MEDIA LIBRARY

When Mark Bell started promoting the "Sugar Diet" – a plan that involves eating only fruit, honey, and even candy – my first instinct was to dismiss it as nutritional lunacy. Sound familiar? It's the same knee-jerk reaction people have to CrossFit before they actually step into a gym. This isn't about whether the Sugar Diet works (I honestly don't know yet), but about something more important: how we evaluate ideas that challenge our beliefs. If CrossFit has taught us anything, it's that the loudest critics are often wrong, and the most unconventional approaches sometimes produce the most surprising results.

Episode 6 of “Road to the Games,” presented by YETI, features two-time CrossFit Games qualifier Lucy Campbell and Games rookie Lucy McGonigle.

Conor Murphy has worn many hats: Navy serviceman, CrossFit Games athlete, Seminar Staff trainer, and, now, head of Big Night Fitness and affiliate owner in Boston, Massachusetts. In this raw and real conversation with Denise Thomas, Conor opens up about the moments that nearly broke him — and how CrossFit gave him a second chance.

In the final chapter of “Drop-In Diaries,” Baylee Rayl wraps up her journey through the UK with visits to CrossFit 179 in Swansea, Wales, and CrossFit Bath in Bath, England — two gyms with very different vibes, but the same powerful sense of community.

Often overlooked and stored in gym corners, sleds are one of the most versatile training tools available, capable of supercharging everything from injury rehabilitation to sprint speed development. Whether you're recovering from a lower-body injury, building conditioning, or enhancing athletic performance, this simple piece of equipment delivers results that few other tools can match.

Episode 5 of “Road to the Games,” presented by YETI, features four-time Games qualifier and 2023 third-Fittest Man on Earth Ricky Garard, six-time CrossFit Games qualifier Jay Crouch, and six-time Games qualifier Madeline Sturt.

Think all squats are created equal? Think again. The subtle differences in where you place that barbell — behind your back, across your shoulders, or overhead — completely transform how your body moves, what muscles work hardest, and where you're most likely to hit a wall. Whether you're missing front squats because your upper back gives out before your legs, struggling with overhead squats despite crushing back squats, or wondering why your ankle mobility matters more in some variations than others, understanding these biomechanical differences is the key to unlocking your squat potential and training smarter.

In Episode 5 of “Drop-In Diaries,” Baylee Rayl and her family trade barbells for bunk beds as they take an overnight train to London — and squeeze in a few tourist moments (and about 190 stairs) at the iconic St. Paul’s Cathedral before saying goodbye.

Can you jump higher than you can sustain a long met-con? If you're crushing your max clean and jerk but dying in Helen, you're experiencing the fascinating divide between burst power and sustainable power — two completely different athletic qualities that require different training approaches. Most people think power is just power, but the truth is far more nuanced. Understanding why your 40-inch vertical jump means nothing if you can't complete Fight Gone Bad will revolutionize how you think about CrossFit programming and why we need both crushing heavy days and lung-burning met-cons to build true, real-world fitness.

Dr. Major Allison Brager is a neuroscientist, a two-time CrossFit Games athlete, and one of the military’s leading experts on sleep and circadian biology. In this episode, host Denise Thomas and co-host Jocelyn Rylee dig in to what happens in the body during sleep, how your chronotype affects your performance, and the importance of sleep for recovery.