9.5 Reviewing Basic Health Markers

Certified CrossFit Trainer CCFT / CF-L3

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1 Chapter 1: Screening and Ongoing Assessment

1.1 Health & Medical Screening (PAR-Q+, Risk Stratification & Pre-Participation) 1.2 Referral Criteria & Medical Clearance Protocol 1.3 Rhabdomyolysis Risk Screening & Psychological Tolerance for Training 1.4 Movement Analysis & Baseline Physical Assessment 1.5 Evaluating Work Capacity Across Broad Time and Modal Domains 1.6 Goals, Progression Readiness, Overtraining Monitoring & Performance Tracking

2 Chapter 2: Programming - Designing Workouts and Cycles

2.1 Energy Systems, Workout Formats & Stimulus Selection 2.2 Volume, Intensity & Density Manipulation 2.3 Sequencing Workouts for General Physical Preparedness 2.4 Periodization Models (Linear, Conjugate, Block & Peaking) 2.5 Evaluating Programming: Benchmarks, Adjustment & CrossFit's Definition of Fitness

3 Chapter 3: Programming - Scaling for Every Athlete

3.1 Scaling & Modification Strategies for Varied Populations 3.2 Scaling by Age Group: Youth, Adolescent & Masters Athletes 3.3 Scaling for Special Populations: Pregnancy, Postpartum & Adaptive Athletes 3.4 Scaling & Programming for Athletes with Sport-Specific Goals 3.5 Programming for Injured Athletes: Maintaining Fitness & Restoring Function

4 Chapter 4: Educating - Teaching CrossFit Concepts

4.1 Teaching the Definition of CrossFit & the Character of Functional Movement 4.2 Teaching CrossFit's Definitions of Fitness and Health: The Four Models 4.3 Teaching the Goals of CrossFit Programming and How Variance Achieves Them 4.4 Teaching the Technique-Intensity Relationship, Threshold Training & Relative Intensity 4.5 Teaching the Principles of Scaling

5 Chapter 5: Educating - Teaching and Demonstrating Movement

5.1 Teaching Progressions & Points of Performance for Primary Lifts 5.2 Gymnastics Progressions & Body Control Mechanics 5.3 Group & Individual Instruction Methods 5.4 Designing Progressions for Complex Movements 5.5 Teaching and Using Correct Spotting Techniques 5.6 Demonstrating Movements, Faults and Progressions

6 Chapter 6: Training - Seeing Movement

6.1 Identifying Points of Performance Across the Foundational Movements 6.2 Recognising Sound Mechanics: What 'Good' Actually Looks Like 6.3 Fault Identification, Root-Cause Analysis & Contraindications 6.4 Identifying Faults in the Olympic Lifts and Gymnastics Movements 6.5 Root-Cause Analysis: Mobility, Stability, Motor Control or Load 6.6 Refining Sound Mechanics and Identifying Common Themes Across a Class

7 Chapter 7: Training - Correcting Movement

7.1 Cueing Strategies (Verbal, Visual, Tactile) & Feedback Loops 7.2 Selecting Corrective Cues: Short, Specific, Actionable 7.3 Reinforcing Sound Mechanics & Balancing Relentlessness With Acknowledgement 7.4 Applying Basic Principles of Anatomy and Biomechanics 7.5 Coaching the Midline: Bracing, Breathing and Spinal Position Under Load 7.6 Fault Triage: Addressing the Most Egregious Fault First 7.7 Refining Mechanics to Optimise Performance Under Fatigue 7.8 Intra-Session Adjustments & Real-Time Coaching Decisions

8 Chapter 8: Leadership and Management

8.1 Providing Athletes With Goal Setting 8.2 Building a Culture of Excellence and Establishing Rapport 8.3 Coach Development, Mentorship & Staff Supervision 8.4 Mechanics-Consistency-Intensity as a Management Strategy 8.5 Managing Athlete Risk, Recognising Overexertion & Teaching Personal Responsibility 8.6 Floor Flow, Class Structure & Time Management 8.7 Engaging Virtual and Remote Athletes 8.8 Safety Zones, Equipment Handling & Facility Setup 8.9 Balancing Individual Attention, Group Cohesion & Class Logistics 8.10 Athlete Onboarding & Retention Systems

9 Chapter 9: Lifestyle Education

9.1 Identifying Nutrition Goals and Assessing an Athlete's Nutrition 9.2 Providing Nutrition Guidance & Outlining Dietary Strategies 9.3 Zone Diet Block Calculations & Macronutrient Manipulation 9.4 Caloric Estimation & Sub-Population Nutritional Needs 9.5 Reviewing Basic Health Markers 9.6 Teaching Food Labels and Building Sample Meal Plans 9.7 Lifestyle Goals, Assessment & Scope-of-Practice Limits 9.8 Sleep, Stress Management & Recovery Modalities 9.9 Behavioral Change, Goal Setting & Habit Formation

10 Chapter 10: Professional Responsibilities and Ethics

10.1 Self-Assessment of Training Sessions & Pursuing Continuing Education 10.2 Legal Liability, Risk Management & Informed Consent 10.3 Facility Operations, Maintenance & Equipment Standards 10.4 Recognising and Responding to Extreme Environmental Conditions 10.5 Insurance, Employment Status & Truth in Advertising 10.6 Emergency Response, First Aid & Rhabdomyolysis Prevention 10.7 Scope of Practice & Interprofessional Collaboration 10.8 Standards of Professional Practice & Ethical Guidelines 10.9 Documentation, Incident Reporting & Record Keeping 10.10 Confidentiality, Client Records & Mandated Reporting

9.5 Reviewing Basic Health Markers

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

The content outline names specific markers a CCFT should be able to review: HDL, triglycerides, HbA1c, body fat percentage, lean body mass, blood pressure, and bone density.

Reviewing a marker means understanding what it measures and how training and nutrition tend to move it — not diagnosing, interpreting a result clinically, or recommending medication changes.

These markers are the measurable content of the sickness-wellness-fitness continuum, which is why they belong in a trainer credential.

Blood pressure and body composition are the two markers a coach may reasonably measure directly; blood markers and bone density come from the athlete's clinician.

Any abnormal or concerning value goes to a physician, and the coach's role is to encourage the referral and to program appropriately in the meantime.

Last updated: August 2026

Why a Trainer Reviews Health Markers at All

The content outline asks the CCFT to "review basic health markers (e.g., high-density lipoprotein, triglycerides, hemoglobin A1C, body fat percentage, lean-body mass, blood pressure, and bone density)." That list is not arbitrary — it is the measurable content of the sickness-wellness-fitness continuum . CrossFit's claim that fitness is measurable health only means something if the measurements are named, and these are they.

The verb is also deliberate. Review , not interpret, diagnose, or treat.

What Each Marker Measures

Marker What it measures Typical direction with training and improved nutrition

HDL cholesterol High-density lipoprotein, which transports cholesterol away from tissues to the liver Tends to rise with regular exercise; higher is generally favourable

Triglycerides Circulating fat, strongly responsive to diet Tend to fall with reduced refined carbohydrate and added sugar, and with exercise

HbA1c Average blood glucose over roughly the previous three months Tends to fall with improved diet quality, reduced added sugar, and increased activity

Body fat percentage Proportion of body mass that is fat Tends to fall with an appropriate energy deficit and maintained protein and training

Lean body mass Total mass that is not fat, including muscle, bone, organs, and water Tends to rise or hold with resistance training and adequate protein

Blood pressure Force of blood against arterial walls, systolic over diastolic Tends to fall with regular aerobic and resistance training and weight management

Bone mineral density Mineral content of bone, an indicator of skeletal strength Tends to improve or be preserved with axial loading and impact; important in masters and post-menopausal athletes

Marker Clusters

Several of these move together and tell a common story. Rising triglycerides, falling HDL, rising HbA1c, and rising waist circumference form a recognisable pattern that clinicians investigate as metabolic dysfunction. A coach should recognise that they cluster — and should recognise that recognising a cluster is not the same as diagnosing a syndrome. The correct action is to encourage the athlete to see their physician.

What a Coach Can and Cannot Measure

Reasonably measured in a gym:

Blood pressure , with a validated cuff and correct technique — seated, back supported, arm at heart height, no caffeine or exercise in the preceding 30 minutes, after five minutes of rest.

Body composition estimates — skinfolds, bioelectrical impedance, or circumference measures. Every method has meaningful error, and the honest framing to an athlete is that the trend matters and the absolute number does not.

Resting heart rate , waist circumference, and body weight.

Not measured or interpreted by a coach:

Blood lipids, HbA1c, and any other blood marker. These come from the athlete's clinician, and the athlete may choose to share them.

Bone mineral density, which requires a DXA scan ordered clinically.

Reviewing Without Diagnosing

When an athlete shares results, a CCFT can do four legitimate things:

Confirm what the marker measures. "HbA1c is an average of your blood sugar over about three months."

Explain how training and nutrition generally relate to it. "Reducing added sugar and training consistently tends to move that number down over months."

Set training and nutrition process goals consistent with the direction the athlete and their clinician want.

Encourage and support the clinical relationship , including re-testing on the clinician's schedule.

What a CCFT must not do:

Tell an athlete whether a value is normal, abnormal, or dangerous.

Suggest a diagnosis, or dismiss one.

Recommend starting, stopping, or changing a dose of any medication — including telling an athlete their blood pressure medication is no longer needed because their readings have improved.

Recommend supplements to treat a marker.

Order or push for tests.

If a reading you take in the gym is markedly abnormal — a resting blood pressure well into hypertensive range, for example — the correct action is to tell the athlete the number without interpreting it, recommend they see their physician promptly, modify training in the meantime (reducing maximal breath-holding and very heavy loading), and document what you observed and advised.

Using Markers as Motivation

Health markers are among the most motivating data a coach can point at, because they connect training to the thing many athletes actually care about. Used well:

Frame markers as a direction of travel on the continuum, not a pass/fail.

Celebrate marker improvements as loudly as performance improvements. An athlete whose HbA1c fell out of the pre-diabetic range has achieved more than a personal-record deadlift.

Set the review interval with the clinician's schedule, typically 6 to 12 months, and do not encourage frequent re-testing.

Never use markers to shame. An athlete who shares blood work and is criticised for it will not share anything again.