Core Envy does not include crunches! Here's why.
Core Envy does not include crunches! Here's why.
Today's featured Core Envy sculpting exercise: Reverse Tabletop. Get ready to feel the burn!
Check out this quick video introduction to Core Envy by exercise physiologist and certified personal trainer Allison Westfahl.
I've prepared some tips that will make your Core Envy diet even easier.
Allison Westfahl's new book Core Envy: A 3-Step Guide to a Strong, Sexy Core features 90 sculpting exercises. Try out these 9 sample exercises to see how they'll work for you!
Most core exercises, especially any exercise that includes "crunch", are not, in fact, going to create the sleek, toned belly you want. So why should we do core exercises at all?
Side Planks are a must-have exercise when it comes to strengthening the core because they recruit so many muscle fibers.
What’s the most effective method for burning up that spare tire? Cardio workouts. That’s right—going for a run will actually do more to burn off abdominal fat than banging out 500 crunches. While the core exercises found in my Core Envy program will likely get your heart rate higher than the core work you’ve beenRead more »
Try this Superman Series to help establish good muscle tone, good posture, and functional strength.
There is no "fat-burning zone". Instead, surprise your body with HIIT cardio.
Single-Leg Kicks are a hip extension exercise that works the gluteal muscles as well as the deep stabilizers of the hips.
The Mifflin Equation offers an accurate way to find your daily calorie needs.
Today’s featured Core Envy sculpting exercise: Sliding Series. Learning to stabilize the torso while moving your limbs is an essential part of functional core strength. This exercise keeps the body stable while the upper arms slide (or tap) forward and back. Allison Westfahl’s Core Envy will tone and sculpt your abs, back, stomach, and sides—andRead more »
Today’s featured Core Envy sculpting exercise: Hip Bridges. I love this exercise because it works the gluteals and the muscles on the back side of the core while being easy on the knees. It’s quite common to feel the quadriceps attempting to do all the work during this movement, so try to focus on releasingRead more »
One pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories, so for every pound of fat you want to lose, you need to create a caloric deficit of 3,500. Based on what we know about calories in versus calories out, this deficit can’t be achieved in a day, or even a few days. To put itRead more »
Today’s featured Core Envy sculpting exercise: Twisting Side Plank. If you’re already using the Core Envy program, you were introduced to Side Planks in the Balance & Isometrics routine, where you learned how to set up the fundamental Side Plank pose and hold it for a given amount of time. In this exercise, you’ll callRead more »
It might come as a shock that the Core Envy program does not include crunches! I’ve intentionally omitted crunches because they don’t utilize a significant percentage of your core musculature. While it feels like you’re working hard when you’re 70 reps into a grueling round of 100 crunches, you are predominantly working a single muscleRead more »
Today’s featured Core Envy sculpting exercise: TVA Activation. The transverse abdominis (TVA) is the deepest of the abdominal muscles, and most of us don’t put it to good use. A strong and well-functioning TVA will improve posture, support your low back, and increase power output to your limbs. The first step to building a strongRead more »
A few years ago I worked with a woman who was very concerned about building her abdominal muscles back up after two pregnancies. I immediately noticed how rounded her shoulders were and that her posture was making her stomach stick out enough that you might begin to wonder if she were still pregnant. She lookedRead more »
A good core workout works a lot more than just your ab muscles. When I talk about the foundation for your core, I’m not referring just to the intricate musculature beneath your abs. Your glutes and hamstrings are also involved. These muscles are traditionally categorized as “lower-body” muscles, but they serve a dual function inRead more »
The term “burn” has been associated with exercise for a long time: Feel the burn, burn away fat, calorie burn, burning muscles . . . the list goes on and on. We all want to feel that the exercises we are doing are effective and worthwhile, and that burning sensation we get while doing aRead more »
Most traditional core exercises are not scorching a lot of calories. You can do crunches all day long and see no change to the fat you store around your midsection because your heart rate isn’t high enough, which means you aren’t burning calories at a significant rate. Again, it might feel as if you’re workingRead more »
We all store fat in different areas of our bodies; women with pear-shaped bodies tend to store more in the hips and thighs, while women with apple-shaped bodies store more in the abdomen and upper arms. When you want to reduce fat in a specific area of your body, it would seem reasonable to doRead more »
Core Envy breaks the “female workout code” with a radical new approach that works. Let’s say it’s January and you’re fired up to lose some holiday weight and get in shape. Or maybe it’s April and you’ve just realized that swimsuit season is just around the corner! If you had to decide how to getRead more »
Are you satisfied with your toning program? If so, that’s great news. But if you haven’t been getting the summer season results you want, why not take a look at Core Envy? Exercise physiologist and certified personal trainer Allison Westfahl offers a closer look at how her Core Envy program works in this video. Allison’sRead more »
T.J. Murphy describes how it feels to attempt the CrossFit workout known as "Fran"
Good story on being reported on here in Boston at the NPR affiliate. From Martha Bebinger’s piece: Or the $5 that nudges Ben Rubin out of his desk at the start-up Change Collective to the noon workout at CrossFit Southie, in Boston. “There’s a bunch of warm-up, we did some strength tests beforehand, and thenRead more »
From Lava Magazine. Are Minimalistic Shoes a Sham? by T.J. Murphy Was the Vibram verdict wrong? Two doctors say that flat, minimalistic shoes can bring your feet back to life in a natural, omnipotent way. Is the minimalistic shoe dead? It seems to be a popular headline these days, particularly since Vibram USA, the company that makesRead more »
(Originally published on Stack.com) In the late 1980s, some of the first field tests of high-grade fish oil supplements took place with athletes in California. Dr. Barry Sears, Ph.D, a former staff scientist at MIT and a medical researcher specializing in the hormonal effects of food and the prevention of cardiovascular disease, worked with GarrettRead more »
(Originally published on Stack.com) On March 10, the Associated Press reported that William Lowe, a former University of Iowa football player, filed a lawsuit against the university accusing the coaching staff of negligence. According to the AP report, Lowe alleges he was the victim of injuries sustained from a high-intensity off-season workout supervised by HawkeyeRead more »
(originally published on Stack.com) The first time he walked into a CrossFit box about a year ago, 30-year-old Travis Brumbaugh was a chain-smoking sales manager whose weight hovered around 300 pounds. “I was doing all of the wrong things,” he says. Brumbaugh wore size 44 pants and frequently worked 12-hour days. To counter the stressRead more »
On Jan. 1, Reebok announced the schedule for its 2014 CrossFit Games. If you’re thinking about competing, you may be wondering how best to train. According to one of the world’s top CrossFit competitors, it’s not about training more, but training right. If you want to achieve your maximum potential and reduce your chance ofRead more »
The following is a story I wrote for Tabata Times. Like you, I’ve been told more than once to not “Drink the Kool-Aid” when it comes to CrossFit. Honestly, I’d be happy to speak about CrossFit only when asked directly, and otherwise shut up about it. But then another news story depicting CrossFit as someRead more »
Getting the most out of CrossFit generally requires two things: One, true commitment and dedication to the program, and Two, being able to apply that at a gym where the coaches know what they’re doing. The ever-lucid and methodical Dr. Leon Chang at CrossFit Elysium has 10 suggestions on how to zero in on aRead more »
I recently spent some time on the phone with ultra-triathlete Wayne Kurtz. Kurtz told me about his remarkable journey earlier this year, being one of 8 triathletes to set a world record: They did 30 Ironmans in 30 consecutive days. What intrigues me most about a story like Wayne’s, or a story of how aRead more »
CFE coach and Pose Technique Master coach, Valerie Hunt, talks about how the power of a squat for runners. In Inside the Box, veteran journalist and marathoner T.J. Murphy goes all in to expose the gritty, high-intensity sport of CrossFit®. From staggering newcomer to evangelist, Murphy finds out how it feels, why it’s so popular, andRead more »
This says it all. In Inside the Box, veteran journalist and marathoner T.J. Murphy goes all in to expose the gritty, high-intensity sport of CrossFit®. From staggering newcomer to evangelist, Murphy finds out how it feels, why it’s so popular, and whether CrossFit can fix his broken body.
Here’s a memory: When I was in high school I used to squat with heavy weights two or three times per week. It was part of my preparation for high school football. But the memory is a slightly ugly one, because these are some defining characteristics of my technique: 1. My knees collapsed inward. 2.Read more »
There’s been a flurry of reporting on CrossFit in the last few weeks appearing on the likes of Salon.com, NPR’s website and Medium.com asserting a number of rather sensationally negative conclusions about the increasingly popular strength and conditioning program. Assertions including: CrossFit reflects America’s militarism (??), CrossFit is racist and CrossFit has a “Dirty LittleRead more »
If you have some time to burn, read this piece that was recently published on Salon.com, written by Eric Lemay. It’s sort of an analysis of CrossFit, with the author involving the likes of Plato, Aristotle, Noam Chomsky and George Orwell. As the title suggests, his premise is that the popularity of CrossFit is a reflectionRead more »
No, CrossFit isn’t for everyone. It was about 15 minutes after I’d finished a workout at Amity CrossFit and I was on a mat in the back of the gym doing the day’s “accessory” work (some additional core exercises the coaches offer on top of the WOD) when the evening’s Elements class worked on learningRead more »
Since there’s just a week to go, first things first: I’ll explain my plea below, but Olympic Wrestling is in danger of getting chopped from the 2020 Olympic Games. At this link you can vote to help keep in on the program. For more information on this site. One of the things I’ve enjoyed aboutRead more »
In having re-joined a box after a layoff, I have been reminded of perhaps the most welcome and surprising (and surprising in sort of an addictive way) experiences of being a beginner, a payoff to those who go make a consistent appearance and give a best effort each workout: Improvement comes fast. Indeed, the firstRead more »
Last Friday I was reminded of why training in a CrossFit class is superior than trying to do CrossFit workouts on your own. This applies to me, anyway. I just can’t push myself as hard as I can alone than I can in a class. I thought I was getting in some pretty hard workoutsRead more »
The NYT has been on the rampage lately with stories like these: “The Rise of the Minimalist Workout” “The Scientific 7-Minute Workout” “The 4-Minute Workout” Each time one of these gets published, they fly to the top of the charts as a most-emailed article. I’ve wondered how much that has to do with CrossFitters passingRead more »
In a rather tempestuous post by running coach, Jason Fitzgerald, in which he flames CrossFit Endurance and Brian MacKenzie, I was motivated to respond at length in the following post. Within his rant against CFE, he makes a series of assumptions that portray the method in an inaccurate way. Let’s first talk about the primaryRead more »
(quick note: A disclaimer: one of the reasons I’ve been able to read BASL with such apparent speed–it’s nearly 400 pages and just went on sale a couple of days ago–is that I helped with the content editing in one of the final phases of the creation of the book. So I actually had aRead more »
Quite a story in the NY Times today: a report on how the fitness industry (including huge players like Lifetime Fitness) are apparently starting to rethink the modern gym. Instead of the space being clogged with expensive machines that isolate certain muscles (the tricep machine being sort of being the most dramatic example of aRead more »
In reading the NYT this morning, I came across the followiing two paragraphs: Commissioner Davis said that officials were gradually reducing the size of the crime scene, which now stretches for 12 blocks in Copley Square, down from 15 blocks on Monday. He said it was the most complex crime scene in the history ofRead more »
I’ve been working on a story on running technique for Inside Triathlon magazine, discussing the various controversies that surround the idea of improving or repairing how you run. In researching the story, I spoke with a variety of coaches, athletes and scientists. One of the most controversial areas is in the physics of running. TheRead more »
Last Thursday I spent some time at CrossFit Santa Cruz Central with Jim Baker. As many in the CrossFit community know, Baker goes back a long ways within the sport. He was a client of Greg Glassman’s when Glassman was still personal training out of a fitness center and not in the prototypical box. IRead more »
Definitely an interesting story in this morning’s New York Times: “We’re One Big Team, So Run Those Stairs.” Essentially, the story discusses how some companies, like ESPN, Datalogix and others have been implementing CrossfFit programs and even CrossFit boxes (like CrossFit One at Reebok) for obvious benefits like decreasing health care costs and buildingRead more »
(This story was originally published on Tabata Times) From March 6 to April 7, more than 100,000 CrossFitters around the world will be competing in the CrossFit Open, the first stage of the Reebok 2013 CrossFit Games. Although a true CrossFit workout has within it a dimension of competition—either competing against others at your affiliateRead more »
From PubMed: Crossfit-based high intensity power training improves maximal aerobic fitness and body composition. Smith MM, Sommer AJ, Starkoff BE, Devor ST. Source 1Ohio State University Health & Exercise Science, Columbus, Ohio. Abstract ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a crossfit-based high intensity power training (HIPT) program on aerobic fitness and bodyRead more »
This story first appeared in Tabata Times. In the CrossFit world, the dominant voices when it comes to specialist coaches tend to be men with personalities so old-school and brazen they somehow remind you of a mud-grizzled F-350 pickup truck. This especially applies to the weightlifting and powerlifting arenas, where heavy-duty names like Louie Simmons,Read more »
Here’s a clip from the book, “Power Speed Endurance: A Skill-Based Approach to Endurance Training” by Brian MacKenzie, an encyclopedic work that organizes and explains MacKenzie’s full-spectrum skill approach to running, cycling and swimming: The problem with endurance sports is each discipline works within a limited range of motion. Continually working within these limited rangesRead more »
WOD Talk magazine reviewed Inside the Box in its November issue, but the online version of the article posted in December. Apologies for the delay, but it’s a great summary of the book and worth checking out. “Laced with self-deprecation and sharp observation, [Inside the Box] reads as a CrossFit origin story. Throughout the bookRead more »
You’ve probably heard about the importance of having a recovery snack after a hard workout. But a discussion with Dr. John Ivy on this topic added urgency to the importance of this post-workout discipline. Ivy is a noted sports nutrition expert and kinesiologist at the University of Texas at Austin and co-author of the book,Read more »
What Bill James and “Moneyball” is to baseball, Dr. Nicholas Romanov and the “Pose Method” may be to running. Although the past decade has seen the illumination of a number of methods promoting an overhaul of running form—Chi Running, Evolution Running and the New Balance “Good Running Form” workshop, the Pose Method was created decadesRead more »
Tabata Times, a website about functional fitness, has interviewed Inside the Box author T.J. Murphy about his athletic background, his injury history, and how he discovered CrossFit. Read the full article “How an Endurance Athlete Learned Not to Specialize“.
Recently Kelly Starrett went to spend some time working with two-time CrossFit Games champion, Rich Froning, in Froning’s hometown of Cookeville, Tenn. I asked Starrett what impressed him most about the 25-year-old coach and athlete. “Froning is the ideal training partner,” said Starrett. “He works out with such joy and enthusiasm. He just throws himselfRead more »
This past Saturday at CrossFit Norcal in Mountain View, Calif., a large class assembled for a Hero workout (Jack: 20 minute AMRAP, each round 10 push-presses, 10 KB swings and 10 box jumps). A new member who had just completed the On Ramp program attended. That he was coming to a Saturday morning class forRead more »
One of my favorite CrossFit videos of all-time: Two of the Santa Cruz original CrossFit stars going head-to-head in Fran years ago at Greg Glassman’s original gym. Spend a few hours (or for some of us, many, many hours) scouring the CrossFit.com archives and it’s difficult not to come to the conclusion that a significantRead more »
A generous letter from someone new to CrossFit and having a good experience. Love hearing stories like these. In the end this (to me) is what CrossFit is all about—helping people get a foothold on being an athlete and making a substantial improvement in their quality of life. Very interested to hear about Steve’s progressRead more »
As I discussed last week, one on my big projects has been to apply some of the fixes to the way I land with my feet that I’ve learned from Brian MacKenzie of CrossFit Endurance. Just came across another drill to help with this, one taught by Pose Method coach, Valerie Hunt, of Fit and FearlessRead more »
We all want to get the new year’s going off on the right path, a romp into the possible with the intent of getting some traction and momentum in the early days and weeks, hopefully setting the tone for the new year. This was certainly my intent. Unfortunately I picked up a fairly wicked bug,Read more »
The first in a series on contesting a few of the myths that seem to scare some folks away from CrossFit. (This isn’t to suggest that CrossFit is beyond criticism or that it’s the only way to train. I believe that CrossFit has plenty of room for improvement (and as I understand it that’s partRead more »
I have a memory of a running coach of mine, circa 1992, who watched me run and noticed that my right foot flared out when I ran, duck-foot style. He noticed the flaring and he also noticed that my left foot flared outward as well but considerably less. At the time I was running upRead more »
This begins a series of entries discussing how to prepare for the 2013 CrossFit Open, which begins March 6. We’ll talk to some of the best coaches, athletes and experts with the mission of helping you prepare. Preparing for the CrossFit Open. Lesson #1 Tweak Your Diet. When CrossFit legend Annie Sakamoto began to seriouslyRead more »
In the the January issue of Outside Magazine, freelance contributor Chris Solomon writes about the experience of trying out Brian MacKenzie’s CrossFit Endurance program to prepare for a marathon. Solomon mixes in reporting on the various controversies surrounding CFE as well as a basic description of what it is, how it’s meant to work andRead more »
OK, there were many great photos from the Rumble in Paradise competition at CrossFit Elysium last week. This one is my favorite, from the final workout of the Rumble, one incorporating heavy squat cleans and hand-release pushups. On the floor is Scott Caraveo, and to state the obvious, he is in extremis. Coach Leon Chang, co-ownerRead more »
Moments before the final workout of the Rumble in Paradise, Dave and Bonnie Bennett practiced a move now known as “The Pre-Muscle Up Towel Toss.” Considering the great mystery that bedevils Dave and his most-likely-to-tear hands, it was a shrewd move and it seemed that the practice went extremely well. Elsyium folks know firsthandRead more »
This past weekend I trekked down to San Diego for the Rumble in Paradise CrossFit competition held at CrossFit Elysium. Joining the Elysium crew were athletes from CrossFit Mission George, CrossFit 858 and CrossFit Flood. It was a two-day event with an intermediate division competing on Saturday and the advanced group competing on Sunday. ThreeRead more »
In this recent interview, TJ Murphy speaks with a prominent member of the barefoot running movement about CrossFit for runners. Here’s a list of topics and their time marks during the interview: 0:00 What is Crossfit? What are the distinctive things about it? 3:23 The problematic notion of functional fitness 6:46 Why has Crossfit gottenRead more »
I recently had the chance to have Brian MacKenzie—author of Power Speed Endurance—take me through the sort of initial evaluation he does with runners at CrossFit Endurance seminars seminars. First, MacKenzie had me go through a series of simple runs that he videotaped. He then took me aside and showed me the videos. The mainRead more »
Last month I paid a visit to see my friends at CrossFit Elysium and work out with the gang for a couple of days. It had been six months since I’d last been at the box in North Park. It was my experience of being a member at Elysium and seeing firsthand the dynamic involvedRead more »
Few people have been coaching CrossFit longer than Greg Amundson, who got his start in CrossFit back in 2001 at Greg Galssman’s original box in Santa Cruz. This past year Amundson—with a career in law enforcement that spans just about everything, from local police work to the U.S. Army to SWAT teams to his federalRead more »
Because I intend to dedicate a large measure of this blog reporting on exploring the CrossFit model for preparing for running races, I plan to spend a fair amount of time talking about my experience in testing out the methods explained in Brian MacKenzie’s new book, “Power Speed Endurance–A Skill-Based Approach to Endurance Training.” TheRead more »
As posted on the CrossFit.com forum by Greg Glassman, founder and CEO of CrossFit: As of yesterday morning I own 100% of CrossFit Inc. stock. I want to thank my staff, our lawyers, the affiliates, and the entire CF community for rallying to our common defense. This was a harrowing experience that pulled critical staffRead more »
Hi T.J. I just tweeted you. I picked up ur book b/c I am relatively new to Crossfit. I was the runner fro 28 years (no marathons, abt 25 miles/wk but it was a passion. Then the knees got in the way, the lower back. I read ur book b/c I wanted to see howRead more »
Last week I was on vacation with my girlfriend Gretchen on the island of Kauai. One thing we did was along the Na Pali Coast to the Hanakapi’ai Falls, an 8-mile out-and-back of fairly technical trail. Gretchen is the true-blue hiker of the two of us. She’s an Outward Bound veteran and there’s no keepingRead more »
We’re thrilled that WOD Talk magazine today released its review of Inside the Box, the new book about TJ Murphy’s introduction to CrossFit. Please visit WODTalk.com and check out the November issue. T.J. Murphy is a veteran journalist, CrossFitter, and author of the upcoming book Inside the Box: How CrossFit® Shredded the Rules, Stripped DownRead more »
How will the USADA Report and the Lance Armstrong story effect triathlon? The other night I was chatting with San Francisco-based triathlon coach, Nate Helming, in the Presidio when he was coaching a group of athletes. It had rained in the morning but the weather had cleared, the Golden Gate Bridge looking freshly scrubbed inRead more »
The NYT: “Why Women Can’t Do Pull-ups” Yes, that’s the story, appearing in the Well and set to be published October 28. I have a few comments to make. For one, my girlfriend, Gretchen Weber, who was more of an academic than an athlete growing up, can most certainly do pull-ups. I know. Once atRead more »
Is CrossFit good for women runners? The answer will vary depending on who you ask. Traditionalists in the running community cast a wary eye at the thought of runners participating in dynamic workouts that include moves like deadlifts, box jumps and Olympic lifts. However, anecdotal reports flowing from CrossFit gyms around the country are suggestingRead more »
VeloPress, the publisher of TJ Murphy’s book Inside the Box, is pleased to announce that Inside the Box is now available as an e-book for Amazon Kindle, Apple devices, Barnes & Noble Nook, and Kobo! Where to find the Inside the Box e-book: Amazon Kindle Apple Barnes & Noble Nook Kobo T.J. Murphy is aRead more »
Distance star and Oregon Project runner Dathan Ritzenhein has been named the USA Track and Field Athlete of the Week—an honor that the Michigan native has achieved with a remarkable level of persistence over adversity. The honor was bestowed upon Ritzenhein after his 2:07:47 with his 9th-place finish at the Bank of America Chicago MarathonRead more »
I’ve covered triathlon for the likes of Triathlete Magazine and Inside Triathlon since 1996. I’m convinced by what I’ve learned in the past two years on the subject of midline stability that biomechanics, posture and position are areas that a runner or a triathlete can make huge gains in performance and injury prevention. The storyRead more »
Monday’s X-Out: San Francisco CrossFit, 3:30pm class coached by Kelly Starrett. Hottest day of the year in San Francisco. I don’t think there’s any doubt on that one. The workout was a “running Christine.” 3 rounds: 400m run/12 deadlifts with body weight (185 pounds)/21 box jumps (24in box) For time. Notes: Starrett started us offRead more »
Tonight ESPN2 will be showing the “Double Banger” event from the Reebok CrossFit Games this past summer. I recall being in the stadium and holding my breath while one of the crowd’s favorites, Annie Sakamoto, at 5-foot-tall and smaller than most all of the other top women, battled with an event that clearly favored theRead more »
In 2005 there were 13 CrossFit gyms in existence. Now, according to CrossFit, Inc., there are more than 4000. With the rise of CrossFit has also been the rise of CrossFit as a mechanism to help runners rehabilitate from injuries, prevent injuries and offer the possibility of improved performance. CrossFit Endurance programs that program aRead more »
CrossFitters who are fans of the culture and history of CrossFit have a new item to put on their proverbial life list: a visit to CrossFit Amundson in Santa Cruz, Calif. Close to being in business now for three months, Greg Amundson opened his new box as a way to honor the past from whichRead more »
Last night I participated in the Filthy Fifty workout at United Barbell/CrossFit SOMA in San Francisco, an affiliate not far from the baseball park. The Filthy Fifty is a long chipper sort of workout that is composed of the following: MONDAY’S WOD Filthy Fifty 50 box jumps -50 jumping pull ups -50 kettle bell swingsRead more »
Five Essential CrossFit.com articles for the aspiring CrossFitter. Except where noted, these articles/videos are all offered up for free on the CrossFit Journal. Guide to finding a good coach. Just published, this free CrossFit Journal article offers some excellent tips on the initial approach in starting CrossFit. Particularly valuable is the advice on adopting a set of responsibilitiesRead more »
Veteran Journalist T.J. Murphy Exposes CrossFit in Inside the Box: How CrossFit® Shredded the Rules, Stripped Down the Gym, and Rebuilt My Body Boulder, CO, USA — September 10, 2012 — Veteran journalist and endurance athlete T.J. Murphy was 47 years old when his knee gave out. Limping away from yet another lackluster marathon, heRead more »
It was about a year ago I participated in my first Nutrition Challenge as a member of CrossFit Elysium. The Challenge started with a lecture from the Elysium staff, a weigh-in, body fat measurements and a performance measurement (we did the CrossFit workout “Cindy”). During the Challenge I immersed myself in the books of Dr.Read more »
(this is a sidebar from the first story I wrote on CrossFit for Triathlete Magazine. A few tips on getting into CrossFit Endurance. 1. Don’t be intimidated. “Everyone there is there to support everyone else,” Guy Petruzelli says. “It’s a very positive atmosphere.” Brittany Rutter agrees saying, “The truth is that Crossfit has a cultureRead more »
“It was this feeling of dissatisfaction I had in my life. There was no intensity. Everything was safe. I recall feeling, ‘I’m so comfortable I’m miserable. I want to be in pain. I want to hurt.’ I wanted all the things you go through when you run.” This was Dean Karnazes, author of “Ultramarathon Man”Read more »
This past weekend I was in Chicago to report on the Chicago Triathlon, a race celebrating its 30th year. Saturday morning I dropped into River North CrossFit for a workout. Before the WOD (a bear complex workout) I overheard the coach, John Lee, talking to one of the members about mixing CrossFit and running. He’dRead more »
There are runners who will never go near a CrossFit gym. However, I’m convinced there are a number of runners in the world who, like me, have either become so bogged down with injuries or so annoyed with long periods of no improvement that the idea of shaking things up becomes very appealing. I doubtRead more »
Whenever someone is asking me questions about the nature of value of CrossFit, sometimes the questioner starts biting his or her nails and offers that it just sounds like they’re not in-shape enough to start the program. Perhaps they’ve seen a CrossFit.com video like Nasty Girls and it just seems to out of reach. I usuallyRead more »
My introduction to CrossFit came when I began reporting in 2010 on CrossFit Endurance for a Triathlete Magazine story published in early 2011. I was doing interviews for the story about the same time I became tangled up with a knee problem that was so persistent the phrase “knee replacement” began to flash through my mind. WhileRead more »
The most humbling moment of my life as a runner came about 20 months ago when my knee clamped up on me in a way and for such duration that a knee operation, or knee replacement, seemed imminent. I had been been a subscriber to a popular (and not cheap) online training program for aboutRead more »
I don’t know about you, but countless times I’ve taken an ice pack to (for example) a smarting Achilles tendon injury in hopes that the ice would 1) decrease inflammation 2) speed up the healing process. That was the general idea. Referencing peer reviewed research Mobilty WODs Kelly Starrett (who has often sung the praisesRead more »
Yesterday I had spent some time with ultra runner, best-selling author and ambassador of fitness, Dean Karnazes, at his home in Ross, Calif. I interviewed him at length for an upcoming article in Competitor Magazine. As I told Dean at the outset of the interview that I was there for the Competitor assignment first andRead more »
With a Four Barrel coffee in hand, standing on 16th street in the San Francisco district of the Mission with my girlfriend yesterday, I watched some of the San Francisco Marathon’s 24,000 runners who participated in the day’s events scramble by at about 10-minute pace. It’s always fascinating to take in the variety of shapes,Read more »
I’ve been a runner and triathlete since 1983 (even before if you count junior high and high school track). Over the last year and a half I’ve been training at CrossFit gyms and looking into CrossFit Endurance. In talking with other runners and in recently reading Jeff Gaudette’s article, “Can CrossFit Make You A BetterRead more »
The foundational CrossFit program, which is what you commit yourself to when you join a CrossFit affiliate and start going regularly, is not the way to go after a sub 4-minute mile or a sub 2:10 marathon. The basic program is meant to generate a broad capacity for fitness over a wide variety of athleticRead more »
“Will CrossFit make you a better runner?” asks Jeff Gaudette in a recent article for Competitor.com. He starts out by writing, “In the specific sense, the short answer is no, but explosive, strength-based fitness programs can be beneficial.” Gaudette has considerable experience to apply when talking about competitive distance running. According to his bio, heRead more »
Inside the Box: How CrossFit® Shredded the Rules, Stripped Down the Gym, and Rebuilt My Body by T.J. Murphy is coming this September. Please follow this site, like our page on Facebook, or join our e-mail list using the form to the right of the page.
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