Last weekend, the Broken Science Initiative announced the launch of MetFix, a certification aimed at educating coaches and gym owners to use nutrition first to combat obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and other chronic diseases.
Emily Kaplan, MetFix’s co-founder and CEO, told the Morning Chalk Up the new endeavor is “an evolution of Greg [Glassman’s] ideas.”
- “[It’s] an update to it. It has been 20 years. It’s about time,” she added.
Remind me: CrossFit founder Greg Glassman started the Broken Science Initiative after stepping down as CEO. He sold CrossFit Inc. to Eric Roza in 2020.
The aim of the Broken Science Initiative, according to its website, is “to expose and equip anyone interested with the tools to protect themself from the ills of modern medicine and broken science at-large.”
Editor’s Note: The views expressed by Kaplan and the Broken Science Initiative do not necessarily represent the opinions or policies of Morning Chalk Up or Pillar4 Media.
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The Details
Kaplan explained that MetFix will look very similar to CrossFit’s affiliate model. However, the main focus will be on nutrition first rather than fitness.
MetFix will begin offering a two-day, in-person coach certification — MetFix Foundations — likely starting at the end of this year.
The first MetFix course will be invite-only. In the next two weeks, 100 coaches who Glassman and Kaplan have relationships with will be invited to attend the first certification course.
This first cohort of coaches will essentially become “beta testers” of the program and have the opportunity to provide feedback. After that, each coach will be given two invitations that they can give to two other coaches.
- “We’ll have almost a family tree over time. It will grow exponentially,” Kaplan said of their plan.
Those who take the course will become MetFix coaches, and gyms will also be able to become MetFix affiliates. However, this doesn’t mean they’ll have to drop their CrossFit affiliation.
- “I don’t feel any conflict in somebody being both,” Kaplan explained.
The ultimate goal is to equip coaches with the education and confidence to help their clients make positive health changes. Kaplan said the hope is that these coaches can become true professionals who are “viewed as healthcare workers and professionals, not as Burger King employees.”
- “We’re going to do that because we’re going to arm people with the knowledge,” she added.
Worth Noting: After resigning from and selling CrossFit in 2020, Glassman signed a four-year non-compete that prevented him from being involved in the fitness industry. This expired at the beginning of August 2024, hence the timing of the MetFix launch.
That being said, Glassman still owns the early materials and resources he wrote when he started CrossFit in 2000 and is licensing them to CrossFit.
For more on MetFix, check out Morning Chalk Up writer Emily Beers’ Q&A with Kaplan below.
Morning Chalk Up Q&A with Kaplan
Morning Chalk Up: Is MetFix Going to be a competitor to CrossFit?
Kaplan: I don’t actually see it like that. I think we’re sort of filling in gaps that they’re moving away from.
MCU: Why do you think CrossFit coaches often don’t focus on the nutritional component of health and fitness as much as they probably should?
Kaplan: I think it’s overwhelming. My gut would be that when you move and you feel the result, it’s pretty quick, and it’s fun, and you get a dopamine hit…I think when you’re really flowing with good nutrition, you feel that way, but it doesn’t happen right away. Usually right away, you feel like garbage. And I don’t think most people really understand it. I think there has been so much confusion.
MCU: I [Emily Beers] have been a CrossFit coach for 15 years, and I have found that getting people to commit to the gym is easy, but getting them to change their diet is the hard part. What will MetFix coaches do differently to actually get people to change their diet?
Kaplan: It’s really the education piece. I think if the coach really understands the mechanisms of action and what happens when [for example] you eat glucose, they’re able to talk that through with people in a way that drives that home. This isn’t about getting your bikini body. This is about your long-term health. If you want to go and have a piece of cake or cookies, just know you’re setting yourself back.
- I’m an optimist, but I really believe that, especially with people being more worried about cancer and Alzheimer’s and all of these things, that when you say, ‘When you eat that stuff, that’s how you get these diseases. So if you want to avoid those things, then you need to avoid these things.’ And really, it’s that simple.
- I think part of my pet peeve, when you look at this healthcare marketplace, is how we overcomplicate these things. You don’t need a wearable. You don’t need an ice bath. You don’t need a sauna. You literally need to put some shit in a backpack and go for a long walk and don’t eat crap. That’s going to be our message on the most simplistic level, with the backup of really deep scientific predictive value.
MCU: But for some people, poor diet and overeating is an addiction, and education doesn’t fix addiction. So does MetFix go into the addiction part, and psychological side of food?
Kaplan: I think Greg and I both feel sugar is an addiction…And I think there has to be a level of understanding that this is really hard, and you are going to have withdrawal, and you are going to feel like you have the flu, and you have to kind of push through that. But again, it’s about this long-term health goal. And I think so much in the marketplace is about this quick fix, short action, beach body in 30 days. That’s not what this program is about. This program is about living a longer, healthier life.
MCU: After more than 20 years, considering the fact that many CrossFit coaches don’t focus much on nutrition coaching, do you think CrossFit has failed?
Kaplan: I’m not sure I would use the word failed, but I would say [we have] a massive opportunity. But it takes balls because, in some states, it’s illegal. You can’t tell people what to eat if you’re not a registered dietician.
Note: You can get an overview of state-by-state guidelines for registered dieticians here.
Featured image: Emily Kaplan
