Tag: Jenn Pishko

Thumbnail that says WE POWER HEALTH in all caps with images of host Jocelyn Rylee and guests Dr. Tom McCoy and Jenn Pishko laughing during a podcast recording with the CrossFit Owners and Coaches Conference graphic text displayed in the background

[CFMS SERIES] The Future of Health (Care) in CrossFit Affiliates (EP. 038)

Over the next few weeks, we’re rolling out something different: a special CrossFit Podcast collaboration with the CrossFit Medical Society. Why? Because the CFMS isn’t sitting quietly on the sidelines. They are in the fight to cure chronic disease and put affiliates in the driver’s seat as the true health homes of their communities. This is a grassroots health revolution, and everyone should be paying attention. The mission is simple: empower affiliates, coaches, and members with real tools to reclaim their health and step out of the sickness economy. No quick fixes. Just CrossFit.

In this episode, Dr. Tom McCoy and Jenn Pishko, founders of the CrossFit Medical Society, join host Jocelyn Rylee to break down how affiliates can become the front line of community-based health care.

Recorded live at the 2025 CrossFit Owners and Coaches Conference and the 2025 CrossFit Games, the conversation digs into physician burnout, the launch of CommunityCare, and why the affiliate model is poised to be the future of preventative health.

Topics Covered

  • Burnout rates in primary care and why doctors are leaving medicine
  • How CrossFit affiliates can act as community health hubs
  • Launch of the CrossFit Medical Society and its goals
  • CommunityCare: a new model challenging U.S. health insurance
  • Biomarkers, bone density, and measures of health in CrossFit
  • Building trust between affiliates, coaches, and members
  • Shifting from “sick care” to true preventative health

Resources Mentioned

Community Highlight

Bobby Peters is the assistant superintendent of a rural California school district. He’s also an L2 trainer, a garage gym guy, and the founder of CrossFit Sierra Pacific, a nonprofit affiliate based in a public high school.⠀

It started small. A few local P.E. teachers got their L1s. Then came a weight-room renovation, a CrossFit course for students, and a 5 a.m. class open to any staff who wanted to move before the school day.

But Bobby didn’t stop there.

He helped launch a CrossFit program inside a juvenile incarceration facility. The setup is simple — bikes, sandbags, bodyweight movements — but the impact is massive.

“These kids didn’t talk to each other at first,” Bobby says. “Now they cheer each other on. They fist bump. They give feedback. It’s completely different.

”Bobby’s building confidence, leadership, and the possibility of a different path. His vision is clear: help these kids earn their L1s and reenter the world with something real.

He’s also pushing to get CrossFit recognized as a state-approved high school fitness curriculum — and he’s laying the groundwork to make it happen.

Know someone you think deserves to be highlighted? Nominate them here.

Share Your Thoughts: Email us [podcasts@crossfit.com] or complete our survey here.

Thumbnail image stating Cutting through the Noise on Nutrition Live Podcast" featuring James Hobart in a white t shirt and a background image of healthy food on a cutting board

[LIVE] Cutting Through the Noise on Nutrition (EP. 037)

Nutrition is one of the most debated topics in health and fitness — and it’s central to CrossFit’s methodology. 

In this livestream, host James Hobart sits down with Jocelyn Rylee, Joe Alexander, and Jenn Pishko to talk nutrition. The conversation tackles CrossFit’s nutrition principles, how they apply in real life, and what the science actually says.

With so many competing voices in the space, we cut through the noise to address strategies for everyday CrossFit athletes, elite athletes, and those battling chronic disease. Expect honest discussion on food quality vs. quantity, calories in vs. calories out, the 80/20 rule, food addiction, and more.

Let us know what you think –> podcasts@crossfit.com

Follow us on YouTube to join future livestreams.

CrossFit Podcast Livestream Community, Culture, and Cults

[LIVE] CrossFit: Community, Commitment or Cult? (EP. 031)

On this week’s livestream, we’re unpacking why and how CrossFit’s community is different — to the point that some even call us a cult. 

  • Is it the culture or the community that makes us different? What’s the difference between them? What defines them?  
  • What does “community” even mean if everyone says they have it?
  • Do you believe that walking into a CrossFit gym is palpably different from walking into any other brand of gym? What creates this? 
  • Why have we been called a cult? 
  • What are the social components of health and fitness? How important are they?
  • What role does the methodology play in promoting and preserving the culture? 

Guest host Matt Souza is joined by Nicole Carroll and Jenn Pishko

Let us know what you think –> podcasts@crossfit.com

Follow us on YouTube to join future livestreams.

Livestream CrossFit Podcast on CrossFit's Ad CrossFit is the Cure

LIVE: CrossFit Is The Cure (EP. 028)

CrossFit’s new ad pulls no punches — but it’s only the starting point.

In this livestream, Jocelyn Rylee sits down with Matt Souza, Jenn Pishko, and James Hobart to respond to the ad together, unpacking what it means in the context of CrossFit’s mission to make the world a healthier place.

Whether someone is seeking to dominate their sport or improve their quality of life, CrossFit works. Our program can be scaled for anyone. But even in meeting people where they are, CrossFit requires hard work.

“CrossFit is for anyone, but not for everyone.” We own this adage because it is in the challenge of CrossFit that people come to understand what they are capable of, where true potential is unlocked, not just in terms of belief in ourselves, but in terms of our health and fitness — our degree of capacity and vitality for life.

“Tens of thousands of coaches around the world teach functional movement, nutrition, recovery, and resilience … They build relationships, and they track results.

This is what real public health looks like.” [CrossFit Is the Cure]

Let’s talk about what it all means. Buckle up. We’re Forging Elite Fitness.

Community Highlight

Elina Villemure was born in Bulgaria, adopted at 5, and grew up in Michigan chasing her brothers — on one leg above the knee, and one below.

She found CrossFit through Forging Youth Resilience, and after surgery left her in a wheelchair, she assumed training was off the table — until her school counselor said otherwise.

Her first Open? She did it from a wheelchair.

Now, at 20, Elina runs the Adaptive Athlete Experience — a traveling seminar that helps gyms better serve athletes of all abilities. She’s already hosted more than a dozen events.

“Whether or not I lose a leg or break a leg, I still have to adapt in the gym. The only difference is one is three months and the other is the rest of your life.”

Follow her story. And if you own a gym, consider bringing her in.

Know someone you think deserves to be highlighted? Nominate them here.

Share Your Thoughts: Let us know what you think about the podcast and how we can improve here.

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