Every Cross Training Athletes is concerned about their performance, how long they take to recover, and their overall health. However, one of the most important and often overlooked components is the diet. Nutrition and especially vitamins play an important role in determining how effective your Cross Training Athletes training, performance, and recovery will be. Some essential vitamins and minerals play a cornerstone role in fitness and health and as such should be integrated into your daily meals and lifestyle. Understanding how important each of these vitamins and minerals is and where you can source them from makes everything smooth and easier for you. Vitamin C This is one of the leading vitamins. It helps in strengthening your immune system, regulating the iron absorption rate, as well as neutralizing and stabilizing the free irons coming out of the oxidative process. Vitamin C has also been associated with stress reduction which helps out in recovering from the high-intensity workouts much faster.  This vitamin can also be acquired from foods such as strawberries, melons, kale, kiwi, cauliflower, oranges, broccoli, pepper, and guavas. The daily demand for vitamin C is about 100 milligrams which is equal to 1 kiwi fruit. Since the body doesn’t produce or store Vitamin C, you need to include it as an essential part of your Cross Training Athletes diet. Vitamin D Vitamin D is at the forefront in assisting your body system in absorbing phosphorous and calcium. These are essential minerals in enhancing your capacity to generate testosterone. Bone development, immune functioning, muscle development, and the reduction of inflammation are all attributed to the work of vitamin D. The sun is the most significant supplier of this vitamin, and because people do not spend as much time outside, there is a danger of running into vitamin D deficiency. Research carried out by Harvard University showed that close to a billion people are already at risk. Apart from sunbathing, fatty fish, dairy products, eggs, and pork are essential sources in the Cross Training Athletes training. The daily demand is 15 micrograms which is equivalent to 3 ounces of salmon. Iron This mineral helps in transporting oxygen. It forms a critical component of hemoglobin, the substance responsible for carrying oxygen and red blood cells. You can find iron in seafood, red meat, dark green leafy vegetables, peas, beans, oatmeal, and even dried fruits such as apricot and raisins. During Cross Training Athletes WOD, a lot of iron is lost through sweat. Women require about 18 milligrams of iron per day while men need only 8 milligrams. If this is not met, chances of you experiencing headaches, dizziness, fatigue, and weakness are high. Calcium This mineral strengthens your bone health and plays a crucial role in muscular contraction. Calcium powers some essential processes like nerve transmission and blood coagulation regulation. You can find it in milk, cheese, spinach, yogurt, kale, and broccoli. The daily intake is 100 milligrams. Calcium deficiency may result in heart problems and bone weakness. To sum up the above, you should also consider including magnesium in the diet of your Cross Training Athletes. It helps in blood coagulation, relaxation of muscles, bone and cell formation, as well as energy production. The daily recommended intake is 300 to 400 milligrams which is equivalent to two cups of boiled spinach. You can find in nuts, avocados, bananas, fish, leafy vegetables, mineral water, and dried fruits.  
KUNAL JHAVERI | 20 May 18
It is almost a tradition that every Memorial Day, countless gym goers and CrossFitters put themselves through an insane and brutal combination of running and calisthenics. The Murph is one of those CrossFit workouts that can be termed as utterly daunting and brutal while at the same time remarkable in the results it delivers. To do this, you just need a pair of snickers and a pull-up bar. The workout itself consists of running a mile, followed by 100 pull-ups after which you do 200 push-ups before doing 300 unweighted squats and finishing with another mile run. In its highest form, the athletes in CrossFit Gym usually compete while wearing weight vests measuring about 20 pounds. The question is, how do you execute such a WOD without completely tearing apart? Below are some tactics to keep you on the frontline. Rehearse Beforehand With practice, you can do much. When you regularly engage in high volume exercises, you develop a mindset. The benefit of practice is that it helps you to prepare your body and mind so that you can endure a large workload without becoming sore. On the day of the Murph challenge, ensure you keep your workload light and mostly mental. Hydrate Well You can’t possibly succeed in executing Murph if you are the type of person who loves hotdogs and boozing. Everyone thinks they are invincible athletes simply because they train a lot. However, hydrating your body should not be overlooked because your body system is not any better than a machine and when it runs empty on fuel, it breaks down. Hydrate at least 2 days beforehand and you will have a relatively easy time in the CrossFit gym. Get the Necessary Nutrients in the Right Volumes In the same manner, you approach a 10-kilometer marathon, think about the Murph the same way. Fueling up with electrolytes and carbohydrates will save you from the troubles of running on an empty stomach. The best approach is to prepare a shake of carbohydrate that is easily digestible and supplement it with protein powder. Scale the WOD to Your Ability Before taking on Murph, assess your ability to handle the workload. This should give you an idea of how to scale the exercises in CrossFit Gym to enable you to go through the reps without burning your system. Safety and effectiveness are key priorities in this workout and if you can’t perform a certain movement, scaling is the best option. Instead of assessing your ability on the workout day, do it a few days before. Do not feel as if you are any lesser of a CrossFitter simply because you are scaling your WOD. Every athlete is endowed differently and there is always a beginning point. On top of doing the above, ensure you focus on saving energy as you go through each rep. don’t spend every watt of power, but target at saving energy to help you power through this CrossFit WOD successfully. Remember, quality supersedes quantity and speed in CrossFit.
KUNAL JHAVERI | 17 May 18
In the holy grail of full body workouts, kettlebell snatch comes as the final progression. Before you get to this CrossFit exercise, you have to ensure that your Swing is excellent and you have correctly mastered the Turkish GetUp. Many people understandably struggle to get the snatch right. This is principal because it involves getting a heavy weight over your head at a certain speed range. Timing is of the essence when doing the snatch because a misstep can see you banging your wrist and jerking your arm. The beauty with kettlebell snatch is that it works out your entire body starting from the toe all the way to the head. It is considered a pulling movement as well. It requires a lot of energy to take the kettlebell right from the top position, absorbing all its weight and thereafter change the momentum at the bottom. Even though it doesn’t match the high pull, kettlebell snatch is a cardiovascular exercise. Benefits of Kettlebell Snatch There are many benefits you are poised to enjoy in this kettlebell snatch named CrossFit exercise, but below are a few to just give you an idea of what is at stake in this task. Fat Loss – Hundreds of muscles are engaged in just a single snatch movement. The more the muscles you summon, the more the energy expended hence the need to burn more fats and carbohydrates. Great Cardio –If you want to push your cardio to another level, it helps to throw the snatch into your CrossFit workout routine. It will definitely elevate your heart rate without even moving your feet. During every repetition, the snatch uses so much force and energy that your heart and lungs can’t help, but work very hard and fast. Strength and Power Development –The snatch is unique in that it demands that your body absorbs and regenerates force at a certain speed range during every repetition. The ability to produce this force at the required speed is what is known as power. There are many things in which power can be beneficial amongst them martial arts and sports. Connects the Body –If there is one thing this CrossFit exercise does extremely well is to connect your body right from the body all the way to the toe. In a matter of seconds, the snatch picks up the kettlebell from overhead all the way close to the floor and then back up again. The ability to connect and coordinate movement patterns starting from the head to the toe is very helpful in natural movement skills. Enhances Stability and Mobility –For you to snatch the kettlebell successfully, your chest must open up while your shoulders must be sufficiently supple to permit the kettlebell overhead. During the snatch, any instances of poor shoulder and thoracic mobility will be brought into the light for immediate attention. Apart from shoulder mobility, there is also need for stability so that they can support the heavy overhead load. Muscles Worked Out When doing the snatch in your CrossFit WOD, lots of muscles are worked very hard. Some of these include hips, quads, glutes, hamstrings, and the core. There is more muscle activation in the upper section of your body because the kettlebell must go overhead. The grip is also one area that will be worked extremely hard the moment you start practicing the snatch.
KUNAL JHAVERI | 02 Apr 18
Single-leg squats are excellent for any outdoor CrossFit athlete looking to getting faster and stronger while staying injury free. For a long time, the two-legged squat has been the talk of strength training in the CrossFit gym. Endurance athletes have been incorporating it into their weight training routine because of its ability to engage virtually every single muscle. The squat also builds power as well as durability right from the legs all the way to the core. That said, single-leg squats are slowly gaining ground as the go-to workouts for athletes who want to become stronger. Through these squats, you can generate power one leg at a time in the same way you do when cross-country skiing, trail running or climbing. Research has proven that athletes who add single-leg squats to their training regimens gained strength and speed just like those who added barbell back squats. A unique advantage of single-leg squat is that it mimics real movements which means you are training your body directly for sport. Another advantage of single-leg moves is that they are much safer to perform because they require less mobility and technique. If you are looking at firing up smaller muscles, single-leg squats are the go-to workouts. Normally, injuries stemming from imbalances have their origin in improperly worked out lateral muscles. Metabolically, this type of workout is intense, which you do in CrossFit exercise. This means insofar as it will take you longer to work both sides of your body, you will get a bigger and better burn.The following are some of the common single-leg squats you can do. Single-Leg Goblet Squat This squat works out your stabilizing muscles. For you to lower on one leg, you need some serious control as well as stability. Because of this, you will build excellent lower body strength. The single goblet squat fires up your smaller muscles to balance your body, and this will help you to avoid injury. Bowler Squat This CrossFit exercise trains you to generate power right from your hips while at the same time staying stable, strong, and balanced. When engaging in outdoor sports, it goes beyond the forward and backward movements. At times, you may have to move diagonally to prevent a twist or to reach out and grab a jug. The moment you master the first variation, you can now comfortably scale up with anyone of these progressions. Plyometric Single-Leg Hip Thrust This is a good workout to help you build explosiveness. It really doesn’t matter whether you are cruising along the flats or bounding uphill when skiing, athleticism, and power comes from your hips. Therefore, with stronger hips, you become more efficient and stable thus protecting yourself from injuries. Try these squats one at a time in your WOD and add in your CrossFit exercise and you are bound to experience spectacular improvements.
KUNAL JHAVERI | 30 Jan 18
Going through childhood, one of the most enjoyable activities is usually biking. As people grow, somehow their love for bikes tends to diminish probably due to busy lifestyle or changing priorities. If this is you, you may want to change your outlook and head straight to that bike sitting in your garage or shade for a ride. In CrossFit training, biking is one of the compound exercises with lots of benefits. This is why most CrossFit coaches would not hesitate to include it in the training regimen. In case you are not familiar with biking or its benefits, below are some of the great gains behind this age-old exercise. Enhanced Cardio Endurance As you may know, CrossFit is a high-intensity sport where you get to test your limits for an extended duration. Biking as a workout includes setting a time or distance priority, hill repeats, sprinting, or just about anything that makes you feel challenged. The whole exercise is fun, but it requires a lot of effort especially where the challenge is scaled up. Research shows that biking for about an hour can burn anything up to 500 calories. The good thing is that the cycling is done at a moderate pace. Loss of 500 calories is a major gain towards weight loss. Improved Coordination and Balance As you head towards your middle years, balance and coordination somehow start decreasing. This is particularly true where you do not put them to test regularly. One of the best ways to challenge yourself and still have fun is bike riding. Test yourself on how fast you can ride and for how long you can stay at a red light without planting your feet onto the ground. For coordination, you can ride along a painted line or the edge of a sidewalk and look at how you perform. An Excellent Way to Unwind After a tough CrossFit WOD, you may want to switch off your mind a little bit and allow for your muscles to relax through some light exercise. Cycling is one of them. You could invite your family to cycle alongside you as you relax those muscles from draining and muscle tasking workout. The repetitive movement that is characteristic of biking together with the fresh air will distress you in as little as 15 minutes. A Less Costly Way to Exercise Biking doesn’t involve costly equipment like the other exercises. All you need is to buy a quality bicycle which can last you a long period if you maintain it well. The cost of a bike is not much on the initial purchase price, rather on the maintenance part of it. The beauty of biking is that you can do it anywhere as long as there is a path. You can incorporate biking into your workout of the day to give you immense benefits.
KUNAL JHAVERI | 29 Jan 18