ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY

Muscle soreness, or delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), is a natural part of CrossFit training, resulting from eccentric muscle actions that cause micro-damage, followed by repair and adaptation. While initially frequent for beginners, soreness becomes less common over time but can still occur after high-rep, calisthenic-heavy workouts like Karen or Cindy. Soreness signals productive muscle breakdown and growth, helping athletes build strength and refine technique. To manage soreness, prioritize gradual increases in intensity, rest severely affected areas, and avoid NSAIDs or cryotherapy, which can hinder recovery. CrossFit’s varied programming ensures constant adaptation and progress, even when mild soreness is present.

The large intestine, sometimes collectively referred to as the colon or large bowel, is the final sequence of segments in the gastrointestinal tract. After you swallow food, It takes the bolus about eight to nine hours to reach, in the form of chyme residue, the large intestine, where it is further broken down for excretion.

The digestive processes within the small intestines are affected by influences outside the anatomical boundaries of the alimentary canal itself. One such influence is the pancreas, which has both exocrine and endocrine roles in digestive and metabolic functions.

A great deal of enzymatic digestion occurs in the small intestine, the products of which are very small nutrient molecules, small enough to be absorbed through the intestinal wall and into the bloodstream. For carbohydrates this means monosaccharides (simple, single-unit sugars like glucose). For proteins this means individual amino acids. For lipids this means fatty acids.

Ever wonder what happens in the two to four hours after you take a bite of that apple? Lon Kilgore delves into the sophisticated mechanical and chemical processes that take place in the stomach during digestion.

The stomach receives ingested and masticated food and drink from the esophagus. This material is then subjected to further mechanical and chemical degradative processes. New contents of the stomach spend about two to four hours being digested before they pass out of the stomach and into the small intestines. 

The esophagus is a muscular tube composed of four layers: the mucosa, submucosa, muscularis, and adventitia. This 7- to 10-inch tube helps carry food and drink downstream to the stomach. Additionally, sphincters at either end of the esophagus keep air from entering the digestive tract and digestive acid from escaping the stomach.

We don't often think about what happens when we swallow because the process is mostly reflexive, but here's why the feat is an anatomical wonder worth pausing over.

The tongue has roughly 10,000 taste buds, with receptor types specific to each of the five basic tastes regionally distributed. Taste buds also exist elsewhere. Chemoreceptors in the nose and sinuses help sommeliers, cicerones, and gourmands assess taste more fully. And although we associate taste with deriving pleasure from the foods we eat, it also has a more fundamental biological function: survival.

The lips, mouth, and tongue are the gateway to the body’s gastrointestinal system. As soon as you put food or a drink into your mouth, you begin the process of deriving nutrition and energy from it.