MARCUS FILLY DOESN’T WANT you pounding out rounds of EMOM thrusters until your shoulders can barely move, and he doesn’t want you going so hard during Murph that you’re a quivering mess when you finally finish. Yes, the former CrossFit Games contender (that’s him above) knows pile-driving past fatigue is a CrossFit staple, and he understands why you think the secret to building muscle and strength is always to just work harder. But the veteran coach has other ideas.
Sure, you have to push your limits in your training. But CrossFit—and, more broadly, the fitness dogma of no pain, no gain—has long pushed you well past exhaustion, often leaving you to peel yourself off the ground after every workout. And Filly has seen what that leads to: It may
