The CrossFit Life

Style advice for the athletic man.

Stylist Catherine Bachelier Smith has a message for men over 35: Your clothes are too big.

“Most men over 35 wear their clothes a size or two too big,” she said. “Fitted clothes make you look thinner and younger.”

Even the young and perfectly sculpted walk around in ill-fitting clothes because most off-the-rack garments are not designed to fit the traps, lats, quads and glutes of CrossFit athletes.

“Good… Continue Reading

At 5 years old, Janet Ying started taking violin lessons. It wasn’t particularly remarkable.

“It was one thing among many that I did growing up—going to school, taking swimming lessons, things like that,” she explains.

Today, her Ying Quartet, which includes two of her brothers, is in its second decade of performing. The ensemble, which in 2006 won a Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album, is in residence at the Eastman School of Music in… Continue Reading

The members of CrossFit Alaska use CrossFit to get into shape for the physical demands of daily life in the North. One member used it to save his life—twice.

Alaska’s wilderness is breathtaking and majestic, but everyday life requires a high level of fitness. The rugged environment is unforgiving, and little mistakes and small errors in judgment can have disastrous consequences in the North. When everything goes to hell, strength, endurance… Continue Reading

When Sharon Schuh’s husband was laid off from his job, they had to give up their CrossFit membership. Fortunately, they didn’t have to give up CrossFit.

My son, Eric, started CrossFit at CrossFit Pacific Beach in 2010, and he immediately began using a variety of tactics—including begging, shaming and demanding—to get me and my husband, Tim, to try it out. Eric was convinced we’d love… Continue Reading

Nutrition is a key part of CrossFit, but many trainers shy away from discussing eating habits. Chip Johnston thinks that’s a huge mistake.

We often say in CrossFit, “Nutrition is the foundation.”

Everyone—even people who don’t do CrossFit—has experienced a situation where nutrition positively or negatively affected his or her physical or psychological performance.

We ask our athletes a host of questions when they enter our affiliates. Do you have any injuries? What is your… Continue Reading

Gary McLean tells his humorous story of how he discovered CrossFit and why it’s always good to be strong.

It was at a young age I knew it was going to be better to be strong.

I was 13 years old at a theme park that I was forced to go to by my mother under the “you’ll enjoy yourself and meet new people” promise.

It was lunchtime in a large open-air picnic area where there were more… Continue Reading

You’ll have to drive to Bonsall, Calif., if you want to train with Coach Mike Burgener. But you can’t park in the garage. That’s reserved for lifting.

“Way to go! That really lights my ass on fire!”

Being coached by Mike Burgener is a singular experience. Not only is he one of the best Olympic-weightlifting coaches in the country—he coached the Junior World Women’s Weightlifting Team and runs the CrossFit Olympic Lifting Trainer… Continue Reading

Jeremy Striffler explores turning a loss into a win.

I recently heard a bit of wisdom that has the possibility to change my outlook on my CrossFit experience: there is great value in losing. It was an Oprah-defined ah-ha moment that happened on a random Tuesday afternoon in September in a conference room.

I was attending an internal company presentation on winning multi-market accounts. One of the senior executives was… Continue Reading