Supplements are just that; they help your body system to get those nutrients it either in low quantities or doesn’t produce at all. In CrossFit training, your body goes through rigorous movements, and this places huge demands on your nutritional stores. If these demands are not met, chances are your workout will be counterproductive. There are lots of supplements out on the market, and at times it can be confusing on which to pick and which to leave on the shelf. If you have been in that awkward situation where you are torn between two supplements not knowing which to side with, the brief on the supplements below will help you clear up your mind and know what you should get. Creatine This is one of the most effective performance supplements and also the safest. Numerous studies have been done most of which reveal that creatine monohydrate has a super ability to increase your strength levels and muscle mass. Also, it improves your body composition and boosts high-intensity work capacity. At the beginning of your CrossFit exercise, your body will depend majorly on phosphocreatine to produce energy. When you supplement with creatine monohydrate, you are in short increasing the levels of phosphocreatine in your muscles store. This is crucial for any CrossFit workout that requires the rapid energy source. Beta Alanine Due to the high intensity and variation of CrossFit movements, your body creates loads of metabolites which are mainly hydrogen ions and lactates. Many people believe that lactic acid is what is responsible for the burning sensation in your muscle. On the contrary, it is the accumulation of hydrogen ions that is behind all this. As the hydrogen ions accumulate, they interrupt the muscle contraction process leading to fatigue. Because of this, you need beta alanine which simply increases the quantity of carnosine in the body. Carnosine is a dipeptide which buffers excess hydrogen ions. This means supplementing with beta alanine enhances your performance and training volume. Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) You don’t have to be an athlete to include this in your supplement stack. For one, BCAAs taste good and secondly, they help you stay hydrated the day over. When you sip this magical supplement before or even during your CrossFit workout, you will experience speedy recoveries and the repair process will be quite fast even after a tough workout. Fish Oil For you to build strength, muscle mass, and enhance your performance, you need ample recovery. Fish oils are famous for their Omega 3 fatty acid content which is a key player in the recovery process. The essential fatty acids which include EPA and DHA help in reducing post-exercise muscle soreness and speed up your recovery process. Omega 3s also play a crucial role in maintaining a healthy heart as well as improving your cognitive performance. To add to the above, your CrossFit workout of the day is never complete without a protein powder supplement. While it is possible to meet your protein needs through whole foods, athletes with multiple workouts in a day require additional ready to drink proteins to jumpstart their protein synthesis and help with the muscle repair.  

If you’ve been thinking of starting CrossFit, this question has most likely crossed your mind a few times. You’ve probably heard a lot about how difficult CrossFit is, but is the training beneficial and rewarding enough to justify the time and price required?  Is CrossFit Training Right for Me? - The question you’ve been asking yourself You may have already tried out a class and decided whether you liked it or not. However, due to the commitment, you want to ensure it will allow you to achieve your fitness goals.   What is CrossFit?  CrossFit is a high-intensity fitness program that includes multiple exercises in one workout. It includes several different exercises from weightlifting, cardio, gymnastics, calisthenics, Olympic lifting, and more. It can, however, be difficult to begin, but it can be equally as rewarding.  What do you want to achieve?  In order to know if CrossFit will work for you, first you have to know what it does and does not do, then, you need to know if it fits with the goals you are looking to achieve. If your aim is to be bulky, CrossFit is not the right program for you, but rather weightlifting or powerlifting. If your aim is to be flexible, perhaps gymnastics would be more fitting. However, if your aim is to lose weight, look fit, and lead a healthy lifestyle, CrossFit may be just what you are looking for! CrossFit keeps your body lean, muscular and flexible, aiming to take a little piece from each sport, or exercise, to obtain a general readiness for any exercise and situation. So, does Crossfit work for you? It truly boils down to the goals you have set. What are the downsides? It is often said that CrossFit can be dangerous. This is true, in the way that all sports, fitness programs and exercises are dangerous! Like in any other sport, if you do an exercise incorrectly, you may injure yourself. So, what can you do to avoid getting injured in Crossfit? Listen to your coaches, do not lift any weight that you are not ready for, especially if you have not mastered the technique first, and practice... a lot!  You may also find CrossFit difficult, especially if you are not used to high-intensity workouts, but don’t give up! Joining the Crossfit community (meaning, making friends at your Crossfit gym, or box) is a wonderful way to keep yourself, and your new friends, motivated! They will motivate you, and you will motivate them. Especially due to the CrossFit community having a great reputation of being inclusive and supportive!  Sources https://www.jackedfactory.com/does-crossfit-work/ https://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/a19930961/does-crossfit-work/ 

CrossFit has exploded in popularity over the last several years which has prompted some major format changes starting with the Open. The CrossFit Open has now been moved to the front of the season and will kick off October 10th, 2019 at 5:00 PM PT. As in previous years, the Open will run for 5 consecutive weeks with ensuing workouts releasing on October 17th, 24th, 31st, and November 7th. Athletes will have from Thursday (the day the workout is announced) until the following Monday to submit their scores. Athletes of all ages and ability levels can participate by registering on the CrossFit Games website. The Old Format  In previous years, all of the CrossFit athletes would participate in the Open. From there, 260 athletes— 40 men, 40 women and 30 teams of 6 moved on to eight Regional events where the top five in each category would earn an invitation to the Games. The New Format With CrossFit's rapid global rise in popularity, founder Greg Glassman has decided to introduce a new format that would allow more participates from across the world to be represented at the games. The top 20 individual men and women worldwide in the Open, along with the National Champions of each country, will earn a qualifying spot to the 2020 CrossFit Games.  CrossFit-sanctioned competitions have replaced CrossFit's Regional events and will become a direct pathway for top men, women and team competitors to receive invitations to compete at the CrossFit Games. Since teams are no longer required to share an affiliate or geographical location to earn an invitation to the CrossFit Games team competition, Sanctionals are now the only pathway for teams to compete at the CrossFit Games. There will be 28 events in 21 different countries spanning 6 continents. (Source: https://games.crossfit.com/sanctionals/overview)  Prepping for the Open We are 3 weeks away from the start of the Open which means it’s time to ramp up your training regime! The CrossFit website is a valuable resource to view all of the previous Open workouts and even see competitors times which will help with your training. We highly suggest taking a look at the workouts from the last few years and incorporating them into your routine.  Avoiding injuries is pivotal to compete at your optimal level. We carry an array of products that can be used to help you perform at your best. We took a look at the most frequent Open workouts and provided you with the recommended gear: Box Step-Ups/Jump Overs - 5mm Shin Guard Sleeves Dumbbell Overhead Lunge - Adjustable Strength Wraps, 3mm Knee Sleeves  Toes-to-Bar/Pull-Ups - 2 Hole Titanium Hand Grips Squat Cleans - II-Band Wrist Wraps, 3mm Knee Sleeves Snatches - 5mm Knee Sleeves, Elbow Sleeves  Thrusters - Adjustable Strength Wrap, 3mm Knee Sleeves  Good luck to everyone participating in this years Open!  Sources:  https://games.crossfit.com/history-of-the-games https://games.crossfit.com/sanctionals/overview https://games.crossfit.com/about-the-games https://wodprep.com/blog/crossfit-open-2019-changes/    

What to Eat Before your Crossfit WOD   Given that Crossfit is a high-intensity fitness program, it’s important to ensure you have a proper meal before heading to your workout. This can prevent dizziness, nausea, and therefore, incidents during your WOD (workout of the day). Early morning workout If you’re planning to workout early in the morning, you might be thinking of skipping breakfast and having it after the workout. This is not recommended, as it may lead to dizziness and/or nausea due to lack of energy mixed with the extremely high-intensity workout. Have a breakfast that will allow you to workout to your fullest!  Breakfast should include carbohydrates as well as high proteins, of course, in a balanced manner. This is partially why eggs are such a popular option for breakfast as they have high-protein content as well as certain amino acids that help with mood and cognition. Do keep in mind that its ideal to have eaten 2-4 hours prior to working out. Late morning workout However, if you don’t plan on working out in the early morning, a better idea would be a balance between fats and protein with some carbohydrates. Aside from3 vegetables or some fruit would help top off a good breakfast, preparing a good base for your later workout.  A banana and some peanut butter might be a great idea as it provides you with protein and carbohydrates as well as a small number of healthy fats. As mentioned before, be sure to eat with plenty of time to digest the food before the workout. Midday workout In the case that you’re going for a midday/noon workout, the best option would be to go for something that will fuel you through your workouts such as carbs and proteins, while staying away from fats. Eating something like a rice and veggie bowl, or perhaps some oatmeal would be ideal. If you’re leaning towards rice, you’ll want to go for brown rice, as its more easily digested and has lower chances of spiking your blood sugar (according to Lisa Hayim, a recognized dietarian). Omelets are another good option, but remember, try to stay away from fatty foods to get the best results for your noon workout. Afternoon workout If you’re going for an afternoon/early evening workout, a good lunch is essential to get you fueled up without feeling too full, especially since this meal can be large. It is also recommended to have a snack if you workout in the late evening to regain some energy before heading out. Your lunch meal should be high-protein, high-carb and moderate fat with a hearty serving of veggies. Pasta (especially whole wheat), potatoes, sweet potatoes or other starchy foods are a great source of carbs for this meal. But remember to not overeat, as it could cause nausea during the workout. Night workout If you like working out at night, having a light snack before the workout is ideal for gaining enough energy for your workout. Having a healthy dinner afterward is the best option. If you have dinner before the workout, you will feel hungry afterward, which is why it is better to leave it for afterward. However, remember dinner needs to be a light, yet fulfilling meal, such as chicken salad. Sources https://crossfitnyc.com/2016/04/18/pre-workout-nutrition-what-when-and-how-much/ https://www.eatthis.com/crossfit-diet/ https://theworkoutdigest.com/what-to-eat-before-crossfit/  

When trying out a new sport or fitness program, such as Crossfit the process can be boring and difficult. It may make you want to give up. But there is a way for you to love the process into becoming a better you! 5 tips for falling in love with CrossFit CrossFit is not for everyone, and doing proper research on this fitness program before deciding to start your journey is a good idea. If you have read up on it and decided that it is for you, you might have a difficult time actually starting it, but by the end, you’ll love it! 1) Remember why you started If you have decided to begin a new sport, it is likely due to a goal you had in mind. Whether it is to gain muscle, lose weight, live a healthier lifestyle, etc., focus on that goal while working out. This will help you mentally, as you will feel that you are working towards something. In the toughest moments of the workout, this will give you the spirit to push through. 2) Don’t push yourself too hard Even if the saying mind over body has some truth to it, pushing your body too far is never a good idea. If you feel like your body truly cannot handle any more exercise, stop and rest, even if you continue a while later. Pushing yourself too hard will only result in injuries. Know the limits of your body and understand that there is nothing wrong in not being able to complete a WOD (workout of the day), it’s part of the process. You’ll get there eventually, as long as you continue to put in the effort. 3) Focus on the positive side In CrossFit, there may be many things you will not enjoy. For example, some people like cardio more than weights, some like gymnastics over cardio, and some prefer weights over gymnastics. We all have our preferences, especially when it comes to exercise. Despite the fact that you will have to do all of these exercises when doing CrossFit, try not to focus on the ones you dislike, and instead focus on the ones you do like! This will give you a small thrill when the workout includes mostly what you like, and if it’s made up of what you don’t like, then don’t worry, there will always be a new workout the next day! 4) Surround yourself with friends   This might seem irrelevant to actually working out, but in reality, it can be a very important part of your motivation. As we established earlier, the mind can have a powerful effect on the body, and friends sure improve your mentality! If you have friends in the gym, then you will enjoy going to the gym a lot more. You will have fun together, complain together, even suffer together, but most importantly, support each other. Trust me, when you feel like giving up, having a friend telling you to keep going helps a lot more than you’d think! And luckily, the CrossFit community is known for being extremely inclusive and supportive. 5) Accept your weaknesses We all have both strengths and weaknesses, and there is nothing wrong in that. Work on your weaknesses whenever you have time and don’t be afraid to say you can’t do something and ask for the replacement of an exercise, it’s one of the many reasons the coaches are there! Don’t be afraid to ask if you don’t know how to do an exercise either and don’t be ashamed if you lift, or run less than others, or if you can't do an exercise that others can. We all start somewhere!

The snatch is a movement Crossfit athletes are often afraid of due to its level of difficulty and risk of injury. However, if done properly, they are as safe as any other movement. Proper techniques: 3 Tips on how to snatch in Crossfit This particular movement is one of the most difficult when it comes to the world of CrossFit. Many athletes can get injured while doing the movement, but because the technique can be tricky. This does not mean it is a dangerous movement, but it doesn’t hurt to be careful. Tip #1: Don’t do it alone Weightlifting movements, in general, can be very dangerous, and doing them alone is never a good idea. If you’re gonna practice a weightlifting movement, especially the snatch, make sure you have an experienced partner with you to help if something goes wrong. Preferably, ask the coaches at your gym for help, since they are the most qualified to tell you what you’re doing wrong and help you avoid getting injured. If they tell you to change something or to lower your weight or do it with no weight at all, listen to them! Tip #2: Practice the technique The technique for a snatch in weightlifting is relatively the same as in Crossfit. The most important difference is when it comes to competitions. In Crossfit competitions, the power snatch is often used and accepted as a snatch. However, in Olympic weightlifting, it is only accepted as a squat snatch. The technique requires the athlete to pull the bar from the ground to their hips with their backs straight, push with the hips and bring the bar above their heads by bending their elbows and knees fast and immediately after straightening their elbows and pushing their heads forward to remain steady. Afterward, straighten your knees and stay steady! Pushing with your hips is the first thing you need to dominate since it is not as easy as it sounds. However, once you practice it and get the hang of it, it will come naturally to you. The positioning of your feet is also vital, they need to be steady and help with the hip thrust to get the bar above your head. Finally, the elbows need to move fast and stay strong once the movement is done. After that, all that is left is to straighten yourself! Tip #3: Be patient with the weight The snatch is not an easy movement to do with a lot of weight. If you haven’t mastered the technique, putting too much weight on it might be dangerous and lead to injuries, as it happens to many athletes. Start out with no weight whatsoever and master the technique. Once you have that, start adding weight little by little, and if your technique starts getting sloppy, lower the weight again and practice the technique some more!  

CrossFit is a sport that has gained popularity not only for its efficacy but also for its wonderful community and combination of different programs in one! But is it the right program for you? Yes, it is, and here are 3 reasons why. What is CrossFit? 3 Reasons Why it may be the Sport for You   CrossFit is a fitness program and sport for people of all ages and sizes with different goals, whether it is gaining strength, losing weight, or both. It contains a variety of exercises, ranging from weightlifting to gymnastics, cardio, calisthenics, etc., combined to fit all types of people and create the ideal sport and fitness program. It is considered a sport due to its various competitions, such as the CrossFit Open, the CrossFit Games, Wodapalooza, etc. All-inclusive community One of CrossFit’s pride and joy is its community. The CrossFit community does its best to include everyone that wants to be a part of it, whether you have a disability, a health condition, or are a beginner to general sports, the workouts will be modified by the coaches to help YOU. Even if the workout is already established, they might tell you to run 200 meters instead of 500 meters or to practice the technique before using heavy weights, even if you can handle the weight. They do their best to assure you are comfortable and to prevent any accidents. It never gets boring You will never feel like you have nothing left to learn. There are always new elements being added to the mix, new exercises for the CrossFit Open that will be added to your workout of the day (WOD). No matter how much of a pro you’ve become, there will always be a new goal in line. A new weight for this exercise or that, getting better with your technique, improving your time, etc. There’s always something new! CrossFit as a competitive sport As mentioned before, there are many competitions available for you to participate in that are worldwide. However, CrossFit gyms (also called a CrossFit box) tend to do in house competitions very often! In these competitions, you usually compete with people from other gyms or you can go to a competition at another box! Competitions can be individual as well as in couples or even teams! They are extremely fun, and you don’t need to be a pro to compete, they also have categories. Remember to have fun and always have the right equipment to stay safe! Sources https://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/diet-fitness/exercise/what-is-crossfit.htm https://www.crossfit.com/what-is-crossfit https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/a-beginners-guide-to-crossfit/  

We certainly think it's worth the price but others may believe the cost of a CrossFit membership is too high. Given the reasons behind it, you could argue they are definitely worth the cost. We’ll leave the decision to you! “Higher” vs “lower” price gyms and the reason behind the cost of CrossFit CrossFit can be expensive depending upon the box but typically it's worth the cost. It’s not only what the gym has in terms of equipment, but what the CrossFit community has to offer in terms of people and coaches. It’s more than just getting fit, you become part of the community! The "High" End  The cost will depend on the area the box is located in, the size of the gym, the number of employees, and whether they are official CrossFit affiliates or not, but I’ll explain that later. The higher cost CrossFit memberships can be is around 150$ per month, and around 20$ per class if you are a “drop-in”, meaning that you haven’t paid the membership. If you are doing a try-out class they may charge you the same as a drop-in. If you decide to join, some gyms will subtract what you paid for the try-out or drop-in class from your overall membership. The "Low" End When it comes to the “low” end, it doesn’t mean the quality of the box is bad. It can be a number of factors including they may not be official CrossFit affiliates, have less staff, is in a smaller location, etc. It doesn’t mean they are low on quality or that the location will be in any way bad, it just means they may be starting out! The less expensive CrossFit's can be is around 45$ per month, and around 10$ per class for drop-ins. Typically, they charge the same price for people just trying out the class as they charge drop-ins, but in some cases, the try-out class may be free! Why is the cost of CrossFit so high? CrossFit is not like a normal gym, meaning the cost doesn’t just cover the usual things. The coaches usually complete courses to earn a certificate saying they are CrossFit coaches. As an individual, they provide a personalized experience, always looking out to see if you’re performing the techniques properly and handling the proper weights for you in order to avoid injuries. The equipment is also expensive, and the place has to be big enough to give people the space to do the exercises properly without hurting someone. However, the main reason is the fact that they are affiliates, as previously mentioned. CrossFit costs so much because they pay around 3,000$ just to be able to open and operate the gym. This gives them the advantage of hosting people when the CrossFit Open begins, for example. Their gym becomes one of the places people can go to compete in. This means they generally have coaches who have also taken the time to become certified judges for the CrossFit Open. You also join a community full of people that will support you all the way! As you can see, CrossFit is indeed more expensive than a typical gym, but it is also worth the price. The reason for their high prices is so they can cover the fees to give you all you can need to be your better, fitter self. Try a class out and decide for yourself! Sources https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/082015/economics-crossfit-gym.asp http://www.crossfitinsight.com/blog/2015/8/13/is-crossfit-worth-the-costs-comparison https://athleticmuscle.net/how-much-is-crossfit-a-month/