ESSENTIALS: EFFICACY

Mapp, who had served as a police officer in Barbados, had a dream of returning to the force in his new home in the U.K., but that dream suddenly felt far away.

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.

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.

Grossly overweight, Kai Rainey once struggled for about 3 minutes to pick up a dropped peach. The shame prompted her to lose more than half her weight. Here's how she did it.

“CrossFit is my approach to battling Parkinson’s,” Dr. Jeff Livingston says.

Jassim Zayed had gastric-bypass surgery, but when he started to quickly regain the weight he had lost, he knew he needed to change his lifestyle. He tried personal training but soon grew bored, so a friend recommended he try CrossFit. He joined CrossFit T23 soon after.

Every morning, a small group of men 58 and older heads to a gym at the top of a hill in Bonsall, California, to see what the coach has written on the board for the day’s workout. That coach is Mike Burgener of CrossFit Weightlifting, a man whose contributions to the Sport of Fitness are legion.

At 400 lb., Nathan Smith thought he'd die before age 30. He chose to live instead.

Once 450 lb., master marijuana grower Matt Bickel is all about fitness now.

In East L.A., healthy food options are hard to come by, but sugary beverages are cheap and easy to find. The soda industry has made billions while spreading Type 2 diabetes in low-income communities and communities of color.

Lewis reached about 395 lb. when he decided to start moving the needle with his fitness and health. He began taking CrossFit classes, practicing better nutrition, and eventually attended a Level 1 Certificate Course.

Jandi Pereida always cared about being fit and active, but she eventually found herself prioritizing her career over her health. She started spending time on the treadmill at a local gym, but she felt unmotivated until she found North Rim CrossFit.

How Dani and Travis Raine combined to lose 183 lb. and set a positive example for their children.

“If you don’t fix this, within two years, you will no longer be with us. You’ll be dead.” That was the assessment InnerFight CrossFit owner Marcus Smith delivered to Mohammed Faisal Al Qassemi after putting him on a body-analysis machine.

“I got to a point at my heaviest where I was OK with dying before I was 40,” Glaude says. When Glaude realized his weight was preventing him from doing things he wanted to do, he implemented what he calls the “common sense diet”: He cut out soda, junk food and fast food.

Seventy-year-old CrossFit athlete says "no rep" to widowmaker heart attack.

Peter Burns once had to weigh himself on the oversized scale at the pet store. Then he started CrossFit.

“I’m so glad I made that first step,” says Frances Carpenter, reflecting on the transformation she has undergone at CrossFit Inversion in Yorba Linda, California.

Steadily declining health eventually forced Downey to make a change. When a friend introduced her to CrossFit, Downey quickly changed her life for the better. She recalls her hesitancy before stepping into Reebok CrossFit Cardiff.

In a Zoom conference call with multiple CrossFit affiliate owners, Coach Glassman reiterates CrossFit's efficacy and the power of affiliates in the reversal and prevention of chronic disease.