CrossFit Improves Heart Health.

February is American Heart Month. Most people do not care but they should. Heart disease (cardiovascular disease) is the leading cause of death in the United States and accounts for 1 in 5 deaths in the U.S. annually.

A problem when discussing heart disease is the difficultly relating to the perceived susceptibility and how lifestyle choices build the pathway to disease. It is hard to get a 25-45 year old to care about heart health when it doesn’t impact their life today and they do not see the pathway of day to day lifestyle choices towards heart disease.

Here are two great examples to bring this to light.

So how does CrossFit help prevent heart disease?

#1 Reducing Carbohydrate - CrossFit is the only fitness movement to my knowledge to openly say no to sugar and eat more fat. The foundation of the CrossFit pyramid is actually nutrition, not burpees! The official nutrition statement is “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”. Refined sugar is the absolute enemy to metabolic health due to its relationship with insulin.

#2 Embracing healthy fats – If we reduce carbohydrate, then we have to eat something else right? Our nutrition principles embrace the consumption of fats from animal proteins and fruits (avocado, olive, and coconut oils). These fats are healthy fuels that do not spike insulin like carbohydrates, but allow us to feel fueled and satiated after each meal.

#3 Consistent Exercise – The community within a CrossFit affiliate is beyond anything you will witness in a group fitness class that commonly gets compared to us. We are closer to a social gathering of friends that want to become better humans through fitness than we are to spin bike class. We will get fitter together, overcome challenge together, and hold a positive space of accountability for each person in our community. We show up for each other and that will keep you consistent in your training for a lifetime. A stronger, fitter person that maintains consistency long-term significantly decreases their risk of health conditions across their lifetime. Remember, the heart is a muscle. You must strengthen it.

I want to leave you with this last thought. You should really know your metabolic numbers (LDL cholesterol, Low Density LDL, High Density LDL, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, Hba1c, and blood pressure). Whether you have a primary care physician or use a third party at-home lab like LetsGetChecked, knowing your metabolic numbers is the first step to understanding your heart disease risk.