When you think about it, CrossFit podcasts shouldn’t work. Can a purely audio format help with CrossFit technique? Well, in our experience, the answer is yes. But that’s not the only reason to listen. Purely audio shows about the sport of CrossFit can entertain, inform, and be thought-provoking. Listening to a well-produced episode is like having a distilled version of the “box talk” chatter you listen to every day. However, as with every podcast genre, there are good and bad shows and episodes. But we’ve listened to them all. Check out our picks for the best fitness podcasts for CrossFit motivation.
Remember to show your support and give encouragement to the podcast creators by subscribing to the shows you like.
In case you’re new to the world of podcasting: What is a podcast and why should you bother with them?
Podcasts are another medium for delivering content. What makes them special is that people can consume shows without reading a blog post or watching a YouTube fitness channel. Apart from the fact that you can learn and be entertained while driving a car, walking, or doing chores at home, some people just learn better through the medium of audio.
I’m a huge fan of podcasts and these are the best CrossFit podcast shows in 2019. Let me know if you’ve got a recommendation to add to the list.
Barbell shrugged
One of the best-known shows on the topic of weight lifting. It’s not a pure CrossFit show but there’s a heavy element of CrossFit-style training and business.
Barbell Shrugged is part of the Shrugged Collective, which includes the Bledsoe Show, Real Chalk, Body Of Knowledge, Feed Me Fuel Me, Technique WOD, The Strong Coach, Muscle Maven Radio, and Barbell Business.
Some of these shows (Barbell Business, for example) are no longer producing episodes a few years back. Others produce content infrequently, but there’s plenty of great information that is still valid today.
Many CrossFit gym owners and coaches appear as guests on episodes. The team that runs the podcast also owns its own CrossFit boxes.
In one episode, the team of Doug Larson and Mike Bledsoe interview Paul Chek, a man who influenced my early training as a fitness instructor. It’s well worth a listen to this talk with one of the longest-serving experts in high-performance exercise kinesiology.
Recommended episodes:
- 301: Holistic Lifestyle Coaching with Legendary Strength Coach Paul Chek
- 304: Talking Competing, Coaching and Running a Gym with Ryan Fischer
- 377: Mat Fraser: Hard Work Pays Off
The Strength Coach Podcast
This show presented by ContinueFit.com is a strength and conditioning podcast and is one of the best (if not the best) in the field.
As one of the longest-running shows about strength (started in 2007), the Strength Coach Podcast looks at a wide variety of topics, such as sleep, fitness marketing, nutrition, and of course, weightlifting.
Check out these episodes:
- #253- Weight Room Wisdom with Ron McKeefery
- #276 – Going Deep On Sleep With Brandon Marcello
Julie Foucher’s Pursuing Health Podcast
This podcast is worth a listen by anyone interested in health, fitness, mind and body. Julie Foucher (one of the most successful CrossFit athletes of all time) gets into the weeds of nutrition, mental health, sleep, genetic conditions, and injury prevention. She’s also a Medicine Resident at the Cleveland Clinic – Fairview Hospital. Foucher knows how to ask the right questions and doesn’t mind getting technical.
Foucher goes deep into topics that interest her, like functional fitness and healthy eating. And if you care about your sport and your body, you’ll learn a lot from her conversations.
Must Listen Episodes:
- Ep 105 – Sleep, Stress, and Brain Health with Dr. Nate Bergman (We all know how important sleep is for our physical and mental wellbeing. This episode will reinforce that idea)
- Ep 108 – Training Smarter, Not Harder: Prevention and Recovery from Injury with Pure Physio. (Some great tips here for CrossFit athletes in their 40s and above)
Froning and Friends
Rich Froning’s podcast is a weekly show where Rich (ex-World's Fittest Man & 4 times CrossFit Games Winner) gets to chat with his buddies about WODs, nutrition, training, and anything else that takes his fancy. Sounds a bit indulgent but we can all learn something (and if not, at least we’ll be entertained).
Froning lives and breathes training and competing and until recently, was the only person to have won the CrossFit Games four times (Mat Fraser joined him in the 4-times-club in 2019)
Recommended episodes:
- EP 49 – Questions from the audience
- Ep 30 – Accountability & the value of community
Bionic Built
The CrossFit Inc-owned CrossFit Radio (confused yet?) never took off, but this show, with a very similar name, produces regular episodes.
Produced by the team behind a box called (you guessed it) Bionic CrossFit, based out of Connecticut. They discuss topics like “integrating fitness into your life” and mull over the Open workouts.
Recommended episodes:
- Episode 6 – The Open
- Episode 8 – Mobility and The Open
Chasing Excellence by Ben Bergeron
Bergeron, in case you didn’t know, is a trainer to some of the top CrossFit athletes in the world. He’s also a highly accomplished athlete himself. Bergeron wrote “chasing Excellence“, regarded as one of the best books on CrossFit.
This show is about achieving excellence in the sport of CrossFit. Many episodes are about nutrition, coaching, and CrossFit as a career.
Listen to:
- #85: The 10 Components of Fitness
- #082: How to Start CrossFit By Yourself
NoRep Podcast
A show about all things CrossFit. The show’s hosts take an irreverent look at the world of our favourite sport. With a 5-star rating on iTunes, this podcast is definitely worth a listen, if not only for a few laughs.
Listen to:
- 1.24 Pee Happens
- 1.15 You Aren’t Tia-Clair Toomey
Where to find more Quality Content CrossFit Podcast Shows
You can simply search in iTunes, Stitcher, or your favourite show player. But, it won’t come as a surprise to regular podcast listeners, that these platforms are not the best places to actually find new shows. iTunes, in particular, has a terrible interface.
I use ListenNotes.com to search for new shows, episodes, and topics. It’s free and I also use it to set up alerts for mentions of the topics I’m interested in. You could set up an alert for “fitness business podcast” or “Nutrition podcast” or “Strength and conditioning”. You’ll get an email alert anytime the app finds something that matches your queries.
