Master Your Fitness Game: In-Depth Gear Guides and Workout Tips by TuffWraps

In the beginning, CrossFit was fairly simple. Simply show up, do the work and see the results. The mere factor of walking half-heartedly through the door on a Friday evening only to lace up your nanos and put in even a minimal effort would bring about results. You probably PR’d at least once a week in some area or another and the mere completion of a workout was an achievement in itself. Fast forward 6-12 months and the results have started to slow. PR’s have become more spread out and less frequent. Just “showing up” for class has no longer become enough.

Often times, we become so wrapped up in the score on the board, that we forget that sometimes our scores and weights come not just from what we’ve done in the moment, but also what we’ve done in the hours and days leading up to the workout. But, post workout recovery can get complicated. If you’re not careful, you can quickly become entangled in a complicated web of protein shakes and mobility.

Everyone has their own reasons for skipping a workout. Whether you changed careers, got injured, or your personal life went through major changes, you may have missed a WOD or two (or ten) because of it. Though life may get in the way, do your best not to fall into the trap of avoiding the gym because you "can't make it."

Since its founding in 2000 and the inaugural CrossFit Games of 2007, the “Sport of Fitness” has taken the world by storm like no other fitness program has ever done before. From desk jockey to at-home mom to professional athlete, CrossFit has enabled its members to become dramatically more capable in physical feats and athletic prowess through what it preaches as “constantly varied and functional movement.” Executed, of course, at “high intensity” which every CrossFitter has found to be profoundly true and profoundly effective as they lie gasping for breath after notorious workouts like “Fran,” “Grace” or “Helen.”

In order to function properly, our body needs Omega 3 fatty acids, but since it’s unable to produce required quantities by itself we have to take it through food. Omega 3 fatty acids can be primarily found in fish oil, some plant-based sources (walnuts etc.), and krill oil. However, krill oil is usually overlooked even though it has numerous health benefits. In order to find out why krill oil should be your source of much-needed Omega 3 fatty acids keep reading.

Benchmark workouts have been around for what seems like forever. “Girls” like Annie (50­40­30­20­10 reps of double­unders and situps), Grace (30 clean and jerks for time), and everyone’s favorite, Fran (21­15­9 of thrusters and pull­ups) show up on whiteboards all over the CrossFit world and even make their way into competitions like the CrossFit games. These workouts are the truest test of one’s fitness, according to the CrossFit community. They can range from all bodyweight movements, like Annie, or heavy barbell complexes, like Grace.

Although testosterone is generally associated with masculinity, the benefits of this naturally produced hormone are critical for both men and women in a number of ways. Playing a key role in the building of lean muscle mass and strong bones, healthy testosterone levels can guard against osteoporosis, boost athletic performance, increase sexual desire, improve mood, decrease risk of cardiovascular diseases, and much more. Specific to the fitness athlete, however, how can we continue to naturally boost this hormone in our body after having already pursued the basics of decreasing body weight through exercise? Here are 5 ways you can boost your testosterone levels and make greater gains both in and out of the box.

It’s pretty obvious that CrossFitters love a good barbell workout. We love the clanging of the weights as they hit the floor and that feeling you get when you have the perfect hook grip set-up. As athletes, however, we must remember that there is a world outside of the gym! It may be hard to believe, but all of that fitness can prove to be quite beneficial out in the “real world.” We need to do our best to find a balance, for both our mental and physical well-being, of activities both inside and outside of the box. Here are 7 activities that put the “fun” in functional fitness.

It's summer, which means a lot of people are traveling and taking vacations. For a lot of people, vacation doesn't always mean taking time off from the gym—especially when it often DOES mean indulging in foods and drinks outside of their normal diets. It can be difficult to find the time to make it to an actual gym or to find a gym to go to. Here are some suggestions for making your workouts happen, even when you're on the road.

We’ve all heard of the “seven year itch.” This issue of the “honeymoon phase” being over can happen to our relationship with CrossFit as well. The first year or so is filled with PRs, learning new skills, and discovering an inner athleticism that you never knew you had. Around the eighteen month mark, however, things begin to shift. PRs become less and less frequent (or non-existent). You begin feeling run down, and workouts that used to relieve the stresses of the day actually make it worse. The love and passion you once felt as a CrossFit newbie is waning, and unfortunately, it seems as if you have hit the proverbial “wall.”

FOMO, or the Fear of Missing Out, is a term usually used to describe interactions within social media networks like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. The feeling can come from missing actual activities with friends (and constantly “checking” social media), or it can come from a broader source, like feeling as if you are missing out on a potential type of life. Social media outlets are great ways to keep in touch with people from your past, but they can cause feelings of jealousy (I want his/her life) or regret (I wish I had…). This fear of missing out can also be applied to activities themselves. In the case of CrossFit, FOMO can occur because an athlete has worked so hard to adopt a certain lifestyle and missing certain activities, like WODs, can prove to be a huge detriment to their mental, physical, and emotional health.