Death By Episode 42 - Pass or Fail? What's Your Grade for The Open?

Semifinals are one week away and we finally have an idea of how many Games spots will be available at each competition. Sean and Tommy take a closer look at Mike Halpin's projections for the men and the women. Age Group Semifinals are officialy underway. Will we have a repeat of what happened during the Quarterfinals when it comes to judging? The TYR Cup was unveiled this week and it looks to put an exciting new spin on the team competition. Katrin Davidsdottir is our guest this week. She talks with Sean about the back injury that is forcing her out of competition this season, why she felt she couldn't push through it and what the future might hold for her. This episode is presented by Vuori. Head to vuoriclothing.com/TEF to save 20% on the best and most comfortable performance apparel on the market.

On this episode of Death By, Lauren Kalil and the contestants discuss the biggest advantages TYR WZA SoCal has to the off-season, whether they love or hate going back to classic CrossFit style workouts for Semifinals and which male and female will make the biggest waves at Semifinals. Our contestants include Chase Ingraham, Matt O'Keefe, and Justin Cotler. Get your Garmin today! https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/894067/pn/010-02803-10

If you were keeping a close eye on everything going on with Quarterfinals, odds are you were looking at Mike Halpin's spreadsheet. He joins Sean, Tommy and Lauren to take closer look at some of the numbers, what those numbers can tell us and why the penalties this time around are stirring up more controversy than past years. Following that, CrossFit Coach Kenny Johnson joins the show to talk about why he thinks this could be a watershed moment for the sport of fitness and what can be done to help make things better. This episode is presented by Garmin. Use the link below to check out their latest smartwatches that can help you get the most out of your training. https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/894067/pn/010-02803-10

On this episode of Death By, Lauren Kalil and the contestants discuss whether we're at a turning point where the CrossFit sport and HQ break off, solutions for future years on how to best approach this stage in the season, and if the season schedule should change for age groups. Our contestants include James Hobart, Tim Paulson and Adrian Conway. This episode is presented by Garmin. Use the link below to shop their smartwatches. https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/894067/pn/010-02803-10 

Well, that escalated quickly. Penalties are wreaking havoc on the Quarterfinals leaderboards. Masters Champion Jason Grubb joins the show to talk about why this keeps happening and what athletes can and need to do to give themselves the best chances of emerging unscathed. Plus, there are going to be uniforms at semifinals, Katrin Davidsdottir is out, one of America's best Strongmen is calling it quits and what we learned from Taylor vs. The World. This episode is presented by Garmin. Head to garmin.com to shop their smartwatches and know the real you with personalized health and fitness insights.

On this episode of Death By, Lauren Kalil and the contestants discuss if Open scores should roll into the Quarterfinals leaderboard, whether Europe deserves a second semifinal based on the current world wide leaderboard and if CrossFit had to pick one video to review from everyone, which one would it be? Our contestants include Chase Ingraham, Justin Cotler and Matt O'Keefe. If you want to live a life of comfort, try out Vuori! Use the link below for an additional 20% off: Vuori.com/TEF

Individual Quarterfinals have begun! Competition Director Adrian Bozman joins the show to give us an inside look at what inspired him to concoct the four workouts, where he is in semifinals programming and what he's looking forward to when we get to the CrossFit Games in Fort Worth. Michele Letendre is joining forces with HWPO. She tells us why this was the right time for her to make the move. Cale Layman finished 7th overall in the Open, now we will see what he can do in Quarterfinals. Tommy Marquez talks to him about how he found CrossFit, how he had no idea who Mat Fraser was, attending West Point and his stint on a professional fishing tour. This episode is presented by Vuori. Head to vuoriclothing.com/TEF to save 20% and shop the most comfortable performance apparel on the planet.

On this episode of Death By, Lauren Kalil and the contestants discuss ways that major training camps can survive in the ever growing ecosystem, whether the team eligibility rule should change and what movements need to be programmed for indy quarterfinals in order to advance the correct athletes to Semifinals. Our contestants include James Hobart, Kenny Johnson, and Rob Kearney

The PFAA has questions about the heat in Ft. Worth but CrossFit is short on answers right now. Brent Fikowski joins the show to shed some light on why the PFAA reached out and what information they were hoping to get. Dave Castro is saying there are plans to make the Open matter again. Sean, Tommy and Lauren talk about what that might mean. Plus, Colten Mertens is really good at burpees and the crew takes a closer look at the Team Quarterfinals results. This episode is presented by Thirdzy. Use the link below and the code "TEF" to save 20% and improve your sleep and recovery. https://thirdzy.com/TEF?utm_source=talking_elite_fitness&utm_medium=podcast&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=tef

On this episode of Death By, Lauren Kalil and the contestants discuss the pros and cons of potentially having the CrossFit Open qualify athletes for the Games, thoughts surrounding CrossFit's new sponsor Hustle Up and whether athletes should be allowed to fill out anonymous submissions of athletes they think are on PEDs. Our contestants include Chase Ingraham, Justin Cotler and Jason Croxon.