pulls. Three-time Games competitor Brandon Swan was the only man unable to complete the task, but it didn’t stop him receiving the most support. As the clock wound down on the heat his fellow athletes lifted their exhausted bodies from the Tennis Stadium floor, cheering and encouraging him right to the end. It was the true spirit of CrossFit in full swing.

6. Camille Leblanc-Bazinet wins

After an impressive debut performance in 2009, Camille Leblanc-Bazinet has entered the CrossFit Games year after year with the heavy weight of expectation on her shoulders. While she has consistently been outstanding in the CrossFit Open and champion of the Canada East Region, this year saw her finally live up to her potential. In an emotional four days, Leblanc-Bazinet was incredibly dominant and finished 30 points ahead of nearest challenger: 2011 & 2012 Games champion Annie Thorisdottir.

5. The crowd gets behind Wes Piatt as he demos Thick’N Quick

While the CrossFit Games are predominantly about the athletes, the complexity of some of the events and new movements requires a ‘demo team’, made up of elite CrossFitters, to perform them to the crowd and competitors. When it came to the demonstration of the second last event, Thick ‘N Quick, Wes Piatt found himself in a world of pain with the 245lb overhead squat pushing Piatt to the edge of his ability. Dave Castro continued to explain the event while Piatt spent 10 minutes struggling through the three overhead squats. When Piatt stood up for the last rep, we heard one of the most deafening cheers heard during the 2014 CrossFit Games.

4. Camille Leblanc-Bazinet unbroken on the rig in 21-15-9 Complex

Leblanc-Bazinet is known as the gymnastics queen and she showed exactly why during 21-15-9 Complex. While most athletes dropped from the rig between their chest-to-bar pull-ups and bar-muscle-ups, Leblanc-Bazinet wowed the crowed with seamless transitions. Every time. It was an occasion where CrossFit could be described as nothing short of beautiful.

3. Dave Castro’s frosted tips.

Dave Castro is known for his interesting wardrobe selection at times, but it was his dramatic hair change that got the crowd talking at the 2014 CrossFit Games. On Day 1 of individual competition his hair was long, flowing and entirely dark brown, but on Day 3 Castro took to the floor with a style reminiscent of the naughties: frosted tips. When asked, he said his hair was just like CrossFit in that it was unknown and unknowable.

2. Rich Froning’s Fourpeat

The CrossFit Games is now into it’s eighth year, and for four of those years Rich Froning has been the Fittest Man on Earth. Coming into the 2014 Games; however, it was common knowledge that it would be his last year in the individual competition. At least for now. Over the four days of competition all eyes were on the champ to see if he would make it four in a row to be the undisputed fittest man on Earth. As expected, he did.

1. Mat Fraser’s podium finish as a rookie

For most people, it take years of dedication and hard training to become one of the elite athletes at the CrossFit Games. While Mat Fraser has had years of elite weightlifting experience, he still defied the norm to become the second fittest man on Earth after just 18 months of CrossFit training. Judging by this year’s competition, 2015 could very well be a fight between two exceptional rookies for the top of the podium; Noah Ohlsen and Mat Fraser.

Top 10 Moments of the 2014 CrossFit Games

The Rx Review: Reporting on Fitness and CrossFit News, John Michael Bric

Shortly after the final event of the 2014 CrossFit Games, all individual podium placers fronted a media conference at downstairs at the StubHub Center.

During the conference, the athletes spoke about a variety of topics including programming for the 2014 Games, the growth of CrossFit, their training regimes, competitive plans for next year and their thoughts on this year’s rookies.

Check out the raw footage of the 2014 CrossFit Games media conference featuring Games Director Dave Castro and podium finishers Jason Khalipa, Rich Froning, Mat Fraser, Camille Leblanc-Bazinet, Annie Thorisdottir and Julie Foucher, in the video above.

2014 CrossFit Games Media Conference: Raw Footage

The Rx Review: Reporting on Fitness and CrossFit News, Megan Drapalski

At the end of the 2014 CrossFit Invitational Games Director Dave Castro dropped a bombshell into what to expect for next year’s CrossFit season.

For the first time since the Open began back in 2011, we will see a reduction in’qualifying regions’. While there will still be 17 qualifying realms during the 2015 CrossFit Games Open, Regional events will be consolidated into what is being called in-house ‘Super Regionals’.

Castro used the example of NorCal and SoCal, which will both be combined into one California Region. Both qualifying realms will bring their top 20 male and female athletes to compete for five spots at the CrossFit Games.

This will extend to other regions with Canada West and North West combining, Canada East and North East combining, Asia and Australia and Africa and Europe among others.

Castro said that unlike the California example, in the case of Australia and Asia, the total number of regional competitors would be scaled a bit differently. While the numbers haven’t been made official, Castro mentioned that Australia would possibly bring 30 qualifiers and Asia would bring 10.

You can check out the full announcement below.

The idea of the reshuffle is to be able to have 40 incredibly strong athletes competing at the ‘regional’ level, compared to previous years where we saw larger numbers take part (48 in 2014, 60 in 2012).

As part of the announcement, Castro also said there would be some small changes to the CrossFit Open, including, for the first time, a scaled division.

There will also be the crowning of State and National champions after the completion of the Open, which is designed to isolate who has won each state and country.

At this stage the finer details are still yet to be finalised, including locations of ‘Super Regional’ competitions and the dates of the CrossFit Games Open.

More details about the changes to the 2015 CrossFit Regionals are expected to be announced later.

2015 CrossFit Regionals To Be Combined!

The Rx Review: Reporting on Fitness and CrossFit News, John Michael Bric

CrossFit Games Director Dave Castro dropped a bombshell at the end of the 2014 CrossFit Invitational recently in November, announcing a number of changes to the 2015 CrossFit Season, including a complete re-vamp of the qualification process for Regional events.

This week HQ made the changes official, releasing the details of the new regional format.

17 Regional Events reduced to eight

“Expect the unexpected” is what they say in the CrossFit world… so next year’s changes really shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise.

During the 2015 CrossFit Games Open, the 17 regions that have been in place for the past few years will remain the same. That means those who sign up and take part in the Open will be competing in one of the 17 regions depending on their location. An athlete’s placing during the Open wil determine whether or not they qualify for the next stage of the season – the Regionals. It is in the Regional stage where the biggest changes take place. Instead of holding 17 Regional events as they have in the past, CrossFit will now be holding eight Regional events in 2015. Here is a look at how the 17 regionals will combine into eight:

1. Canada West and North West Regions → West Regional
2. Canada East and North East Regions → East Regional
3. NorCal and SoCal Regions → California Regional
4. North Central and Central East Regions → Central Regional
5. South West, South Central and Latin America Regions → South Regional
6. Mid Atlantic and South East Regions → Atlantic Regional
7. Europe and Africa Regions → Meridian Regional
8. Australia and Asia Regions → Pacific Regional

Qualifying for Regionals

As mentioned earlier, the CrossFit Games Open will remain largely the same in 2015, with athletes competing in 17 different regions. Last year, the top 48 men and women and top 30 teams from each region advanced to the ‘regional stage’ of the season. However, with the merging of regions, it means fewer athletes will qualify for the second stage of the season.  Here’s a look at the number of athletes and teams who wil be able to advance from each region in 2015:

• 20 men, 20 women and 15 teams will advance from regions in the U.S. and Canada
• 30 men, 30 women and 20 teams will advance from Europe and Australia
• 10 men, 10 women and 10 teams will advance from Latin America, Asia and Africa.

The combinations result in a total of 40 men, 40 women and 30 teams at all regionals except the new South Regional, which will have 50 men, 50 women and 40 teams.

Qualifying for the Games

Just like previous years, each regional event will take place over three days, however, in 2015 a larger number of Games qualifying spots will be up for grabs. In the past the top three male, female and teams in each region (expect Canada West & Canada East – 2, and Latin America, Asia and Africa – 1) qualified for the CrossFit Games. In 2015, that number will be increased to five.

This means, come CrossFit Games time, we should have 40 men, 40 women and 40 teams competing at the StubHub Center in 2015.

What the changes mean

In short, the changes mean it will be tougher to qualify for the CrossFit Games and will also be harder for athletes to qualify for the Regional stage in 2015. The reduction in athlete numbers at Regionals and the CrossFit Games means we can also expect to see a few big names miss out.

One would argue the newly formed California Region will be the toughest to qualify for the Games through in 2015. In the past NorCal and SoCal each had three qualifying spots for men, women and teams. However in 2015, both regions will be combined with only five spots up for grabs. In 2015 we could very well see the likes of Dan Bailey, Josh Bridges, Neal Maddox, Garret Fisher, Kenneth Leverich, Wes Piatt and Marcus Filly battling it out for those five spots.

Becca Voigt claiming the Spirit of the Games award in 2014

For the women of California, we could see Valerie Voboril, Rebecca Voigt, Lauren Fisher, Chyna Cho, Alessandra Pichelli, Lindsey Valenzuela and  Jamie Hagiya battling out for the five qiualifcation spots for the Games.

On the flipside, however, some are saying the changes are beneficial for athletes in the Australia Region. In the past Australia has only had three qualifying spots for men, women and teams. Now, having merged with Asia (which only had one automitic qualifying spot in previous years), the newly formed Pacific Regional has five spots up for grabs.

All in all, the changes mean we can expect to see tougher, fiercer and more competitive fields at each of the eight Regional events in 2015, which will be great for the sport.

There is no doubt, the stacked fields at Regionals, and the added competition will bring more excitement for the crowds and viewers watching and is another positive step in the evolution of the sport.

Other changes to the 2015 CrossFit Season

Scaled Open workouts

For the first time ever, scaled versions of the Open workouts will be available for athletes across the globe. Those who enter the Open in 2015 will be able to choose the programming that best matches thier ability.

Athletes who scale a workout will be removed from contention from regionals and the Masters Qualifier. Since team scores are calculated based on total reps and total time for the best six scores from the team, scaled workouts will not count toward the team division either.

New Teenage Division

Another first in 2015 will be the new ‘Teenage Division’. The division is open for athletes who are between 14 and 17 years old as of the close of score submissions for Open Workout 15.1. The teens will perform a different version of the Open workout than the adult male and female competitors with the winners of the teenage division will be crowned after the fifth and final week of the Open.

Teenagers will be automatically entered into the Teeaneg Division, so if you are 14-17 and want to be in the running for regionals as a team or individual competitor, you will have to change your division by emailing support@crossfitgames.com before the end of score submissions for Open Workout 15.1.

New state and country champions

While we have had Regional champions in the past, 2015 will see the crowning of state and country champions. Next year HQ will also use the Open to find the fittst in each county and U.S., Australian, and Canadian state or province.

Changes to the 2015 CrossFit Season: What it all Means

The Rx Review: Reporting on Fitness and CrossFit News, Michael McCoy

Well the 2015 season is about to get underway. Announced today on the CrossFit Games site, CrossFit HQ released the dates for the 2015 CrossFit Open, the new Regionals and the 2015 CrossFit Games.

You can check out the full article here. In the meantime, here is the breakdown of the 2015 CrossFit Game season.

January: Registration Opens 

January 15, 2015 : Registration for the 5 week 2015 CrossFit Open begins.

February/March: The 2015 Open Workouts Commence.

Feb. 26 – March 30, 2015

15.1: Feb. 26 – March 2
15.2: March 5-9
15.3: March 12-16
15.4: March 19-23
15.5: March 26-30

April: Masters Qualifiers

April 23-27: The top 200 individuals of the Masters divisions will compete in the four day Masters Qualifier.

May: The Regionals

May: Over three weekends and three days 17 Regions will be condensed into eight competitions.

Regional Weekend 1: May 15-17

South Regional | South Central, South West and Latin America | Dallas, Texas
Atlantic Regional | Mid Atlantic and South East | Atlanta, Georgia

Regional Weekend 2: May 22-24

California Regional | NorCal and SoCal | San Diego, California
East Regional | North East and Canada East | Hartford, Connecticut
Pacific Regional | Australia and Asia | Wollongong, Australia

Regional Weekend 3: May 29-31

West Regional | North West and Canada West | Seattle, Washington
Central Regional | North Central and Central East | Minneapolis, Minnesota
Meridian Regional | Europe and Africa | Copenhagen, Denmark

July: The 2015 CrossFit Games

July 21- 26 The CrossFit Games at the StubHub Center in Carson, California. The Team and Individual Competitions will begin on Wednesday, July 22, and continue through the weekend. The Masters Competition will be held earlier in the week (Tues.-Thurs., July 21-23).

Dates for the 2015 CrossFit Games Season Released

The Rx Review: Reporting on Fitness and CrossFit News, Michael McCoy

Today is January 15, 2015 meaning registration for the 2015 CrossFit Open has now commenced.

Not only is today the launch of registration but it also marks the start of another CrossFit Games season. If you have not already done so you can head on over to the Registration page here, pay your $20 registration fee, fill out all the particulars and your on your way to being crowned the worlds fittest.

In 2014, 209,585 people signed up for the CrossFit Games Open so it will be interesting to see if that number increases again.

To mark the launch of this years season CrossFit HQ released the video below.

It’s an exciting time of year and we here at The Rx Review wish everyone the best of luck! Oh and remember, no “Bro Reps” please.

2015 CrossFit Games Registration Now Open!

The Rx Review: Reporting on Fitness and CrossFit News, John Michael Bric

2015 is a year of change in the CrossFit world. Not only will we see a major shake up of the reigonals this year, but we will also see a few changes to the CrossFit Games Open, most notably the addition of scaled workouts and Teenage Divisions.

For the first time ever, the 2015 CrossFit Open will include two teenage divisions: 14-15 year olds and 16-17 year olds. While teenagers will be automatically entered into the Open in the teenage divison, they still have the option to change their division by emailing support@crossfitgames.com before the end of score submissions for Open Workout 15.1.

In the past we have seen a handful of teenagers qualify for the Games, so it appears to be a logical move forward in the sport. In 2012, Colleen Maher qualified for the Games as a 16 year old, while Finland’s Jonne Koski also qualified through the Europe Region as a 19 year old in 2014.

CrossFit Games Director Dave Castro caught up with Pat Sherwood recently to talk about the new divisions.

“It’s exciting to watch them develop and see what’s happening throughout these past few years,” Castro said. “You know we haven’t had a major teen component but we’ve been looking at, and listening to, and seeing what they’re capable of.”

“We just decided let’s do it let’s go for it. Let’s give them an area to compete because there are so many teeens doing CrossFit and they want a competitve outlet and we are going to use the Open to give them that competitive outlet.”

Castro also explained a bit about why they’re introducing two teenage divisions in 2015.

“Well it makes sense,” he said. “You can’t include 14 to 18 year olds, that’s a big range of how they’ve developed and they’re strength levels, and so we’re gonna give the younger teens an opportunity to measure up against each other and the older teens an oportunity to measure up.”

“A very cool side affect of it (the teenage divisions) is that we get to start tracking and see future stars, future Rich Fronings and future Annie Thorisdottirs and see where they’re coming from and see where they started.”

Check out the video above to find out more about Castro’s thoughts on the 2015 CrossFit Open and the new teenage division.

If you’re keen on taking part in the 2015 CrossFit Open, you can register on the Games site by clicking here.

Dave Castro on CrossFit’s new Teen Divisions

The Rx Review: Reporting on Fitness and CrossFit News, John Michael Bric

Along with Chris Spealler and Rebecca Voigt, Matt Chan is one of the longest competing athletes in the sport of CrossFit.

The 37 year old has competed at six CrossFit Games, including four top ten finishes with his best result being runner-up to Rich Froning in 2012.

However, in 2014, it seemed his glittering career may have come to an end. First, a back injury forced him to pull out of the CrossFit Open, and subsequently dash his chances of competing at the StubHub Center in the CrossFit Games. Then, a few months later he almost lost his life in an horific bike riding accident in Colorado.

During a ride with his wife Cherie on July 4, 2014, Chan was involved in a freakish fall which saw his handlebars force into his right hip. The crash resulted in Chan severing his femoral artery, one of the largest arteries, leaving him in a pool of blood, miles away from any medical help.

Remarkably, he managed to make it to the hospital where they began repairing his damaged veins. With his leg also under severe pressure from compartment syndrome, doctors had to perform a limb-saving fasciectomy which left his leg looking like something out of a horror movie, with his muscles completely exposed.

In a recent interview with CrossFit, Matt Chan opened up about his near death experience.

“If I had hit my handlebars in a slightly different angle I could have broken the skin and died,” Chan told HQ. “If that had punctured my skin, I would have died and Cherie would have had to been there by herself. That injury could have been the end of everything, not just competing, that was it. I’m reminded on a constant basis when I look down at my leg not just to have it but to be able to exercise and still do what I do.”

While doctors told him he would eventually make a full recovery, Chan spent weeks on crutches, unable to spend long periods standing up before his leg would swell. However, determined to continue training Chan seeked advice from Kevin Ogar, who was paralyzed from the waist down while competing at the 2014 OC Throwdown.

At the time many thought Chan would never be able to make it back to the level requirted to compete at the CrossFit Games again. However, five months after his accident, he matched a PR back squat of 445-lb, and befoe the end of 2014 he hit a 300-lb snatch.

With his body now recovered and his training back to the level it was before the fall, Chan once again has his eyes set on an appearance in Carson, California in July 2014.

If Matt Chan does qualify again in 2015, he would join Spealler as the only men in the world to have qualified for the Games seven times.

Veteran Matt Chan eyes a return to the CrossFit Games

The Rx Review: Reporting on Fitness and CrossFit News, John Michael Bric

Games Director Dave Castro caught up with Pat Sherwood recently to chat about CrossFit’s new Scaled option introduced into the 2015 CrossFit Games Open.

Check out the above video to find out more.

Dave Castro on CrossFit’s new Scaled Option

The Rx Review: Reporting on Fitness and CrossFit News, John Michael Bric

Games Director Dave Castro caught up with Pat Sherwood recently to chat about the 2015 CrossFit Open and what to expect in the Individual competition this year.

In the short interview, Castro talks about the changes to the 2015 CrossFit season and how that will affect athletes during the Open.

“You know you’ve got to step your game up and you’ve got to take the Open seriously,” he said. “In the past there has been a lot of great athletes who just do it [the workouts] once, or just kind of just cruise through and they’re like, ‘all I need to do is qulify for the regional and then at the regional i’ll try’.”

“The margins at the Open are now gonna be so tight so if you don’t give it everything you have in that Open workout, or if you fall down the leaderboard and decide not to do it again later in the weekend and raise your score by two or three reps, that could be the difference between you going to regionals.”

Check out the above video to find out more about Castro’s thoughts on the 2015 CrossFit Open Individual competition.

If you’d like to register for the Open, you can do so at the Games site here.

Dave Castro on the CrossFit Open Individual Comp