Mat Fraser won five straight CrossFit Games titles and is now heading into retirement. The man who has owned the top of the podium for half a decade penned a lengthy Instagram post to announce his decision to hang up his competitive weight belt at just 31 years old.

The Australian athlete talks about the importance of mindset.

Many people set fitness-related resolutions around the New Year, and a lot of those people will find their way to the local CrossFit gym with an abundance of motivation and a passion to improve. They will initially get pumped for every workout they go into because of the excitement that comes with getting stronger, faster, leaner, and better overall.

Outside of the results of the CrossFit Open, the headlines within the fitness community seem to be dominated by recent injuries of athletes both while training and away from the gym. James Newbury is recovering from a broken back and punctured lung. Sam Briggs suffered a leg injury while attempting Workout 20.4. Thuri Helgadottir also recently announced that she had been training with a type 2 SLAP lesion, which is damage of the labrum near the biceps.

Many of the people who live the CrossFit lifestyle do so as a way to enhance their overall lives and fulfill a personal desire to be their best. They find that training helps them live better lives personally, improve relationships, and even see improvement in results with their careers.

The 2020 Open is in full swing, and that has the attention of CrossFit fans around the world — for good reason. It’s the kickoff of another season that is sure to be exciting, to say the least. However, there is another event that will be taking place in various boxes and gyms that will have a significance all its own.

The second Open of the year is about to take place. This version is for the 2019-20 season, and there is a lot of excitement and anticipation across the CrossFit community. Many athletes hope that they can earn their spot at the 2020 CrossFit Games and feel that being at the top of the leaderboard in the Open will make a big statement.

We are just days away from finding out who 2019’s Fittest Man on Earth will be, so before competition kicks off in Madison, let’s take a look at the three top athletes on the men’s side. 

After a new and hectic 2019 CrossFit season we are finally here, just a handful of days away from the 2019 CrossFit Games. With all the changes to the season and sanctionals happening every other week, you may be wondering who is going to the Games and who exactly has a chance at making the podium, so in an effort to clear up any confusion, here are our picks for the top three women to watch at the 2019 Games.

The 2018 CrossFit Games featured 40 men and 40 women who competed to find out who the Fittest on Earth would be. 2019 will be completely different. This year there will be 148 men and 134 women from around the world who will attempt to win that same title. There will also be 14 teams in Madison. That is a lot of athletes.

The CrossFit community is known for two things. Of course one is the challenge that comes with the training. The other is their recognition of charity and causes. One example of this is when they gather at their local boxes to raise money for breast cancer awareness by doing the workout “Grace.”

Nine Sanctioned events remain for those making a late push for a qualifying position to the 2019 Reebok CrossFit Games, and as the picture from the Open clears, the window is closing for several top-name athletes and teams to earn a berth to Madison. This weekend, two of the final nine events take place as the international stage gets the spotlight in Milan and Shanghai.

We have previously looked at the men’s side of the Open leaderboard to see who would be advancing to the 2019 CrossFit Games. Now it’s the women’s turn. The female side of the field has been interesting in its own right, and we need to take a deep dive to see who will be moving on to Madison.

Out of all the announcements that have been given during the 2019 CrossFit Open, the announcement for workout 19.5 was the most anticipated and closely watched. That’s because upon the announcement of the workout, the two Fittest Athletes on Earth faced off on a 19.5 challenge.

The most exciting five weeks in fitness is coming down the home stretch. The past four workouts of the 2019 CrossFit Open have offered a variety of challenges that have kept athletes guessing before they’re announced and pushing themselves to levels they didn’t think they could reach after. The result has been a greater sense of community and achievement from people in local boxes and elite athletes trying to reach the Games.