CrossFit for Health: Simple, Not Easy, Ways To Improve Your Health

To live a healthy, happy life, all you need to do is eat well, move well and often, and do so with others. Simple.

But in a world with countless demands on our time and attention and structured for the benefit of convenience and profit — not people — living healthily is certainly not easy.

“That’s how we are wired as humans … to look for the easy path,” says Miranda Alcaraz, CrossFit Level 4 Coach and owner of Street Parking. “But we’re also wired as humans to be happiest and to be most effective through struggle and challenging ourselves.”

In this panel discussion at the CrossFit for Health Summit on Feb. 3, 2024, in Austin, Texas, notable figures from the CrossFit community joined Summit speakers for a conversation about doing hard things.

“It’s very important for us to remember that we are physiologically designed to experience hardship,” says Dr. Tom McCoy. “And the more time that we spend in discomfort, the more resilience and capacity and capability we have to manage stressors and other things that come up in our lives.”

Panelists discuss the real challenges people face when it comes to maintaining healthy habits, the power of the shared experience and physical challenges, the problem of willpower, and how to coach others to long-lasting success.

“Doing hard things is the path to you getting better,” Dr. Chris Palmer says.

PANELISTS

Miranda Alcaraz, CF-L4
Owner, Street Parking

Dale King
Affiliate Owner, PSKC CrossFit

E.C. Synkowski, CNS, LDN
Nutrition Coach

Mike Giardina, CF-L4, MPH
Senior Manager, CrossFit Health

Tom McCoy, D.O.

Chris Palmer, M.D.

Jacki Hilios Ph.D., MSW
The Phoenix

CHAPTERS

0:00-5:02 – Key ingredients to creating a strong foundation for health.
5:03-7:27 – Dealing with being overwhelmed and building self-efficacy through small wins.
7:41-10:43 – How to connect and collaborate with physicians.
10:54-16:21 – Overcoming barriers to access and getting CrossFit to those who need it most.
16:57-20:59 – The importance of regularly exposing oneself to discomfort.
21:01-22:43 – How physical challenges aid in addiction recovery and improving overall health.
22:49-24:18 – The power of the shared experience when doing hard things.
24:24-27:05 – How doing hard things builds resilience and capacity.
27:21-31:30 – What about willpower?
31:45-33:23 – How one healthcare professional is disrupting the status quo.
33:31-40:33 – GLP-1 drugs: steppingstones or obstacles to health and fitness?
40:37-46:29 – How to create sustainable healthy habits that last.

LECTURE SERIES PLAYLIST

Episode 1: Own Your Health, With Nicole Carroll

Episode 2: Exercise for Longevity and Healthspan, With Dr. Rhonda Patrick

Episode 3: CrossFit for Health: Muscle-centric Medicine, With Dr. Gabrielle Lyon

Episode 4: From Obesity to Opioids, How CrossFit Can Save the World, With Dr. Tom McCoy

Episode 5: Simple, Not Easy, Ways To Improve Your Health

Episode 6: Training for Fitness vs. Performance

Episode 7: The Role of Lifestyle in Chronic Disease, With Dr. Kwadwo Kyeremanteng

Episode 8: Metabolic Health Is Mental Health, With Dr. Chris Palmer

Episode 9: The Relationship Between Connection, CrossFit, and Health

Episode 10: Future-Proof Your Brain, With Dr. Tommy Wood

About the CrossFit for Health Summit Spring Lunchtime Series

On Feb. 3, 2024, hundreds of CrossFit affiliate owners, coaches, and healthcare professionals gathered in Austin, Texas, and online for the CrossFit for Health Summit, presented by GORUCK.

CrossFit thought leaders led panel discussions on fitness, performance, and the hard work of health, while renowned experts shared cutting-edge research on longevity, mental and metabolic health, and chronic disease — and how the CrossFit community has the power to transform the landscape of it all.

“It is a wonderful comprehensive strategy to address some of the biggest challenges that we face as a nation right now in regards to healthcare,” Dr. McCoy says. “Being there for each other, connecting on a human level, is something that we do that no other fitness modality does. And this differentiates us and it gives us a power to impact brain physiology in a way that no other fitness modality can.”