Rest Day/Theory

In a city long at conflict with itself, Jarrod Bell runs the only operating CrossFit affiliate because, he says, it’s the right thing to do. Andréa Maria Cecil reports.

The 400 m surrounding Detroit’s first and only operating CrossFit affiliate is a microcosm of the city’s decay.

There are overgrown lots—a couple outlined with rusted chain-link fences forbidding the curious—and abandoned turn-of-the-century Victorian-style brick homes whose vine-covered walls… Continue Reading

Lon Kilgore takes a look at the machine that produces fitness professionals, and he doesn’t like what he sees.

The problem with sport, exercise and fitness certifications is that they propose to supplant university education. The problem with sport, exercise and fitness university education is that they can.

Before you applaud or get your shotgun, no one really wins in this scenario—not the trainer, not the trainee.

It is an all-too-common occurrence for graduates in… Continue Reading

Eleanor Brown examines the role of introverts in world full of selfies and overwhelming stimulation.

A group of friends and I were meeting for lunch at a local restaurant. Near our table, two televisions were tuned to a sports channel, the volume low.

We were the only customers, and we weren’t there to watch television. I walked over and turned them off.

“Televisions in restaurants are so annoying,” I explained when… Continue Reading

USA Memory Championship tests the skills of competitors who can memorize a deck of cards in 60 seconds.

The elevator to the top of the Consolidated Edison Building is jammed with bodies and big brains. On the way to the 19th floor, where the USA Memory Championship will be held, contestants, fans and parents maintain a nervous silence. Among them is tall, bearded Nelson Dellis, the 2011 and 2012 USA Memory Champion.

“Did you do your… Continue Reading

Polygamous members of Utah CrossFit affiliate explain their controversial views on plural marriages.

One man’s sin is another man’s commandment.

Though illegal, polygamy is still practiced in Utah, Arizona and other small pockets of the United States. Driven from the public eye, plural marriages are often the subject of scorn and always under legal suspicion.

Though most polygamous groups are Mormon, they’ve been disavowed by their own church and… Continue Reading

The word “feminism” has been poisoned, but no replacement exists. Lisbeth Darsh asks why.

If “feminist” is such a tainted word, what word do we use now?

“I think feminist has been given a bad name. … I think any label is bad. … I’m more than a label. I don’t want to be labeled anything.” Governor Nikki Haley (R-South Carolina) said this in 2012, and who could disagree with her? Many people don’t like… Continue Reading

Even those who work for gender equality and women’s rights recoil at the word “feminist.” Is feminism dead or has the term been poisoned?

“I wouldn’t call myself a feminist.”

I looked at the strong, intelligent, accomplished woman in front of me. Only 11 years separated us, but at that moment the gulf between us felt enormous.

I’m 40 years old and attended college in the mid-’90s. It was the height of the grunge and riot grrrl… Continue Reading

Over three years, CrossFit Inc. and affiliates around the world have literally changed the landscape in a handful of villages in Kenya.

CrossFit Inc. has been involved with changing lives along the eastern seaboard of Kenya for the past two-and-a-half years. Taking the early initiative, CrossFit HQ stepped up in 2011 and sponsored the construction of a school building in the village of Dzendereni after learning that about… Continue Reading