Functional, varied and comprehensive CrossFit

CrossFit is a leading strength and endurance training program.

CrossFit is used in many police academies, in training for military special forces, and by combat sports athletes and other athletes around the world.
That is how CrossFit describes itself on its official website.

Our program delivers fitness that is functional, varied and comprehensive. Our specialty is not specializing. Combat, hand-to-hand fighting and preparation for many sports demand precisely the kind of fitness that CrossFit embodies. Those who specialize too much are often the ones who lose. CrossFit promotes the view that you are only as fit as your weakest physical capacity allows. We are talking about endurance, strength, speed, balance, coordination, flexibility, power and accuracy.

Put more simply, CrossFit is a training program that develops strength, endurance and strength endurance through varied, challenging workouts. A new workout (a combination of exercises) is published every day, presenting a fresh challenge to different aspects of our functional fitness. Rather than focusing on a single physical capacity, the workouts are designed to demand well-rounded fitness.

CrossFit is universal in the sense that anyone can take part, regardless of sex, age or fitness level. We have used exactly the same exercise combinations for cage fighters and people with heart disease. Only the training load, volume and intensity differ; the exercise combinations themselves remain the same.

Every day, a workout of the day (WOD) is published on the official CrossFit website. There are no separate workouts for different levels, for older people, for women or for highly trained athletes — each day brings one specific combination of exercises that is the same for everyone but can easily be adapted to your particular abilities.

For example, if the day’s workout calls for squats with 60 kg but you can only squat with 20 kg, that is the weight you start with. If an injury prevents you from squatting, you can replace squats with a similar exercise. And if the prescribed rep count exceeds your abilities, you do as many repetitions as you can. As you progress, you should aim to complete the workout as prescribed, including the weights and rep count.

A CrossFit workout involves completing a certain number of strength and endurance exercises as quickly as possible, in a set order and with a prescribed rep count. Alternatively, you perform as many repetitions as possible of a given exercise or combination of exercises within a fixed time. When the game is all about speed, there is a serious risk that you will sacrifice technique in your haste, which in turn causes injuries.

CrossFit is a great fit for:

• Beginners planning to start strength training – if you have no previous strength training experience, this program is a good way to get started, provided, of course, that a coach is present during workouts. You quickly learn the techniques for the main compound exercises alongside others, and training in a group is supportive, friendly and motivating.

• People who enjoy training in a group – this is also what drew me (the author of this article) to CrossFit. Workouts are competitive and inspiring, with everyone supporting each other.

• Training fanatics – you know the type: people who love to train every day and feel something is missing if they do not. CrossFit also involves consistency: training typically follows a 3-on, 1-off pattern, yet quite a few CrossFitters end up in the gym every day anyway. Some even train 2 times a day.

• Masochists – in the best sense of the word, of course. The reward CrossFit offers is getting through the day’s workout in the shortest possible time. This often means you have to put 100% of your strength reserves into the session, work hard, push yourself and truly go beyond your limits.

• Former athletes – CrossFit encourages, emphasizes and promotes teamwork, friendship, mutual support, camaraderie and competition. Time is usually central to the workouts: you must either complete a prescribed rep count for the given exercises within a set time or complete a prescribed total rep count as quickly as possible. This immediately introduces a competitive element among members of your training group. You can also watch online to see how the world’s best tackle the daily workouts.

CrossFit may not suit the following groups, but that does not mean they cannot try it:

• Specialists – CrossFit is essentially about not specializing, so it does not suit those who want to focus on a narrow discipline, such as powerlifting. If you want to be good at a particular task or activity, you need to devote much of your time to it.• Athletes with sport-specific training needs – this is similar to the point about specialists. If you train exclusively for the specific demands of your sport, you should focus on those demands. Every sport involves movements that require particular types of speed, strength and power from certain muscles. CrossFit develops all your physical capacities rather than focusing on a few specific abilities or skills required by your sport

• Solo exercisers – many people love training in a group, but many do not. Plenty of people prefer to train alone. CrossFit is a form of group training, which means you do everything together and cannot really go off and do your own thing.

How are CrossFit workouts structured?

A typical CrossFit class consists of three or four parts:
1. Dynamic warm-up – instead of jogging or using cardio machines, you do jumps, jump rope, squats, push-ups, lunges and pull-ups. You perform light functional movements and stretches for the joints that will bear most of the load in the upcoming workout.

Translator’s note: I think 5 – 10 minutes of jogging or using a cardio machine would be perfectly fine too.

2. Technique/strength training – on a strength training day, you do a proper, heavy strength workout targeting the type of strength specified in the plan. You perform traditional compound exercises such as squats, cleans, presses and all their variations. On a technique day, you work on refining your exercise technique or learn something new (such as single-leg squats, wall-supported handstand push-ups, etc.).

3. Workout of the day (WOD) – this is what it all revolves around. You complete a prescribed rep count for an exercise as quickly as possible, or perform as many reps as you can within a set time limit.

4. Stretching and cool-down – you can do this together as a group or individually.

Can you do CrossFit at home?

A workout of the day is posted daily on the CrossFit.com website, and you can of course do it at home, at your local CrossFit facility or at a gym.

Translator’s note: you can also start with no equipment at all and do bodyweight circuits.

“Cindy” is one example of a bodyweight circuit suitable for beginners. It is a simple combination that anyone can do anywhere – the only equipment you need is a pull-up bar. You can do it while traveling, and a shortened version is often used as a warm-up.

“Cindy” (as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes):

5 pull-ups
10 push-ups
15 squats

Set a timer for 20 minutes, then complete as many rounds as you can, following the prescribed order and rep count. There are no scheduled rest breaks between rounds. Rest as much as you feel you need to, but remember that you are not accumulating reps while you rest.

A few more examples for beginners:

Complete as many rounds as possible within the allotted time.

20 minutes:
3 pull-ups
6 push-ups
9 squats

12 minutes:
5 pull-ups
10 push-ups
15 squats

12 minutes:
1 pull-up
4 push-ups
7 squats

10 minutes:
1 pull-up
4 push-ups
7 squats

Author:Janar Rückenberg (translation)

Source:Turg.Fitness.ee

Come and train! ArtGym