ExPhysiology

Theresa Larson explains when and how to stretch—and why some people shouldn’t stretch at all.

Theresa Larson’s physical-therapy patients come to her with a variety of ailments, but back pain is one of the most common complaints.

Recently, a woman who does CrossFit and yoga came to Larson complaining of low-back pain that radiated down her leg.

“What stretches should I be doing?” she asked.

Before answering, Larson asked the woman to bend at the waist with her legs… Continue Reading

CrossFit’s Aerobic Capacity Course expert explains how interval training can help you do more work faster.

Long-time CrossFit athlete Tawny Sanabria used to dread box jumps and wall balls.

“I could never get into a good rhythm, and they would make me so tired. They were so exhausting,” she said.

All that changed for Sanabria when she made one major alteration to her training: doing interval running at the track.

Specifically, Sanabria has been diligently following endurance… Continue Reading

Dr. Eugene Fine and Thomas Seyfriend talk about the links between sugar and cancer.

This year, 1,685,210 people in the United States will get cancer; 595,690 will die from it.

It’s the second-leading cause of death after heart disease, responsible for nearly 1 in 4 deaths in the U.S., and researchers have spent lifetimes studying its countless mutations in search of a cause, pointing their fingers mostly at genetics and physical, chemical and biological carcinogens.

But mounting… Continue Reading

Food-industry watchdogs: “Exercise is medicine” just a platitude designed to distance Big Soda from chronic disease.

At first blush, it seems like a harmless statement: “Exercise is medicine.” Exercise, after all, is good.

“It’s plainly true,” said Gary Ruskin, co-founder and co-director of U.S. Right to Know, a whistleblower nonprofit targeting the food industry. “Physical and mental health indicators are improved through exercise. In general, it’s a great thing.”

Exercise Is Medicine (EIM)… Continue Reading

Study results suggest guzzling a beer after a workout might actually be more productive than chugging a sugar-laced sports drink.

I just finished Grace, and I’m old, tired, sweaty and thirsty. What should I drink when I separate myself from this sweat angel? The media and academic exercise organizations favor Gatorade or some other sports drink to help people rehydrate and recover after exercise, and we are led to believe a body of sports… Continue Reading

Trainers are in the business of creating fitness. They apply exercises to their clients in order to induce adaptations in structure and function that lead to improved fitness. In order to do this effectively, reliably and safely, working trainers must understand the structures they are stressing with exercise to produce the functional change that is fitness. This is the primary reason we learn anatomy and physiology. We… Continue Reading

On Feb. 20, 2015, experts came together at the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort in Carlsbad, California, for the 2015 CrossFit Conference on Exercise-Associated Hyponatremia, organized by the HEAT Institute. Among the speakers was Dr. Mitchell H. Rosner of the University of Virginia School of Medicine.

In his talk “Drinking in the Data: Fluid Intake and Health,” Rosner disproved several urban myths by explaining that some common hydration guidelines come with little to no scientific… Continue Reading

Zachary Long details three tests that will help you determine whether mobility or motor control is derailing your squat.

The squat is an essential movement pattern, but many lose the ability to perform a proper squat over time, and the movement must be retrained to allow them to perform daily activities such as standing from a seated position.

In the world of athletic development, the squat is the most important exercise for developing… Continue Reading