The CrossFit Athlete’s Health Checklist: Are You Missing Something Critical?

I thought I was doing everything right. Five days a week at the box, strict paleo diet, mobility work every night, and I even invested in a good massage gun. But I felt like absolute garbage. My lifts were stalling, I was gaining weight despite eating clean, and I’d drag myself through WODs that used to feel manageable.

My coach kept telling me to push harder. I kept telling myself I just needed more discipline. It took a random comment from my doctor during an annual checkup to realize I was missing some critical pieces of the health puzzle that no amount of burpees was going to fix.

If you’re training hard but feeling like your body is working against you, this checklist might reveal what you’re overlooking. Because sometimes the problem isn’t your programming or your effort. Sometimes it’s something completely outside the gym.

Your Sleep Quality Is More Important Than Your WOD

I used to brag about functioning on six hours of sleep. I’d stay up late watching Netflix, then drag myself to the 6 AM class running on coffee and willpower. I thought I was tough. I was actually just slowly destroying my recovery capacity.

Here’s what I didn’t understand. Sleep is when your body actually builds the muscle you broke down during your workout. It’s when your central nervous system recovers from the stress of heavy lifts. It’s when your hormones rebalance and your immune system does its maintenance work.

When you shortchange sleep, you shortchange all of that.

Track your sleep for two weeks. Not just how long you’re in bed, but actual quality. Are you waking up feeling rested? Do you need an alarm or do you wake naturally? Can you focus during the day without needing multiple coffees?

If your sleep is consistently poor despite good habits, there might be something medical going on. I had a training partner who was constantly exhausted despite sleeping eight hours. Turns out he had severe sleep apnea that was waking him up dozens of times per night without him even knowing it. After he visited sleep apnea doctors and got treatment, his performance in the gym completely transformed within a month.

Don’t ignore persistent sleep issues. They will wreck your performance eventually.

You’re Probably Not Eating Enough

This was my biggest mistake. I was so focused on staying lean and maintaining abs that I was chronically undereating for the amount of training I was doing. My body was in constant deficit mode, which meant it had nothing left over for recovery or adaptation.

Calculate your actual caloric needs based on your training volume. Not some generic calculator, but really think about what you’re doing. If you’re hitting the gym five or six days a week with high intensity work, you need significantly more fuel than someone doing moderate exercise three times a week.

I finally started tracking my food honestly and realized I was eating about 1800 calories on days I was burning well over 2500. No wonder I felt tired all the time. No wonder my lifts weren’t improving.

Once I increased my intake to actually match my output, everything changed. More energy, better recovery, and my body composition actually improved because I finally had the resources to build muscle instead of just breaking it down.

Your Protein Timing and Total Intake Matter

Most CrossFit athletes know protein is important, but many don’t eat nearly enough of it. The research suggests somewhere around 0.7 to 1 gram per pound of body weight for people doing intense training. That’s a lot more than most people think.

I was getting maybe 100 grams per day at 165 pounds. That’s nowhere near enough to recover from the volume I was doing.

Now I aim for at least 140 grams spread throughout the day. Breakfast, post workout, lunch, and dinner all include a solid protein source. This made a noticeable difference in my recovery and body composition within weeks.

Also pay attention to post workout nutrition. That window isn’t as magical as people used to think, but getting protein and carbs within a couple hours of training does help with recovery. I keep it simple with a protein shake and a banana right after class.

Supplementation Gaps You Might Be Missing

I used to think supplements were overrated and that food should cover everything. While that’s idealistic, the reality is that training at high intensity creates demands that are hard to meet with food alone, especially if you have a busy life.

Beyond basic protein powder, there are a few things worth considering. Creatine is one of the most researched and effective supplements for performance, and there are specific creatine benefits for women including improved strength gains and better high intensity performance without the water retention concerns that men sometimes experience. It’s cheap, it works, and it’s safe.

Vitamin D is another one that most people are deficient in, especially if you train early morning or late evening and don’t get much sun. I started supplementing with D3 and noticed improved mood and energy within a few weeks.

Magnesium helps with sleep quality and muscle recovery. Omega 3s reduce inflammation. A good multivitamin covers basic micronutrient gaps.

I’m not saying you need to take 20 different pills every day. But addressing a few key deficiencies can make a real difference in how you feel and perform.

Your Mobility Work Isn’t Just Stretching

I used to think mobility was just something you did to avoid injury. Roll out your tight spots, stretch a bit, move on. But quality mobility work is actually performance enhancing.

Spend 15 to 20 minutes every day working on your weak spots. For me, it’s ankles and thoracic spine. Limited ankle mobility was killing my squat depth and front rack position. Poor thoracic mobility was affecting my overhead movements.

Since I started being more intentional about mobility, not only do movements feel better, but I’m also able to get into better positions under load. Better positions mean more efficient movement and better performance.

This doesn’t have to be complicated. Pick two or three areas that limit you and work on them consistently. Results come from regular attention, not from occasional hour long sessions.

Stress Management Is Part of Training

This is the one nobody talks about but everyone needs to hear. Your body doesn’t distinguish between workout stress and life stress. It all triggers the same cortisol response. If you’re stressed at work, not sleeping well, and then hammering yourself in the gym six days a week, you’re just piling stress on top of stress.

I learned this the hard way when I was going through a stressful period at work while maintaining my regular training schedule. I got sick three times in two months, my lifts went backward, and I felt constantly run down.

Your training volume needs to match your total life stress. During high stress periods, you might need to pull back a bit in the gym. That’s not weakness. That’s smart training.

Build in actual recovery practices. Take walks. Do breathing exercises. Get a massage. Have days where you do something easy and enjoyable instead of grinding through another hard workout.

You Need Regular Blood Work

This is something I wish I’d done years earlier. Getting comprehensive blood work can reveal issues you’d never know about otherwise. Thyroid problems, vitamin deficiencies, hormone imbalances, inflammation markers. All of these affect your performance and recovery.

I finally got full panels done and discovered my iron was low and my vitamin D was in the basement. Both of those directly impact energy and recovery. Fixing them made me feel like a different person.

Talk to your doctor about getting tested for the markers that matter for athletes. Testosterone, thyroid function, vitamin D, iron, B vitamins, and inflammation markers are all worth checking.

The Bottom Line on Health and Performance

You can’t out train a broken foundation. All the programming and coaching in the world won’t help if your sleep is garbage, your nutrition is off, or you have underlying health issues you’re ignoring.

Take an honest look at these areas. Not the version where you tell yourself everything is fine, but a real assessment. Track your metrics. Get tested. Address the gaps.

Your performance in the gym is a reflection of your overall health. When you take care of the stuff outside the gym, the stuff inside the gym takes care of itself. I promise you, fixing these unsexy foundational pieces will do more for your CrossFit performance than any new program or technique ever will.