Discover why CrossFit training has become so popular, and what it can mean for you. Take your fitness to the next level and build an amazing body.
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The fitness craze has hit the world and it’s hit it hard. Everywhere you look you see people jogging, walking, and cycling. People purchase gym memberships to lift weights or take one of the myriads of aerobic classes offered at the gym. Another popular form of working out is CrossFit. This article will define CrossFit training, give examples of some CrossFit workouts, and give comments from CrossFit enthusiasts and critics.
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What is CrossFit training?
CrossFit is an innovative way of training that was developed by Greg Glassman and Lauren Jenai in the year 2000. This form of training attempts to improve overall physical fitness through a series of exercises performed at high intensity.
CrossFit training strives to take functional movements and ramp up the intensity of these movements so that the athlete will be able to experience a broad adaptational response that translates to improved performance in sports and everyday activities.
The goal of CrossFit training is to help athletes excel in 10 different areas of physical fitness. CrossFit training helps athletes improve in these areas: Stamina, cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, strength, power, coordination, speed, accuracy, agility, and balance.
This form of training has been touted to help increase the physical performance of military personnel, firefighters, athletes, and fitness enthusiasts seeking to engage in more challenging workouts.
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Examples of CrossFit Training Workouts
The variety of ways to train with CrossFit is endless. CrossFit workouts are called WOD’s (workouts of the day). These WOD’s can be done with just bodyweight exercises, barbells, dumbbells, and kettlebells, or by combining strength training exercises with cardio exercises.
Here are some examples of CrossFit training workouts:
- Fran: This is a classic CrossFit benchmark workout that consists of thrusters and pull-ups. The workout involves completing 21 thrusters followed by 21 pull-ups, then 15 thrusters and 15 pull-ups, and finally 9 thrusters and 9 pull-ups. The goal is to complete the workout as fast as possible.
- Cindy: This is another popular CrossFit workout that focuses on bodyweight movements. It involves completing as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 air squats.
- The Murph: Named after Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, this workout is a challenging test of endurance. It consists of a 1-mile run, followed by 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, and 300 air squats, and finishes with another 1-mile run. Some athletes choose to wear a weighted vest for an added challenge.
- Helen: This workout combines running, kettlebell swings, and pull-ups. It involves completing 3 rounds for the time of a 400-meter run, 21 kettlebell swings, and 12 pull-ups.
- Grace: This workout focuses on barbell movements and is all about speed. It involves completing 30 clean and jerks for time. The weight used can vary depending on the individual’s fitness level.
These are just a few examples of CrossFit workouts, and there are many more variations and combinations that can be done. It’s important to consult with a qualified CrossFit coach or trainer to ensure proper form and technique when performing these workouts.
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Cardio and Bodyweight Workout
You’ll really put your strength and stamina to the test with this CrossFit workout. It involves running, pushups, pullups, and bodyweight squats. If you’re ready for this and thinking that this workout will be boring, keep reading.
In this workout, you’ll condition your cardiovascular system by running a mile. After running a mile, you’ll annihilate the muscles in your back, shoulders, and biceps by doing 100 pull-ups.
The next part of this circuit involves you doing 200 pushups. You’ll build muscles in your chest, shoulders, and triceps. At this point, your muscles will be screaming for mercy.
With pullups and pushups, you work all the muscles in your upper body as well as your abdominal muscles. But your workout is still not complete. You continue this workout by performing 300 bodyweight squats.
Squats work all the muscles in your lower body including your quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, and even your gluteal muscles.
After completing the bodyweight squats, you will be sweating heavily and feel pain in muscles you never knew you had. But, guess what? You aren’t finished yet. This routine ends with another one-mile run. Now, you’re done
CrossFit with Barbells
You can do an incredibly powerful muscle-building workout routine with barbells. This workout combines deadlifts, power cleans, and bench presses. You’ll do 3 giant sets in this routine.
You start off with 10 reps for the deadlift and then proceed to do 9 reps, 8, and so on until you are down to one repetition. The weight for the deadlifts will be 1.5 times your body weight.
The weight for power cleans will be three-quarters of your body weight and the bench presses are done at body weight. Even though this routine only involves three exercises, you’ll feel like you just got hit by a truck, but you will build muscle.
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Comments on CrossFit
One CrossFit enthusiast states that he started performing CrossFit routines 2 days a week to improve his performance in basketball.
He saw improvements after 2 weeks and a month later he added 2 inches to his vertical jump. His vertical jump remains the same height throughout the entire basketball game.
Another enthusiast comments on the variety of exercises and the camaraderie that exists between CrossFit enthusiasts. He feels that CrossFit challenges him in different ways than working out with weights does.
One critic of CrossFit found that it didn’t help him at all during basic training in the army. He claimed he lost muscle mass with CrossFit and it also increased his time on 5-mile runs.
CrossFit training is versatile, functional, and tons of fun for lots of people. It can be done with bodyweight exercises, strength training equipment, or both. You can love it you can hate CrossFit training, but it works for a lot of people and it’s here to stay.
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