Choosing the right CrossFit gym to call home is an important decision, so we’ve put together this list of important factors for you to consider to help make a more informed choice. Each of following categories are important and every gym has their strengths and weaknesses. Try to evaluate each gym on their merits as well as what you personally value and prioritize. Lastly, remember that it takes time, research, and in-person experience (drop in!) to really get a good feel for a place and find the right long term fit.  

1. The Coaching Staff

The CrossFit methodology can be an extremely potent agent of change when it comes to overhauling one’s fitness, heath, and overall wellbeing. However, the efficacy of the program entirely rests in the dose and implementation. Much like medicine, there is absolutely a therapeutic dose and a mess you up bad dose. Experienced and knowledgeable coaches will ensure you learn the correct techniques, progress slowly, train appropriately based on your goals and abilities, and stay safe throughout the process. All coaches are not created equal. A quality coach is lifelong learner who constantly invests in their craft and professional development. They also have ample real-world experience training a broad range of clients, from individuals to mixed ability level classes. Great coaches are also master communicators, able to clearly convey their message in a way that is easy to understand and audience appropriate. They can break down complex topics into manageable chunks, understand progressions and scaling, and provide the corrections and feedback necessary to improve. Lastly, they are personable and empathetic, able to relate to their clients and adjust their approach when necessary.

2. The Environment / “Vibe”

The environment and vibe of a CrossFit gym can have a huge impact on your overall experience. It is subjective and will likely require some time to assess fully. Pay attention to how the gym feels when you step in. Are the people friendly and welcoming? Do you feel comfortable and included, or do you feel like an outsider? Are the coaches engaged with the other members and actively coaching their classes? What’s the process for new athletes, i.e. do they take the time to get to know you before throwing you into a workout?

A positive and supportive community can enhance your motivation, enjoyment, and long-term adherence to CrossFit and connection to your gym. Like most things, you get out what you put in, so being present and outgoing yourself can go a long way to making new connections and integrating into a new tribe. With that in mind, it’s important to trust your instincts when forming your impressions and assessing whether it feels a like a good potential long term fit. Look for a gym where you feel a sense of belonging and camaraderie among fellow members as well as a thoughtful and fun/challenging class experience.

3. The Facility

CrossFit gyms come in various sizes, layouts, and equipment offerings, including other amenities (like showers, public parking, and air conditioning). Regardless of its dimensions, the gym should prioritize cleanliness and organization. This also goes for bathrooms, locker rooms, or any other common areas as well as the training floor. Adequate equipment is essential to cater to everyone's needs during classes, depending on the daily programming and group size. Ensure that the equipment is well-maintained, of good quality, and kept clean. Ultimately, knowing how to properly program workouts, manage class logistics, and run effective classes matters more than how much gear you have. While the specific equipment in each gym varies based on programming philosophy, budget, and facility size, the presence or absence of certain types of equipment may be important to your preferences and training goals. Also weigh factors like the parking situation and locker rooms / showers if you want the ability to head into work directly after class when making your decision.

 4. Programming & Class Offerings

Consider the variety and quality of classes offered by the gym. Different gyms may have specific focuses or specialties, such as Olympic weightlifting, gymnastics, endurance, mobility, or competitive CrossFit. These focuses could show up in the form of specialty classes like a Barbell Club, or within the WODs themselves as consistent points of emphasis. Assess if the class offerings align with your fitness goals and interests. Also look at several weeks of class programming, if they post their workouts online, so that you can get a feel for how they like to regularly train. Make sure there is good alignment with their programming style and your abilities. Also, check to see or inquire how they tackle the challenge of mixed ability classes – do they write multiple levels of workouts, simply scale off a single workout, offer different class levels by ability, etc. Lastly, you may want to inquire as to who writes their programming – most gyms handle this in house, whereas other gyms pay for programming from a service. Both can be effective, however gym’s that write their own workouts (and know what they are doing) are likely to program with their athletes’ abilities in mind versus writing workouts for strangers.

5.  Schedule & Location 

Evaluate the gym's class schedule in relation to your availability. Find a gym that offers classes at times that work with your schedule, making it easier for you to consistently attend and stay committed to your training. Having multiple time options can be very helpful in providing flexibility to workout at different times when your schedule shifts. Furthermore, convenience is key. Choosing a gym that is close to home or work, or directly on your commute to either of these places is important. We want to reduce as many barriers as possible when it comes to ensuring we can attend class. Map out your route and try class during your normal window to see if the destination is feasible with regards to your commute, work schedule, etc. Give me a good gym that’s super convenient over a perfect gym that’s too far from home/work to actually attend on a regular basis.  

6. The Initial Evaluation & On-Ramp Process

The Initial Evaluation & On-Ramp Process: The initial evaluation and on-ramp process are crucial, whether you are new to CrossFit or have been doing it for years. A well-structured onboarding process ensures a safe and effective start to your CrossFit journey. Look for a gym that provides an introductory consultation or meeting with a coach. During this session, you should have the opportunity to discuss your goals, injury history, and any other relevant information about you and the gym. The coach can assess your fitness level and guide you through the gym's specific on-ramp process, which may involve introductory classes or personalized training sessions. This initial evaluation and on-ramp process are essential for setting you up for success and tailoring the CrossFit experience to your individual needs. It’s also an opportunity to set expectations around class structure, programming, coaching styles, membership policies, etc. that can vary widely between gyms.

When it comes to specific recommendations for where to continue training now that the gym is closing, it’s largely going to depend on the aforementioned factors, with location, schedule, and environment standing out as key to any decision. What gyms are near your home, your job, or on your regular commute? If you have multiple options, run through the checklist above and take a few classes to see what feels like a good fit. There are quality CrossFit gyms in NW DC (CF Hierarchy, Second Wind CF, CF DC) in Bethesda (CF Bethesda), Rockville (Tough Temple) to name a few. Similarly, for our barbell club athletes, DC Weightlifting moved their training home to Petworth Fitness and there is also our great friends at Black & Red Barbell who train at Invictus DC. If you need any further recommendations or help making a decision, don’t hesitate to reach out directly!

Training frequency is a topic we’ve covered on the blog several times in the past, and for good reason: how we structure our workout routine can have a significant impact on the progress we make (or don’t make) both in out of the in the gym. The importance of being thoughtful in the scheduling our workouts, rest days, and relative intensity levels in the gym shouldn’t be overlooked, especially for those of us with a bit more mileage on the life/athlete odometer. Protocols such as “3 days On / 1 day Off” or “3 on 1 / 1 off / 2 on / 1 off” for example, tend to work well for those who train most days of the week. As a general rule, any training structure that provides at least 1-2 rest days per week and aligns well with your daily schedule are likely to be effective and sustainable over time.  

Training with sufficient intensity, frequency, and consistency are all key to making progress in the gym. However, the better you get at CrossFit, the more taxing the workouts can become – not simply in the moment suffering, but also residual soreness, and on-going mental/physical fatigue just to name a few challenges. Taking rest days here and there can absolutely help to mitigate the effects of working out hard. However, simply taking a few rest days a week while also getting after it day after day, week after week, can prove to be inadequate recovery for most athletes. Enter: the de-load week. 

De-load weeks are an extremely common, time-tested programming practice in lifting programs for any strength sport, such as Weightlifting or Powerlifting, as well in endurance programs for sports such as track and field, triathlon, and cycling. A De-load week is essentially a week where we significantly reduce one or more of the following variables: volume (total sets / reps / workout time), intensity (perceived exertion / weigh lifted as % of your max), and total workout frequency. De-load weeks or “back-off” weeks are opportunities to do just that – back off from what you’ve been doing the last weeks and allow your body the time to heal, recover, and ultimately get stronger, fitter, and faster. The beauty of the de-load week is that you aren’t taking a full week off from the gym, rather you are still showing up, breaking a sweat, and working on your technique – just at a much lower intensity and easier level of complexity.

Fatigue accumulates gradually over the course of a workout, but also over the course of days, weeks, and months of workouts. It’s rarely one workout that does you in with regards to feeling exhausted, beat up, or lacking the motivation to train. The effects of our workout routines manifest slowly, and when left unchecked, can eventually lead to sluggishness in the gym, minor nagging discomfort/issues, or even injury. Taking a bigger picture view we see that improvement for everyone (besides beginners) is non-linear. At first, we steadily improve, then plateau or slightly regress, followed by a period of steady improvement again because of either rest, adjusting our training, or some combination of both. 

Now that we’ve established what the de-load week is and why its important, let’s take a second to discuss how to implement it. When it comes to strength sports, de-load weeks are commonly programmed every 3-6 weeks depending on the program and athlete. For example, 3 weeks of pushing your workouts in the form of increasingly heavier weights or higher volume lifting followed by a week of significantly reduced weights, sets/reps, and likely movement complexity.

We can apply the same idea to regular CrossFit training just like we do our Weightlifters. For an athlete who regularly does L2 WODs, this may mean doing L1 for a few (or all) days one week, or performing the L2 workout at scaled weights and much easier paces. How frequently you need to perform these intensity back-off weeks depends on how well you generally recover from training (ah to be young again!), how often you workout, how heavy / hard you train, as well as external factors in your life that contribute to your stress and fatigue levels. This same concept applies to athletes doing L1 with higher frequency (>3x / week). Have days  or weeks where you keep the lifting lighter and intentionally work at easier to maintain paces such that you feel good once the workout is over.

How often you should program a de-load week to let your body heal will change throughout the year based on your training output and various lifestyle inputs. You should experiment with various time increments to find what works best for you. Fundamentally, this approach to working out is a proactive one, and requires you to be disciplined enough to stick to the de-load week plan even if you want to keep pushing yourself harder in the pursuit of quicker results.

Remember, long term consistency always trumps short term intensity; the effects of hard training tend to lag behind how we feel, so by the time we realize we need to take it easy for a stretch, it’s often too late and unintended consequences can enter the picture. With that in mind, let’s strive to stay ahead of the curve by smartly managing our workloads in order to stay healthy and able to perform when it counts! 

Improving your health, fitness, and overall well-being is a lifelong pursuit. Training is a big part of that equation, but so is sleep hygiene, nutrition, and stress management among many other important variables. We’re all in the gym pursuing markedly similar goals; to that end, let this guide serve as a roadmap to identifying the areas of your lifestyle that are holding back your progress or that may be improved upon to unlock a new level of performance.  

Regardless of what you are chasing, you will only go as far as your underlying daily habits and lifestyle will allow. The basic idea is as follows: start by taking an honest assessment of your current habits or behavior you’d like to improve by keeping some sort of log. Next, read the resources provided in this guide pertaining to this specific lifestyle area. Lastly, begin to implement and experiment with various strategies outlined below to see what works best for you. The results you see are often a lagging indicator of the progress you are making, so be patient and stick with these changes for long enough to begin to see the improvements you are after.  

Your lifestyle (training, sleep, diet, stress management) determines how you look, how you feel, and how you perform. All of these areas are within your ability to influence and improve upon; take ownership of your body and health by being proactive and incorporating the following concepts into your daily life. 

With that in mind, here is our comprehensive guide covering the "other 23 hours of the day" for your reference and benefit: Silver Spring Training Club Lifestyle Guide !

Save a copy for yourself, read it, and start systematically applying the concepts and strategies outlined within to wherever you’re currently struggling the most. Identify and tackle one thing at a time, start stacking daily wins, and build momentum and forward progress from there. Don’t hesitate to reach out with any follow up questions!

Consistency is driver beind all our goals, particularly when it comes to fitness. The following is a compilation of warm-ups, workouts, and fitness resources to help ensure things like travel or a tight schedule don’t become impediments to progress, but rather an opportunity to get creative and continue to stay the course. Bookmark this post and use it as a reference guide in the future when you’re traveling or short on time and creativity but still want to make time for fitness.  

Feel free to mix and match as you see fit, but our biggest piece of advice is to aim for daily activity! Get outside as much as possible and mix in running / hiking / biking with WODs and Yoga / mobility work in whatever combinations and sequences you feel like doing. If you are on the road for work or fun, your 3 best options are the following:

1.  Drop-in for a class at a local CrossFit Gym, Yoga/Spin/etc. studio (call ahead to find out their visitor policy!)

2. Perform a hotel gym workout, aiming for ~30-45 minutes, tops, and enjoy the rest of your day

3. Get outside and go for a run, use a bike share and go ride, or explore by foot and get in your 10-20k steps

If you aren’t traveling, but you can’t make it in for class and still want to work out, you can still apply these same ideas and perform one of the following bodyweight  / minimal gear workouts. Don’t let your ideal or preferred workout become the enemy of a 20-minute bodyweight burner that makes you feel rejuvenated. Daily activity is key for maintaining your mobility, mitigating stress, and simply feeling better and more energized.  

Workout Resources:

• SSTC At-Home, Travel, and Minimal Gear WOD Guide – Collection of bodyweight, conditioning, and minimal gear (dumbbell, kettlebells, jump rope) workouts that can be done with little to no equipment (pdf copy)

• SSTC Core & Glute Accessory Workouts – simple circuits of core and glute movements (~5 minutes) ideally suited to add before or after your primary workout (pdf copy)

• Glutes & Core Movement Library – video demos of many of the movements programmed in the Core & Glute WODs

• Mobility WOD Youtube Channel– huge collection of <10-minute mobilizations to help restore and improve motion wherever you’re feeling tight or limited. Search for a particular muscle or body part and get to work

• Online Interval Timer – use this for Tabatas (:20 on / :10 off) and any other timed based interval workouts we may post on the blog. You can edit the work, rest, and total intervals from the default settings to fit your needs

• SSTC Workout Of The Day – let’s not forget the OG option: the gym workout of the day. Follow along from wherever you are, or scroll through past workouts to find something better suited for what you have available

Additionally, if you’ve got a Rower, stationary or Assault/Echo bike, or SkiErg –

• Concept 2 WOD – C2 posts daily “short”, “medium”, and “long” workouts with an option to view additional workouts if you click “show alternate ____”

• The Pete Plan – check out the 5k “light program” and the beginner program for conditioning workout ideas ideally suited for the Bike, Row, or SkiErg

When it comes to our “big 4” lifestyle factors (diet, sleep, stress management, and exercise),  nutrition is easily the most confusing and misunderstood. There are endless and oftentimes conflicting articles, studies, diets, etc. purporting to be the optimal or best way to eat. Much of this advice lacks context (what’s your situation & goals?) and is rife with bias towards a particular viewpoint or clear economic interest. Ultimately, our nutrition strategies should serve the following purposes: optimize how we look, feel, and perform. This means carrying low(er) levels of bodyfat and more muscle mass, improving our bloodwork and biomarkers of health, and generally feeling good and having high levels of energy to be able to enjoy our lives.  

With looking good, feeling good, and performing well in mind, how should we go about eating and improving our diets? The CrossFit Journal provided the following prescription in its seminal article, “What is Fitness?”: “Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat.” Read that again, then commit it to memory. That prescription is both incredibly simple and powerful. Our primary dietary intervention should always be qualitative in nature. Before you ask about quantity, meal timing, macronutrient ratios, etc. first turn your focus towards what you are eating. 

Within this framework, you can eat whatever meat/seafood, veggies, fruits, etc. that you personally prefer, have access to, and can afford. If you don’t like broccoli, don’t eat it. But do try to eat a broad array of foods within these various categories, being mindful of your denser sources of carbohydrates (fruits, starches, etc.). Notice what is omitted – sugar, processed foods, cereal grains, legumes, and dairy among other things. Dairy and legumes are a bit more of a gray area – consume what you can tolerate, while recognizing some people do well with these foods, and others do not. If you prefer to consume more fruits & vegetables and less animal products, that’s perfectly fine. Again, our primary focus is qualitative – first eliminate or at least minimize all the crappy, processed, fake foods you consume. Once we’ve done that, we can consider next steps. 

After we’ve successfully implemented these dietary changes on a consistent basis, we can discuss concepts such as macronutrient ratios (protein / fat / carbs) and meal timing (intermittent fasting, for example). Most people want to immediately jump to advanced strategies like weighing and measuring their food, or fasting, before they’ve taken care of the low hanging fruit. To be clear: you don’t need to restrict your eating window or count your almonds and weight your chicken breast in order to be healthy, lean, and fit. 

Generally speaking, if our goal is to lose bodyfat then prioritizing protein and fat, and keeping carbohydrates at levels that match our activity level tends to work well. If you are already lean, and tolerate carbs well, then you can consume them in higher levels if you so choose. When it comes to quantity, eating 3-4 meals per day that satiate your appetite works well. This means eating until you are comfortably full, then stopping. Similarly, we can use bodyfat as an indicator – are my consumption levels making me more, less, or the same level of leanness? Adjust your approach based on your observations. 

Lastly, fasting can be an effective strategy to help normalize blood sugar levels and insulin sensitivity, hormonal appetite signaling, and general limit our window of time for food consumption. Simply put, it’s harder to overeat when you cannot mindlessly eat all day long. Intermittent fasting involves establishing a window of time in which you can eat (typically 8 hours), and a time in which you do not (typically 16 hours). Within your feeding window, you are still trying to get in your ~3 meals and nutritional requirements. Many people do well with this structure and find the parameters minimally restrictive. 

When it comes to forging new nutrition habits, change can be difficult. If you want to increase your chances for success, the sequence of what you change matters. Focus first and primarily on what you are eating – we need to eat as much real, unprocessed foods as possible. If we’re able to accomplish that, we can shift our focus to when we consume these foods and in what specific quantities. There are few decisions that have as profound an impact on our health, mood, appearance, and general wellbeing as the foods we choose to consume – prioritize it accordingly!

By: Josh Dempsey

We frequently receive question during and outside of class about the rationale behind the programming of different L1 & L2 workouts.

One of the biggest challenges involved in running group classes is the inherent diversity of athletes you may encounter in a given class. Training age, ability, injuries, limitations, goals, etc. can vary massively within a group of say 10 athletes that happen to show up for a particular class. We’ve got folks that have been training with us consistently for the past 5+ years and folks that haven’t worked out in 5 years and graduated from Elements a week ago. As such, we program “L1” & “L2” strength and conditioning options daily as a starting point to address this challenge.

Let’s first acknowledge that CrossFit style training is hard - the workouts are meant to challenge you mentally and physically, we use weird lingo and shorthand in classes, and there’s a ton of different tools, movements, and skills, we regularly utilize in the pursuit of better fitness. There’s an inherent learning curve that requires time and consistency to become both familiar and proficient with as an athlete. First, Level 1 (L1) & Level 2 (L2) are simple designations for novice / less fit / less skilled CF athletes and more experienced / fitter / more skilled CF athletes. Keep in mind that we’re painting with broad strokes here when using these designations.

Think of L1 & L2 as two independent, but at times, similar training programs. The L2 weekly program is crafted to challenge a more experienced CF athlete with regards to movement complexity, volume, weight, intensity, etc. The L1 program must be compatible with L2 for practical logistical & coaching reasons, but the movement pool, weights, and volume are meant to align with the abilities and needs of less experienced athletes. Some L2 workouts are easily scaled, or simplified, to a logical L1 equivalent, while other L2 workouts are designed to be performed sans modification. Essentially, we are trying to address different weaknesses and needs with both our L1 & L2 programs. While the two take place concurrently, they are independent of each other and programmed for as such. Ultimately, the goal is to get a great workout and hopefully learn something new and have fun while you do it. The minutiae of how we accomplish this goal is much less important than the specific movements, sets, reps, and other variables used.

Second, CF experience doesn’t necessarily equate to CF expertise, athletic ability, or fitness level. Put another way - getting good takes time, but time doesn’t guarantee you’re going to master everything we may throw at you. We’ve all got different sports backgrounds, genetic gifts, injury histories, and goals. Some people will be L2 caliber the day they complete Elements, and others will continue to be L1 athletes after years of doing CF, and that’s okay! For most people, achievement of their goals has nothing to do with whether they performed workout A or B on a given day. L1 & L2 designations are often WOD-specific, as we commonly see folks do L2 one day, and L1 the next based on the movements, volume, and structure of the workout we’ve cooked up that particular day. Simply put, L1 & L2 is a practical way for us to address the challenge of working with a large group of athletes that encompass the full spectrum of fitness, strength, skill, limitations, and goals.

It is important for you as an athlete to understand that the needs of beginners and experienced athletes differ both by degree and type. We all need to squat, push, pull, hinge, carry, and get on and off the ground. However, the novice athlete may need to work on basic patterning via the goblet squat, and the experienced athlete prepping for a competition might need to add 10kg to their back squat or dial in their bar muscle ups. Conversely, the novice athlete doesn’t need to worry about their back squat numbers or setting new personal records, at least not yet. Similarly, performing a scaled version of the workout “Fran” with PVC and jumping pull-ups as a substitute for 95 lb. barbell thrusters and pull-ups just isn’t “Fran”. Instead of scaling back an advanced workout for a novice athlete, we choose to rely on established progressions that include other methods and exercises to appropriately challenge that beginner athlete and in time better prepare them for the rigors of a workout like “Fran.” Our L1 program may be simpler than L2, but it is by no means easy and will serve as the foundation for the future of your training career.

Lastly, we must always keep in mind there are no shortcuts to mastery. In order to continue to progress over the long haul while also staying healthy, it’s critical for us to put in the necessary time and work on the basics: developing our full body strength, improving our conditioning, becoming better acquainted with our bodies, and more familiar with intense, functional training. Play the long game and you will grow as an athlete, stay healthy along the way, and avoid getting burned out from tackling too much too soon.

Originally posted 11.24.2019

By: Rachel Posell

All the recent buzz over the photo posted by a 38–week pregnant Crossfitter doing an overhead squat has made me think about the issue of exercise and pregnancy.  The extreme and vitriolic responses, such as : "If anything happens to your baby due to your stupidity, I hope you'll be able to handle your guilt. Pregnancy is NOT the time to be taking stupid risks." "That can't be safe" are unsettling and just downright mean. 

One of my friends and fellow crossfitters put it best: “In a country where gestational diabetes and high blood pressure is rampant, labor & delivery nurses having never witnessed a vaginal birth, yet losing the baby weight makes covers of magazines on a weekly basis, I'm outraged by the judgement. What happened to empowering women? What happened to the pro-choice voice? Never mind ever breaking the glass ceiling, we have other women to break our spirits before we ever get there.”

This begs the question: IS IT SAFE??? Of course you can get as many answers to this question as people you ask. I am not a doctor, so while I am NOT giving medical advice, I have had 3 children myself (the first a set of twins and the second born at the advanced maternal age of 41) the best advice I can give is the same thing I say to anyone, pregnant or not. Listen to your body, be true to yourself and be respectful of the work your body is doing. Common sense should prevail, and if you have none, seek the advice of your OB/GYN.

Pregnancy is not an illness, but ask any women who is or has been pregnant and she will tell you that you definitely feel the difference from early on. I worked out for the entirety of both of my pregnancies with the blessing of my OB/GYB (after firing the first one who told me I could “take an easy walk” for my exercise!)  Did I squat heavy? No, but it sure felt heavy! I backed off considerably as the pregnancy went on and took more breaks. Did I do overhead squats? No, but I suck at overhead squats on a good day so that was an easy decision. I ran, I squatted, I pressed, I lunged, I did KB swings, the list goes on…

I think the well-respected Mayo clinic said it best: “Unless you’re experiencing serious complications, sitting around won’t help.”

I want to let you in on a dirty little secret of the footwear industry: modern high- tech, air bubble, super cushioned, shock absorbing running shoes and cross trainers cause injuries, not prevent them. Wearing big padded sneakers causes the muscles and connective tissue of the foot and ankle to atrophy and lose their responsiveness and resilience. The most responsive, high-tech shoes ever created are your feet. We are meant to run on the balls of our feet, which allow the foot to act as a natural shock absorber. The large heels of today’s running shoes make running on the ball of the foot all but impossible, causing us to heel strike when we run, placing a great deal of torque and stress on our lower body joints. This is the equivalent of driving your car with the emergency brake on, except when your brakes wear out you’re looking at osteoarthritis in your knees, patella-femoral issues, low back pain, potential knee and/or hip replacement, and the list goes on.  

Now, don’t take this as a recommendation to become a modern day hobbit. Rather, consider this a request to embrace the functional training shoe, such as the ones suggested below. You will attain many of the benefits of going barefoot, while protecting your feet from the hazards of the concrete jungle*. 

Here's the best options- 

• Nike Metcon Collection

• GoRuck Ballistic Trainers

• Reebok Nano

• Nike Free Collection

• No Bull Project Trainers

• New Balance Minimus 

• Inov-8


For a broad online selection of CrossFit shoes, head over to Rogue Fitness.

Here’s what I want you to try - wear these as your everyday sneakers, as well as at the gym. Occasionally try working out barefoot when indoors or jogging barefoot in the grass before a run. Those sore muscles on the back of your lower leg? That's your gastrocnemius and soleus. They are going to be sore, and you’re going to sit on the floor, prop your leg on top of a lacrosse ball, and roll around on it until they feel better. The other key area to work is the sole of your foot itself. Using light pressure to start, stand on a tennis, lacrosse, or golf ball under one foot and work on loosening up any tension or stiffness you may feel in your arches or anywhere else you feel discomfort. Try to spend a few minutes on each foot, and work on both your calves and feet regularly (i.e. daily) until things start consistently feeling better. 

You can thank me later when you discover the newfound proprioception in your feet, strength in your arches, tendons, and ligaments, and a reduction in joint pain when running. 
If you want to learn more about the rationale behind these recommendations, check out Born to Run, and Barefoot in Boston. 


*Disclaimer – If you have a history of lower leg stress fractures, plantar-fasciitis, or extremely high arches, it is probably best to avoid going barefoot entirely, and you should also take a very gradual approach to adopting minimalist footwear options., especially if you’re using them for CrossFit or Running in particular

By Josh Dempsey