The human body is complex. It comprises numerous organs, body parts, structures, and individual cells which are in constant coordination with each other. Each of the systems strives to maintain homeostasis or an optimal range despite the varying external and internal signals. Blood sugar also referred to as glucose because it is one of the examples of constant exquisite coordination which produces lots of things from basic physiologic functions all the way to elite athletic performance. Every cell within the human body uses glucose to generate energy which powers muscle contraction during CrossFit workouts. The major consumers of glucose include the brain, the muscle, liver, and adipose tissue. For instance, the brain uses approximately 120 grams of glucose daily which accounts for about 60% of the total usage by the body. The protein hormone known as insulin is responsible for regulating glucose homeostasis. Whenever there is an elevated blood glucose level, insulin is secreted from the pancreas and injected into the blood. This particularly comes when you take a carbohydrate meal or fat and protein only meal. Increased insulin gets detected by the insulin receptors on the surface of the cell and this signals for the absorption of glucose from the blood. This, in turn, increases the internal cell concentration of glucose. Insulin is a powerful central regulator of metabolism, and it's presence signals energy sufficiency which drives energy storage in the form of fatty acids or glycogen. It can also usher in energy consuming processes which include cell division. The adipose tissue, liver, and skeletal muscles are the main targets of insulin action. Even though the glucose uptake by the brain is not controlled by insulin, research indicates that insulin affects the control of energy and glucose homeostasis in the brain. Day-to-Day Examples of Control After a full night’s sleep, your glucose levels dip below the day’s average which is usually 70 to 100 mg/dL. When you take your first meal, glucose levels spikes and insulin comes into action to suppress it to below 140 mg/dL. This cycle repeats itself day in day out. Where the body system cannot be able to lower glucose, it is indicative of glucose homeostasis regulating the problem. During a CrossFit exercise, the body muscles utilize existing supply of energy which lasts for about 10 seconds. After the depletion of the existing fuel source, the body shifts to glucose and glycogen along the glycolytic pathway. The glycolytic pathway under maximum body training lasts for about two minutes and paves the way for glycolysis to provide energy. For longer duration activities and workouts, fats are the predominant fuel source. During exercise, blood glucose levels rise because the liver breaks down its glycogen stores which are about 100 grams or create glucose from other sources through the process of gluconeogenesis and releases it into the blood. This elevated blood glucose levels results in a release of insulin which helps to push the glucose into the muscle cells. Through exercises, the muscle cells are triggered to take up blood glucose by another mechanism which doesn’t require the help of insulin. One of the top benefits of CrossFit training is that it enhances your insulin sensitivity through this mechanism because it allows for insulin levels to remain low while blood sugar increases. During the post-exercise recovery period, the blood glucose levels fall to the normal levels as muscle cells replenish glycogen stores back to the levels before the exercise.

Building muscle takes a lot of hard work, awareness, and planning. You need to know what stimulates muscle growth if you want to take your fitness program a notch higher. Lots of articles have been written about building muscle, but often the basics have been left out. Below are some of the useful tips to consider in your quest to build muscle during CrossFit training. Include Protein in Your Diet Protein is necessary for maintaining a positive nitrogen balance in the body. The Food and Drug Administration recommends an intake of about 0.8 grams per kilogram of bodyweight for protein. Remember muscle building is a compound process that includes neurotransmission, strengthening of cell structural components, and other processes. This is why it makes a lot of sense to ensure your diet has sufficient levels of the protein macronutrient. Incorporate Compound Movements Heavy rowing movements such as pull-ups and barbell rows go beyond building biceps to making your arms pop. If you want to strengthen your leg and hip muscles, you should get under the bar and do squats. If you find out the exercise you are doing only concentrates on one joint; chances are you are limiting your muscle building potential. Compound CrossFit workouts are the way to go. Your Post-Workout Nutrition Your post-workout meal arguably has the biggest impact on your muscle. During this time, your body cells tend to be more receptive to receiving glucose for energy. Therefore, a meal that has protein and carbohydrates ensures maximum glycogen synthesis. Aim at getting your post-workout meal within two hours after the completion of your workout. Goal Prioritization Having a goal in your CrossFit workouts is important. The goal may be to lose weight, add muscle, or to improve your agility. Try as much as you can to make your goals specific because in doing so, they will be measurable and able to be monitored. For instance, you cannot realistically focus on adding muscle and losing weight at the same time. The best approach is to concentrate on one at a time. Never Neglect the Eccentric Phase During any of the CrossFit workouts, there are two main types of movement the body goes through; eccentric and concentric. During the concentric phase, your muscles tend to shorten as they generate force. This is the phase the body goes through when you lift weights. Similarly, the eccentric phase is when the muscle gets a little bit longer under loads. This is when you are lowering the weight before pressing it back up. A majority of athletes tend to focus mainly on the concentric phase and neglecting the eccentric phase which ironically provides the most hypertrophy. Next time you are in the CrossFit gym, lower the bar in a more controlled way. Apart from the above, also think about your workout frequency. There are three important kinds of training philosophies, and all of them are important. The most common aspect in all is that they leave enough time between working the same category of muscles so that they can enhance recovery.

When you go to a CrossFit gym, you may find one of the two types of CrossFit. The first type consists of an exercise routine with functional movements performed at high intensity and targeted at our health. The second type of CrossFit is a sport for CrossFit, and basically, this is what you may see on ESPN. The growth in popularity of CrossFit has attracted lots of athletes many of whom are coming to compete at high levels. These athletes come from different walks of life ranging from ultra-marathon runners to former college football players. Some of them have a preconceived notion that because they found success in their respective former endeavors, they will automatically find success even in CrossFit exercises. While it is true that the potential for success exists, there is a process which athletes must adhere to so as to get better. In the same way, you can’t pick a baseball in year one and become a spectacular pitcher for the major league, CrossFit exercises have procedures which you must follow. Being talented is a plus, but the talent on its own can only take you so far beyond which effort and discipline take over. Respecting the Process Everything in life has a progression, and for you to achieve results, you need dedication and hard work. In CrossFit, you must master the functional movements first before anything else. When you develop a stable base and a stronger core, then you can undertake higher skilled movements. If you skip this step, catastrophic injuries may result when doing your CrossFit exercises. On top of this, it is not proper to try out movements which are beyond your means. Doing a movement, the wrong way is not intelligent because you will be required to go back to the drawing and develop that movement once more in the right way. What this means is additional months of strength and skills development plus the risk of damaging your form by doing workouts the wrong way. Below are some of the effective tips that will help you respect the CrossFit process and at the same time put you on the path to achieving your goals. Listening to Your Body It’s important to have a routine, but getting caught in such a routine even when your body is hurting is not right. The famous 3-day-on and 1-day-off attitude were created at the beginning of CrossFit, but it is not cast on stone. When your body is instructing you otherwise, kindly listen. The body usually repairs and strengthens in between workouts, and if you continuously train without recovery, you may actually weaken instead of strengthening. Allow Your Injuries to Heal Injuries and tweaks are a necessary evil in any sport. As your intensity rises, the amount of CrossFit training you undertake can easily result in new injuries or a flare-up of old injuries. Staying healthy is important and ensuring that your injuries heal however small they are can enhance your form and give you more benefits than working out with injuries. The last tip is to understand your volume. The number of reps you do in a given movement and the load you carry should be well-planned for so that you do not overburden your skeletal system.

Irrespective of your training level, you have a duty as a CrossFit athlete not to over-train your body. While some athletes feel that their day is not complete unless they exert their full efforts during the CrossFit training, the truth is doing so can wear you out and put you at a disadvantage in the competitions. CrossFit competition is an embodiment of the culmination of lots of weeks or months of training, and to some extent, this justifies the risks that come with overexertion. However, in training, try not to go that deep. Research has shown that training at 100% intensity can have diminishing returns when compared to submaximal programming. How Hard Should You Train? Runners find this conundrum especially problematic. Before they realize it, they have already gone too fast in a race, and it is late to make any corrections. There is a methodology you can incorporate seamlessly into your CrossFit training that can help you moderate the intensity. It is called middle distance repeats. Solid CrossFit exercise plans have included interval training as a proven way to enhance running efficiency and VO2 max. Based on the outcomes, the performance benefit of interval training far surpasses that of lactate threshold running and long slow distance running. If you want to explore your upper velocities without bearing the risk of falling apart in form, moderately long efforts of about 4 to 10 minutes performed at high intensity are recommended. The above benefits solidify the fact that middle distance repeats are a must in any CrossFit training programme and more so to newer runners and racers. The reason why many new runners go out too hard on themselves is that of the gap that exists between their physical ability and their expectations. Middle distance repeats bring in some sense into training. If you can get hold of a GPS running watch or a stopwatch and run with it in a single afternoon, you will find out before long the pace you are capable of without the expense and risks of blowing up in your training. The first-mile repeat, you run will be great, but as you proceed, your body will slowly stabilize into your race day pace. Once you find this pace, it will be much easier for you to plan a strategy that will deliver the fastest possible time at your next competition event. Getting the Distance Right To understand the term middle distance, think of a range of length from about 800 meters to 2 miles. For training repeats, these distances are excellent especially between 800 and 1600 meters. When you do 2 to 4 laps on a track, you may never be fully exhausted, but the distance will force you to adopt a sustainable pace. Try interspersing middle distance repeats with recovery intervals to give you a good posture and form. Your muscles will adequately relax and clear any traces of lactate. This will lessen the potential for damage to your joints and muscles when compared to lactate threshold running of similar volume. The recommended CrossFit workouts for middle distance repeats include jogging, mobility work such as yoga, and ample warmups and cooldowns.

The twenties is a very active age brackets and many people get lots of certifications in physical fitness. However, as you move into your thirties and forties, the energy level and recovery ability of your body start diminishing. Naturally, the body slows down, and when it comes to food choices, workout protocols, you need to make deliberate and intelligent decisions. For CrossFit women, the thirties and forties is a period where they experience hormonal challenges which are unique based on the individual and may range from debilitating depression to unwelcome fatigue. Middle Age Challenges From age 40, life starts throwing curve balls at most athletes despite the efforts they may put in working out, being mindful of CrossFit nutrition, and managing stress. Therefore, there is the need for changes to be made as far fitness and nutrition are concerned as people age. Training has to change from the standard of the 20s into a more customized approach. Laying Out Your Strategies When the struggles come, some athletes respond by exuding expressions of frustration or guilt because of their inability to perform menial tasks and completing workouts. Because of this, it is important you put in place strategies to deal with the stumbling blocks. The following concepts are instrumental in ensuring you have a successful workout plan. Have a Plan and Be Flexible It is important to plan yourself for certain duration on how you are going to carry out your exercises. You do not have to plan for such a long time into the future, but rather you can go for short chunks of time such as weekly schedules as long as they fit into your lifestyle. For instance, if you have only 25 minutes per day at your disposal, you cannot plan for a workout that lasts a whole hour. You need to be practical. Ensure You Recover Adequately After working out in the CrossFit gym, you may notice that you are completely depleted to the point that you cannot attempt any other CrossFit workouts. This is why it is extremely important to listen to your body. If you feel that you need a nap, don’t hesitate because this is important in recovery. Since your body requires stress to adapt, leaving it completely spent doesn’t help either. You need to find that sweet spot which makes you grow and thrive. Scale Down Your Workouts if Need Be On the days when you feel you should have some light exercises, don’t force your body into the hard stuff. Instead, go for a swim, brisk walk, yoga, or simply work on your mobility. Remember having some little CrossFit workouts is better than nothing at all.  Prioritize Your Strength Training Strength CrossFit workouts are recommended in your 40s due to their productivity. As you age, your power output and your strength decline and hence incorporating load-bearing exercises are very important in your life. One of the key benefits of strength training is that it enhances your metabolism and releases endorphins. Also, the good body mechanics that you develop as a result of strength training helps in preventing falls and injuries.

The thruster is one of those exercises that is synonymous with CrossFit. After all, the term was first coined right in the CrossFit industry. Over the years, the thruster has become a respected and valuable movement in CrossFit training with lots of benefit to athletes. However, for you to reap those benefits, you need to do it correctly and efficiently. How to Do the Thruster There are 4 steps on how to execute the thruster, the beauty of it all is that these steps are pretty easy to follow and they are memorable. They include: Step 1 –Here, you stand with your feet while your lower back is tightly arched. Your hands should not be wider than your shoulders’ outsides. Your elbows should also be up in a front rack position. Step 2 –Keep your chest up while your head is in a neutral position. As you push your hips back, simultaneously descend gradually into a below parallel squat. Step 3 –While at the bottom position, explode all the way back to the position you were at the beginning. Make the explosion as hard as you possibly can. After that, using your momentum, press the bar over your head. Step 4 –As you finish, resume to a standing position and let the barbell be slightly behind and over your head. Your shoulders should be stacked over your hips and the hips stacked over the ankles. Then, lower it smoothly as you continuously descend into another squat position. The Benefits of the Thruster Workout The thruster is a perfect example of a compound exercise in CrossFit workout because it utilizes more than a single joint. It combines the push press, front squat, and a clean. Thanks to the multiple movements, the thruster gives you multiple benefits. One of the benefits is that it works all your major leg muscles which are the quads, hamstrings, and glutes when you are in the squat position. The power generated from the legs as you drive out of the squat is gradually transferred to the upper body through the lower back and abdominals and finally ends up on your shoulders, triceps, and upper back to aid in driving the bar over your head. Secondly, the thruster is one CrossFit workout that exercises the whole body just like the burpees. When you add weight to the thruster to make it heavier, you will develop muscular power and strength. When you make the thruster lighter, on the other hand, it will tax your aerobic capacity and muscular endurance. Lastly, the thruster is such a versatile CrossFit workout. Despite the fact that it is performed with a barbell, you can easily swap it for kettlebells, dumbbells, sandbags, and medicine balls. To better your efficiency when performing the thruster, remember to keep your elbows up, your movement fluid, and do not have a tight grip. Whenever needed, always take a rest. It is important to know your limits and what you are capable of so that you do not overstrain your body as this can lead to injury.  

CrossFit training is a lifestyle and practically a never-ending journey. When you begin, you put goals which you want to achieve, but the moment you attain them, you quickly set others for the future. There is always more that awaits to be moved and more reps to be hit. Because fitness in itself is a journey, there are best chances you may get ensnared in several pitfalls as you strive for the top. Below is a discussion of some of these pitfalls and how you can avoid them. Shifting from One Program to Another There is a tendency for athletes to jump from program to program in search of new challenges and to satisfy new goals. Conventional wisdom dictates that if you are getting positive results in a certain program, there is no need to change unless you have a real reason for doing so. There are lots of programs such as gymnastics programs, squat programs, running programs, and lifting programs you can freely choose to follow in the open gym hours and do a CrossFit workout. However, what will make you not to be distracted is your personal discipline. The golden rule is, if it does not break, don’t fix it. Follow the program you started with to the very end before moving to a new objective and a new program. Poor Goal Setting The SMART principle of goal setting applies not just in other spheres of life, but also in CrossFit. If one of these elements is missing, then you will struggle to achieve your goals. For instance, your goal should be time bound else there won’t be a sense of urgency to attain it. Even the CrossFit workout movements which seem complex, they also require deadlines. The best indication for well-set goals is those that make you excited and motivated to train daily. Ignoring Your Limiting Factors The definition of fitness in CrossFit revolves around increasing work capacity across modal domains and broad time. The main goal here is to become balanced across the board. CrossFit enables you to move heavyweight rather quickly, lightweight for longer periods and gives you capacity to run for long distances as well as become a good sprinter. The idea of becoming proficient in one area at the expense of inefficiency in another is highly discouraged in this sport. Even if a certain movement gives you problems to execute, you should never ignore it because that is your limiting factor and you must face it head-on. Copying Elite Athletes Online People will always post videos boasting of some ridiculous feats. Some may post doing muscle ups with a med ball and weight vest while others may boast having completed some insane rounds of a monster workout. Whichever the case, you must appreciate one thing that their experience is different from yours and their programs are tailored to meet their needs. Stick to your program because it is suited for you and will help you achieve your goals. Above all, one of the unforgivable pitfalls is to ignore the intangibles which include active recovery, rest, mobility, and CrossFit diet. If you do so, you are undermining your CrossFit workout performance big time.

Many times, in the CrossFit gym, you will be instructed to workout up to a certain percentage of your one rep max for a given exercise. One of the problems people tend to encounter is forgetfulness of their one rep max. If such a problem is coming from a newbie, it is perfectly understandable. However, from an experienced CrossFitter, it is totally inexcusable. Not putting in your score whenever you go through a WOD can be a major let down to your performance. Tracking your workouts is extremely important because then you will know whether you are improving or you are backpedaling. To put the matter straight, below are some of the reasons why recording every bit of CrossFit Workout workout you do on the box helps you. Tracking Progress It is simple, for you to know that you are getting fitter, you must have data to back it up. Maintaining CrossFit Workout logs will help you see the far you have come and your consistency in performance. Knowing where you are, at a specific time helps you to gather up the courage to move forward and see if there is an area of improvement. Learning Fitness Program Terminology If you are new to CrossFit, one of the daunting tasks you will reckon with is the new terminology. Terms such as TTB, AMRAP, HSPU, EMOM, hang squat, muscle up, push jerk, and power clean, can be pretty confusing to the individuals who are new to CrossFit. That said, when you have a log of your scores, and you make notes about the movements you do on a day to day basis, you will remember most of these terms. Good Reference for Future Workouts While it is true that workout logs are mostly used for recording weights and time, you can take advantage of the space available to slot in some comments about your performance. For instance, you may note “I should have pushed a little bit hard on the runs” or “I could have gone heavier.” These short comments can help you change your approach and attack your CrossFit workout differently next time you do it. When it comes to benchmarks, there are certain things you should know. The most common benchmarks include: CrossFit Total – This brings together your max squat, max deadlift, and max press. Knowing your back-squat max can help you estimate your front squat max. At the same time, if you know your press max, you can almost tell your max for the jerk and push press. All this comes with putting good records. Aerobic Benchmarks, Rowing, and Running –These benchmarks will help you know your progress regarding aerobic capacity. Since the rowing and runs are the least fun to do, they are quite useful for lots of reasons. Gymnastic Benchmark –This is an excellent benchmark, and it tracks the maximum pull-ups. If you have never done even a single pull-up, you can try out a max set with a band and write down exactly the band you used. In CrossFit training, it is highly discouraged to compare yourself with others, but if you know your scores, you can put yourself on the map and see how on average you are fairly on relative to other CrossFitters.