ESSENTIALS

An explanation of the anatomical features that conduct the electrical impulses in the heart, driving muscle contraction and setting the heart’s rhythm

CrossFit Seminar Staff member David Tittle (CF-L3) dissects another participant’s deadlift, this time focusing on the knees.

Frederick Allen, Elliott Joslin, Louis “Harry” Newburgh, and Phil Marsh were pioneers in the treatment of diabetes before the discovery of insulin. This 2006 review of their methods and outcomes found that all four successfully treated diabetic patients with a diet that closely resembles modern high-fat, low-carbohydrate diets.

"Today, most doctors, dietitians, and even diabetes specialists consider type 2 diabetes to be a chronic and progressive disease — a life sentence with no possibility of parole. But the truth, as Dr. Fung reveals in this paradigm-shifting book, is that type 2 diabetes is reversible."

The wall of the heart is composed of three distinct layers: the epicardium, myocardium, and endocardium.

This 2007 study found increased pancreatic fat is strongly associated with diabetes, independent of overall BMI or waist circumference. These results support the hypothesis that organ-specific fat accumulation, due to its effect on insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance, directly predicts and may play a causal role in the development of metabolic distress.

CrossFit Seminar Staff member Cameron Soden offers coaching tips for the thruster.

Will focusing on running endurance interfere with your strength numbers? Will prioritizing your back squat slow down your mile time? Traditional exercise science has consistently reported differing training stimuli interfere with one another. Tyler Hass examines the research and explains what happens when we ask a different question: How can we maximize the total physical adaptation of the human body?

CrossFit Seminar Staff member David Tittle corrects a participant's deadlift setup during a Level 1 Certificate Course at CrossFit Decimate.

The heart’s upper segment contains two atria, and the lower segment includes the ventricles. The heart also may be divided into left and right segments, each containing one atrium and one ventricle. The right side serves pulmonary circulation, the left side systemic circulation.

A 2011 article takes a historical look at the use of extremely low-calorie diets in diabetic patients prior to the discovery of insulin.

After losing her husband to a heart attack, Jessica Lavey wanted to find a way to live her healthiest life. What she found was not only health and fitness but a community that would share in her happiness and support her in her grief.

Adrian Bozman demonstrates different variations of the pull-up. 

The difference between the push press and push jerk is the aggressive landing in a partial squat with the arms locked overhead, which allows the hips to do almost all of the work in elevating the barbell.

The people in Ron Reed’s household did not talk about nutrition or exercise when he was growing up. So by his mid-30s, Reed found himself lethargic and depressed, weighing 255 lb.

In this 2012 commentary, Robert Lustig and colleagues claim sugar is similar to tobacco and alcohol in that it is unavoidable, toxic, abuse-forming, and societally harmful. They argue anti-sugar measures are warranted.

In the push press, the core-to-extremity principle is obvious as the muscles of the power zone — including the hip flexors, hip extensors (glutes and hams), spinal erectors, and quadriceps — assist the arms in driving the barbell overhead. With the push press, you will be able to move overhead as much as 30 percent more weight than with the shoulder press.