ESSENTIALS

For 12 years, Murray Hambro knew exactly who he was: a soldier. Then, in an instant, everything changed. While deployed, Hambro endured an IED explosion that cost him both legs. After being medically discharged, he faced the loss of an identity he had built his life around, and the purpose and direction that came with it. He had never planned to leave the military. Now he had to figure out what came next. That search eventually led him to CrossFit. Now the owner of CrossFit Tigerlily, Hambro says CrossFit has been a huge part of his recovery — a place where he could rediscover what he was capable of, and perhaps most importantly, a place where he found a community that changed his life and supported him through profound grief when he lost his young son. As the United Kingdom pauses this Remembrance Day to honor those who have served and sacrificed, Hambro's story offers a deeply personal reflection on what comes after service, and how a community can help someone find a new mission when the one they built their life around is suddenly gone.

Halloween should be about costumes, pumpkin guts, and running around the neighborhood after dark, not a pillowcase full of candy. With 1 in 5 kids now overweight or obese, a longtime affiliate owner and mom of two shares how to keep the fun and lose the sugar. Trade candy for Lego sets, hand out Hot Wheels, and become the coolest house on the block.

Scott Panchik, owner of CrossFit Mentality, takes on Fran — 21-15-9 reps of thrusters and pull-ups — flowing straight into backward Diane — 9-15-21 reps of handstand push-ups and deadlifts. The goal? Beat the time he posted in 2012. A 12-time CrossFit Games athlete fresh off a second-place finish in the Men's 35-39 division at the 2026 Masters CrossFit Games, Panchik is proof that age doesn't have to mean slowing down. If anything, it's a reminder that fitness isn't a young person's game — with the right training, consistency, and mindset, you can keep getting fitter well into your 30s, 40s, and beyond.

Two-time CrossFit Games champion James Sprague attends a CrossFit Level 2 Certificate Course at Predation CrossFit. During a clean-and-jerk workout, watch Sprague hit his own lifts, then step in to coach other participants — and take some coaching in return. The Level 2 Course builds on the fundamentals taught in the Level 1, sharpening coaches' eyes for movement and giving them the tools to help athletes train safely and effectively. Under the tutelage of CrossFit Seminar Staff Trainer Rory Zambard, participants have 20 minutes to complete 5 sets of 2 clean and jerks, with the goal of each set looking better than the last.

Nutrition advice for women gets more complicated by the year, with a different set of rules for every phase of the menstrual cycle and a fresh wave of warnings once perimenopause hits. But female physiology isn't as fragile or as complicated as the internet would have you believe. Here's what actually changes with age, and how to eat and train to protect muscle, bone, and metabolic health at every stage.

A physician specializing in menopause health and an 11-year CrossFit athlete makes the case that CrossFit delivers exactly what the evidence says menopausal women need: strength, conditioning, power, and meaningful loading. Learn how scalability, relative intensity, skilled coaching, and community help women train hard safely and build the capacity to stay independent for decades.

For years, women approaching menopause heard the same advice: walk, stretch, and pick up light weights. The research tells a different story. Declining estrogen accelerates the loss of muscle, strength, and bone while raising cardiovascular and metabolic risk, and the best response is not gentler training.

We're back at the Panchik home with Christin, Scott, and Jocelyn Rylee for round two — this time cooking up chicken satay with free-range chicken from Pasture Provisions.

Sarah Atkin shares her experience with strength training through pregnancy, and how she believes CrossFit can benefit physical and mental well-being for women through all stages of life.

At 63, Pepa Ortiz Berrocal has no interest in slowing down. At CrossFit La Muralla in Mijas, Spain, she shows up consistently, works hard, and keeps getting stronger. Over the years, that consistency has translated into measurable progress and a growing sense of confidence in what her body can do. Ortiz Berrocal trains alongside people of all ages, some as young as 12 years old. But Pepa doesn't see age as a barrier; She sees the gym as a place to build strength, confidence, and the physical capacity she wants to carry into the years ahead.