ESSENTIALS

CrossFit includes the bench press less than almost any other training program, but that doesn't mean you should skip it entirely. When done correctly as part of a comprehensive program, the bench press builds raw upper-body strength and works your back more than you think. You just need to know the technical details that turn it into a true full-body movement.

That percentage on your workout board — 75%, 80%, whatever it says — was never meant to be gospel. It's just a starting point to get weight on the bar; the real programming happens when your coach watches you move and adjusts based on how you're actually performing that day, not what a spreadsheet calculated six weeks ago.

Starting in 2026, all CrossFit Games athletes will be required to complete a mandatory preparticipation medical exam before competing. Here's why this matters and what athletes need to know.

Fitness advice tells you to eliminate exercises as you age — first this movement, then that one, gradually restricting yourself until you're doing nothing at all. But the real risk isn't getting hurt doing a deadlift at 60; it's being 75 and unable to pick up your grandchild because you haven't practiced that pattern in 15 years.

When Kristin Savage started CrossFit 13 years ago, she had one goal: to gain weight and get stronger. But in 2024, CrossFit and nutrition proved to be the key to fighting Lupus.

Ethan Benard has always loved who he is on the inside, but now he’s fighting to love his physical body. After reaching 600 pounds, he began sharing his weight-loss journey publicly, pushing for a future built on health, purpose, and grit.

The biggest risk you face as an aging athlete is not training at all. Here's why the strongest bodies are the safest bodies, and how CrossFit builds the physical capacity that protects you in the gym and in everyday life.

People call CrossFit a cult — and honestly, we get it. But if fighting disease, building real community, and staying strong enough to play with your grandkids at 80 makes us a cult, then maybe it's time to reconsider what you've been calling "normal."

One day, as Aly Hagglund walked up her parents’ driveway, she suddenly lost all feeling in one side of her face. The diagnosis came soon after: small fiber neuropathy — a painful and rare condition that attacks the body’s nerve fibers. But Hagglund refused to let it define her. Through sound nutrition, relentless movement, and sheer grit, she’s kept her symptoms at bay and her spirit unshaken.

Critics say CrossFit lacks progressive overload because you can't track it on a neat spreadsheet — but that's exactly the point. Constant variation creates a 10-year adaptation window where you're getting stronger, faster, and more skilled across every domain simultaneously, which is why you have athletes who can clean 400 lb and crush Fran in 2 minutes.