I've had the privilege of delivering seminars all over the world, at gyms and boxes, to passionate and fascinating people committed to self-improvement. I give what I know - the good, the bad, the ugly, ... Continue Reading
The CrossFit Games and My Battle With Depression
The black dog walks among us all. Every thirty seconds somewhere in the world, someone takes his or her own life due to depression. I am the 2013 and 2014 CrossFit Games masters champion. But who I really ... Continue Reading
Investing in Fitness: Lessons From CrossFit Games Athlete Jon Pera
CrossFit Games veteran Jon Pera isn’t just looking for a return trip to compete at the largest CrossFit event in the world. He’s looking to compete at his best for what will be his final individual ... Continue Reading
Cherry-Picking and Birthday WODs: How to Stop the Madness
In a perfect CrossFit world, there is no random. I am a firm believer that “constantly varied” is a solid theology, but “random” is a dangerous and ineffective one. We train for fitness, for local ... Continue Reading
The Critical Art of Recovery for CrossFitters
There is a strange paradox that develops in CrossFit athletes, from high-level performers to weekend warriors. Their training - or overtraining - crushes their bodies, but they are still able to perform at ... Continue Reading
Mid-Open Rule Changes: What Is Going On at CrossFit HQ?
Charlie Brown makes a run at the football, and only after throwing all of his might into the kick, does Lucy yank the ball out of the way, leaving Charlie Brown to careen through the air and onto his ... Continue Reading
CrossFit Versus the NSCA: Where Is the Truth?
The word reify keeps popping into my head as I hear about the CrossFit versus NSCA lawsuit. Reify means “to make real.” In German, it is called Verdinglichung, which is literally, "making into a ... Continue Reading
Training Tips for the Average Joe From 3 CrossFit Pros
As an average Joe when it comes to CrossFit, I have been fortunate to be able to meet a few talented and hard working CrossFit Games athletes in my quest to find out what makes these high level athletes ... Continue Reading
CrossFit and Risk Management: It’s All About Your Goals
Risk, in the context of how we humans move through the world, means the probability of injury, disease, or death under specific circumstances. “Acceptable risk” risk means the how much of said injury, ... Continue Reading
WOD Mechanics: 8 Easy Fixes to PR Your Fran Time
<strong">This week’s agenda is the classic benchmark WOD “Fran.” Everyone loves talking about his or her Fran time, and there is nothing wrong with that. Rarely do you experience such a potent ... Continue Reading
The CrossFit Open: Stop Whining About Muscle Ups
Do we really need to have the muscle up conversation again? When 15.3 was announced, the CrossFit world split into two camps: “OH MY GOD, YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!” “OH MY GOD, NO!!!!!!!!!!" ... Continue Reading
Glassman vs OCT: CrossFit HQ and the Kevin Ogar Tragedy
When Kevin Ogar suffered a catastrophic spinal injury at the 2014 OC Throwdown, one thing became certain - litigation would ensue. With a life-changing paralysis injury and a lifetime of medical bills that ... Continue Reading
Dishonesty In the CrossFit Open: Who Is to Blame?
When it comes to this whole CrossFit Games Open 15.1 and 15.1a debacle, I am sorry to break the news, CrossFit friends, but we’re all to blame. Granted, CrossFit HQ is holding the biggest piece of the ... Continue Reading
The 3 Worst CrossFit Coaching Cues (and How to Fix Them)
As a trainer, I’m willing to acknowledge when I’m wrong. I’m sure many people in my personal life wish this quality would transcend into that realm, as well. But in all seriousness, over the past ... Continue Reading
The 2015 Frannies: The Worst in the Sport of CrossFit
The CrossFit Games Open is here. You are about to embark on five weeks of hopefully well-crafted, smartly designed workouts that serve to deliver the best of the best to the next level, whether it’s the ... Continue Reading
Mental Games: Are You Ready for the CrossFit Open?
The CrossFit Open is right around the corner. In fact, there are just days until the 2015 competitive season begins. For many, including myself, this is also the start of the “let me compare and berate ... Continue Reading
Many Muscle Ups: A 4-Week Progression
A big moment for anyone who does CrossFit is achieving your first muscle up. But what happens then? How do you increase your efficiency and work capacity when it comes to muscle ups? I have seen so ... Continue Reading
How to Succeed in Your First CrossFit Open
Participating in your first CrossFit Games Open is the ultimate learning experience, and this year’s scaled division makes the competition especially inviting for novice CrossFitters. Beginners ... Continue Reading
Poking the Bear: Is CrossFit HQ the Ultimate Internet Troll?
For as long as I can remember, CrossFit, Inc. has posted non-CrossFit related content on both their website and social media. Before there was such a thing as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, there was ... Continue Reading
2015 Grid League Prospectus: Are You In?
CrossFit punishes the specialist. Grid rewards them. It has long been an axiom in the CrossFit world that you must be fluent in all domains in order to succeed. As we saw when Olympic weightlifter ... Continue Reading
Save Your Money: The 5 Worst Products for CrossFit
CrossFitters are a fairly compulsive people, are we not? Once we get bitten by the sting of CrossFit gainz, we can’t help but live the lifestyle for all the world to see. From our “For a Good Time ... Continue Reading
Speaking Out: Charlie Hebdo and CrossFit
Disclaimer: I am not now, nor will I ever be in the same league as the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists who were killed last week in Paris. I do not proclaim to be. That said, I am in the business of expression ... Continue Reading
It’s Not Too Late to Prepare for the CrossFit Games Open
The CrossFit Games Open is less than eight weeks away. On or shortly after February 26, you will be diving headfirst into the suck that is 15.1, whatever that may be. Are you ready? If not, it’s not ... Continue Reading
When Community Goes Wrong: The Closed-Circle Effect
Most of us, at some point in our lives, have gone church shopping. You move to a new town and you visit a bunch of churches until you find the one that feels right to you. It might be the children’s ... Continue Reading