ESSENTIALS

Most people who've been doing CrossFit for a while can describe what it is — but struggle to explain why it actually works. This article breaks down the five distinct elements that make CrossFit what it is, and why removing any one of them gives you something that looks like CrossFit but isn't. If you want to understand the method more deeply, or explain it more clearly to someone else, start here.

Every CrossFit journey starts with a “why.” What was 61-year-old Dave Rueckl’s “why?” He wanted to prepare his body to donate a kidney to save his stepdaughter, Becky. 

CrossFit’s Hero workouts are challenging tests of fortitude, but they also represent something greater — they’re tributes.

Most people who exercise regularly have never stopped to ask the one question that should drive everything: what does "fit" actually mean? If you've been putting in the work for years but have a nagging sense that something's missing, this conversation might finally name it. Turns out, real fitness has ten components — and most training programs quietly ignore half of them.

In this installment of our Research Round Up series, we’re taking on the topic of appetite, specifically tackling what we can learn to make how much we want to eat match how much we need to eat.

This video explores the story behind the legendary Hero workout, Murph, from the life and sacrifice of Lt. Michael Murphy to how a brutally simple workout evolved into a global event uniting athletes, military members, first responders, and everyday people across continents.

Most people who think CrossFit isn't for them are working with the wrong information — and this article is the one to send them. We took CrossFit's original "Foundations" article and turned it into the conversation every skeptic deserves to have before they make up their mind. If someone in your life has been curious, dismissive, or just unconvinced, start here.

One of the most common questions coaches get is "What muscles does this exercise work?" If you’re thinking about working out in this way, it reveals a mindset that's quietly working against you. When you train for form, you're focused on the outcome. When you train for function, you get the outcome anyway.

In the second episode of Drop-In Diaries, CrossFit Seminar Staff trainer and affiliate owner Kelly Kim drops into affiliates in Seoul, South Korea, for a journey that’s equal parts culture, community, and CrossFit.

In a world drowning in fitness advice, the hardest thing to do is also the most important: starting. CrossFit has been delivering results since before the research caught up, and now it's catching up fast. Stop overthinking it, commit to six months, and let the work do the talking.