Special Populations

Paul Manfre writes about what happened to his experience of aging when he started CrossFit.

Getting old sucks. I’m only 51, not ancient by any means, but I can see the future, and it ain’t pretty. I’m fatter than I used to be, less buffed than I used to be, even shorter than I used to be—all this, despite an active lifestyle that gives me the appearance of… Continue Reading

Rashmi Cole has spent most of the last two decades helping children in India. She runs Sri Ram Ashram, an orphanage, school, and medical clinic in the small village of Shyampur, near the city of Haridwar in northern India.

The years in India were hard on her health. She dabbled with CrossFit in 2005, and started in earnest in early 2007. She has found great success, and is stronger and… Continue Reading

“I wasn’t sleeping. I couldn’t get up out of my chair. I had trouble getting the door open and out of the car. I was starting to feel my age,” said Leola Schell.

She’s 80. As good an age as any to start CrossFit.

Enter Kent Stamey, the owner of CrossFit Hickory and a man who is CrossFit to the core. In fact, on his core—his stomach—is a 6-inch tall tattoo of CrossFit’s Pukie the Clown mascot. And… Continue Reading

This is the third and final part of a complete training session that Vilma Siebers, 81, had with Jim Baker at CrossFit Santa Cruz Central, where he is a trainer and co-owner.

Vilma is originally from Berlin. She was a teenager during World War II, and came to California in 1952. She maintains a very active life, training with Jimmy one day a week, going on long hikes with the Sierra Club… Continue Reading

Amie Taylor is a 9th grade algebra teacher. She’s also a CrossFitter.

This past summer, I was sitting in a “how to be a better teacher” training seminar, daydreaming about what WOD I was going to do that day and how fast could I get to my box. Then I had an epiphany. I knew how CrossFit made me feel and why I loved it. So I wondered: is there a way to bring the methodology of… Continue Reading

Andrea Nitz is the founder of CrossFit Mom, and explains why a executing a wide variety of functional movements at relatively high intensity is also good for pregnant women.

“Is it safe to exercise while pregnant?” is an age-old question. In earlier times, pregnant women were told to stay in bed and rest, due to their “delicate” condition. Even today, some doctors will tell their pregnant… Continue Reading

This is the second part of a complete training session that Vilma Siebers, 81, had with Jim Baker at CrossFit Santa Cruz Central, where he is a trainer and co-owner.

Vilma is originally from Berlin. She was a teenager during World War II, and came to California in 1952. She maintains a very active life, training with Jimmy one day a week, going on long hikes with the Sierra Club, line dancing… Continue Reading

This is the first part of a complete training session that Vilma Siebers, 81, had with Jim Baker at CrossFit Santa Cruz Central, where he is a trainer and co-owner.

Vilma is originally from Berlin. She was a teenager during World War II, and came to California in 1952. She maintains a very active life, training with Jimmy one day a week, going on long hikes with the Sierra Club, line… Continue Reading