Editor’s Note: We are pleased to present this guest post by Harvard Business School student, and our summer intern, Colin Fraser. In the wake of the FIFA corruption scandal, sports organizations and governing bodies around the world have rightfully come under much deeper scrutiny, especially with regards to conflicts of interest. CrossFit Inc. has been dissecting the inner workings of the International Confederation of Registers of Exercise Professionals (ICREPs). Russells’ Blog readers may remember the ICREPs as the association formerly headed […]

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Editor’s Note: We are pleased to present this guest post by Dr. Lon Kilgore. When people go to a gym, who are they expecting to work with? When someone programs and supervises exercise for a customer in the gym, what do we call that person? When we evaluate the training curriculum for different names used for exercise occupations, are they different in intent and content? What is the scope of practice for the varying occupational names in the industry? Let’s […]

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If you’re like most people, you probably believe that dehydration causes heat stroke. But is there any evidence to support that idea? Or is it just a well-marketed myth? This spring, Gatorade’s American Football webinar made a shocking confession, “And during intense exercise in the heat the risk of dehydration obviously can influence performance, but we also believe, although evidence has not shown, we believe it can increase the risk of exertional heat illnesses” In other words, Gatorade finally confessed that there is no […]

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Editor’s Note: Dr. Eva Selhub has practiced medicine for 20 years and is an Instructor at Harvard Medical School. When Dr. Selhub heard about USREPS’ scheme to criminalize CrossFit affiliates, she immediately opposed it. She submitted the following article in response to USREPS. I recently found out that the US Registry of Exercise Professionals (USREPS) has gone on a national campaign to attack any personal trainer who is not certified with the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) […]

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Editor’s Note: Gatorade and MusclePharm would like you to believe that American sport science exists. But when John Weatherly told us that American sport science was largely a myth, we were surprised. Consider the source – John helped with conditioning programs and research at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. But even former NSCA president Michael Stone argues that American sport science is a myth. If American sport science doesn’t exist, what exactly are the National Strength and Conditioning Association and American College of Sports Medicine doing? Part 1 of this series defined […]

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Editor’s Note: Dr. Scotty Butcher of the BOSS Strength Institute submitted this research review to the Russells’ Blog. In this article, Dr. Butcher critiques a newly-published study in the NSCA’s Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. I recently read with great interest a new paper led by Dr. Andrew Jagim, Assistant Professor of Exercise & Sport Science at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, titled “The physical demands of multi modal training competitions and their relationship to measures of performance.” They wanted […]

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Of the many interactions we had at the American College of Sports Medicine’s 2015 meeting, none were as enlightening as our conversation with Bob Oppliger. Bob is the chair of ACSM’s Health Science Policy Committee (read: chief of lobbying), and we found him standing in front of an exhibit titled “ACSM Advocacy.” After a brief conversation on what legislation the ACSM is currently lobbying for, I turned the discussion toward fitness trainer licensure. It’s no secret that ACSM supports legislation that would license personal […]

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Editor’s Note: Derek Fields has worked on the Russells’ support team for a couple of years. Today he writes about what it takes to become a USREPS-registered personal trainer. USREPS is composed of ACSM, NSCA, ACE, and other aspiring competitors of CrossFit. USREPS is lobbying the government to impose its certifications on the entire fitness industry. Now that the Russells have exposed the fitness licensure plans promoted by CrossFit’s competitors it’s time for a close examination of some of the organizations promoting […]

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If you’re sore after a workout, are you injured? Strangely, it depends whom you ask. The National Strength and Conditioning Association’s (NSCA) Tactical Strength and Conditioning (TSAC) program says soreness is an injury. CrossFit, NSCA board members, and others disagree with the NSCA TSAC program, stating that soreness is a normal part of training. To clarify, our subject is not extreme muscular soreness. Extreme muscular soreness, especially paired with discolored urine and/or swelling, may indicate rhabdomyolysis. Today we’re just talking about muscular soreness, […]

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