CrossFit Republic

One of the reasons we haven't watered this thing down over the years is because life won't.

Life is going to hand us failure.

It's going to expose weak plans.

It's going to show us where your preparation falls short.

It's going to remind us that we still have things to learn.

And sometimes, despite our best effort, we're going to come up short.

Those lessons carry much greater consequences outside the gym than they do inside of it.

That's one of the reasons we hold the standards that we do.

Yes, CrossFit is challenging.

The movements aren't always easy to learn.

Some days definitely don't go according to plan.

We miss lifts, blow up in workouts, underestimate the pace, and quickly discover weaknesses.

We realize there's another level of understanding to pursue.

None of those things are failures!

They're feedback mechanisms!

The workout simply reveals what is already there.

They reward preparation and expose poor planning.

It reminds us all that fundamentals matter.

It teaches us that trying to keep up with someone else before understanding yourself usually ends poorly.

It reinforces that advanced results are built on basic habits repeated consistently.

Most importantly, it teaches us how to recover, adjust, and come back.

How to keep moving forward after things didn't go the way you hoped.

Those lessons matter far more outside these walls than they do inside them.

Because the consequences of poor preparation, lack of resilience, and an inability to recover from setbacks become much more serious when you're talking about marriage, parenting, careers, finances, and health.

The workout is challenging but LIFE is demanding.

Fortunately, many of the qualities required to navigate one transfer remarkably well to the other.

That's what we're preparing for and the workout of the day is just practice.

Picture: Zach, Owner of CFR, and good friend Jordan securing last place in the bike event and last place overall at the 10th Annual Lift Up a Child Fitness Challenge.

One of the fastest ways to get discouraged in fitness is to demand a level of output that your body isn't prepared to support.

▶ You haven't trained in years, but expect to train like you never stopped.
▶ You gained weight, but expect to move like you did in high school or college.
▶ You took time off, but expect to perform like nothing changed.

Then when you get sore, tired, or have to scale a workout or take a day off, you conclude:

"I guess I'm just not in shape enough."

Not necessarily.

What if that's exactly what getting back into shape is supposed to feel like?

Nobody walks into the gym after years away and picks up where they left off.

Fitness doesn't work that way and adaptation takes time.

Sometimes our minds are quick to interpret discomfort as evidence that we're further behind than we really are.

That's why we scale weights, modify movements, and adjust workout durations.

Not because we're lowering the standard.

Because we're matching the stimulus to the individual athlete.

The body doesn't adapt to what you wish you could do.

It adapts to what you can consistently recover from.

Sometimes that means:

▶ Lighter weights.
▶ Fewer reps.
▶ Walking instead of running.
▶ Just showing up.

Progress tends to happen when the challenge is enough to stimulate change, but not so much that you can't recover and do it again.

You don't have to earn your way back all at once. A few appropriately challenging workouts repeated over time will do far more than one heroic week followed by three weeks on the couch.

Fitness is built by stringing together thousands of appropriate days over weeks, months, and years.

Start where you are and adjust when necessary.

And trust that your capacity will grow.

Ever wonder why some days you feel like you have another gear and other days you feel like you're driving with the parking brake on?

A lot of it comes down to energy.

Your body has three primary energy systems:

▶ Phosphagen System (0-10 seconds)

Used for max effort lifts, jumps, and short sprints. This system relies primarily on ATP and creatine phosphate already stored in the muscles.

▶ Glycolytic System (10 seconds to about 2 minutes)

Think about a 500m row, or hard intervals. This system relies heavily on glycogen, which is stored carbohydrate in the muscles and liver.

▶ Oxidative System (2+ minutes)

Longer workouts, endurance efforts, and recovery periods. This system can utilize both carbohydrates and fat, but as intensity increases, carbohydrates become increasingly important.

Notice something?

Carbohydrates play a role in all three systems and become the preferred fuel source whenever intensity goes up.

This is why showing up to class or your workouts under-fueled often leads to:

• Feeling flat
• Struggling to maintain intensity
• Longer recovery times
• Workouts feeling harder than they should

Glycogen is simply stored carbohydrate. Think of it as your body's fuel reserve. When glycogen stores are full, you generally have more energy available for training. When they're depleted, things start to feel harder than they should.

So what should you eat before training?

For most people, 30-90 minutes before class, consider:

• Oatmeal
• Rice
• Toast
• Bagels
• Pretzels
• Rice cakes
• Granola bars

Pairing those carbohydrates with some protein can help as well.

Fruit can absolutely be part of the picture, but don't be afraid of rice, potatoes, oats, cereal, or bread. High-intensity exercise runs best on carbohydrates, and many athletes perform better with starchier carbohydrate sources because they're easier to digest and replenish muscle glycogen efficiently.

Food isn't just calories, it's fuel

Fuel allows us to train harder, recover better, and produce the output necessary to drive adaptation.

And over time, better training and better recovery are what ultimately lead to improvements in body composition.

Meet Jake Harrison, our May Athlete of the Month!

If you had told Jake a few years ago that he'd be chasing power clean PRs and arguing that the 6 a.m. class is the best class at CFR, he probably would've laughed.

Growing up, he played basketball and soccer, but had never touched a barbell. In fact, CrossFit didn't really seem like something that was for him. Thankfully, some persistent friends, including Brandyn Phillips and Tim Wilson, had other plans.

Somewhere along the way, Jake got talked into trying Murph for his first workout (which should probably count as entrapment). He nearly died, loved every minute of it, and never looked back.

What stands out most about Jake isn't just the strength he's built, though going from "skin and bones" to hitting a long-sought 205-pound power clean is pretty awesome. It's how coachable he's always been. He's embraced the process, listened, learned, and stayed consistent.

Along the way, he's not only added muscle and improved the knee issues that used to bother him, but he's done it alongside the same friends who first invited him through the doors.

That's one of the coolest things about this place. Sometimes all it takes is saying "yes" to an opportunity that doesn't seem like it's for you.

And if you keep showing up, you might just surprise yourself.

Curious about Jake's favorite movements, his advice for new athletes, and why burpees and "short people workouts" are still on his bad side?

Swipe to read his story. ⬅️