CrossFit for Beginners (+ Deciding if a CrossFit Workout Is Right for You)

After watching someone perform this advanced workout, you may be intimidated and wonder if there’s a CrossFit for beginners.  But you shouldn’t let fear keep you from achieving your fitness goals.

Even the beginner that’s completely out of shape and overweight can begin to practice CrossFit training and receive its benefits.  You probably don’t want to go it alone, though, when you’re a beginner.  It helps to have a certified trainer assist you in getting started.

Trainers will help you to use equipment properly and learn to protect from injury.  CrossFit is unique because the workout for the most advanced member is the same as CrossFit for beginners, but some substitutions can be made.

The CrossFit workout is different each day.  Each center receives a prescribed program for the day.  The difference is that a more advanced person may lift a heavier weight or practice a more advanced move.

A beginner will work with the heaviest weight they can safely lift.  For some beginners that may mean that you may only be able to lift the bar instead of adding weights to it when you do squats.  If you have injuries to your knees, you may have to do an alternative move that’s modified.

One of the great things about being a beginner is that the CrossFit environment is very supportive.  The purpose of this training isn’t to be perfect - it’s to be fit.  And no matter what your fitness level is, you’ll feel welcome as you set your own goals for improving.

If you’ve seen someone who has been participating in this training program for a long time, you may wonder if you’re too old, too injured, too fat, or too out of shape to try it.  But this workout is for anyone of any age, body type, or fitness level.

When you begin to work with a trainer you’ll see that he or she is supportive and meets you where you are so that you can advance.  You may be worried about feeling like a failure, but in the early stages you’ll have plenty of opportunities to see how much you’re capable of growing.

For a beginner, one of the most important things to pay attention to is safety.  If you do more than you’re really ready to do you can injure yourself.  If you lift too much weight or perform the exercises improperly you can do harm.

But if you’re interested in getting fit and challenging yourself, you shouldn’t let your newbie status keep you from giving it a try.  CrossFit for beginners is challenging, but as you grow you’ll appreciate the benefits of it.

Deciding if a CrossFit Workout Is Right for You

If you’re tired of the traditional time at the gym, a CrossFit workout could be the change you’ve been craving.  When you head to the gym you may feel like you do the same thing each time – treadmill, weight machines, and stationary bikes.

While there’s really no such thing as bad exercise, the traditional workout isn’t going to give you the same results as CrossFit.  What makes this workout different? It’s the idea that you work out many muscles at one time.

Instead of isolating a group of muscles with a weight machine, CrossFit allows you to engage multiple muscle groups and give you more advanced fitness.  This is more than just trying to be healthy and look good; it’s a workout that will improve the way your body works for you.

The CrossFit workout is designed to give you a quick workout that’s also powerful and gives you results.  CrossFit also harnesses the power of social support and the competitive spirit to help motivate you to exercise.

In fact, each year CrossFit sponsors the CrossFit Games where people compete in different exercise categories.  While it’s all the in spirit of good fun and encouraging all participants to do their best, there are also cash prizes for the winners.

This type of workout is very intense and it’s best for people who want to get a hard workout without spending all day in the gym.  There are thousands of CrossFit gyms throughout the world, while most of them are in the United States.

These are typically no-frills gyms that offer trainers and equipment to complete the day’s workout.  Workouts change daily and are posted online for affiliated clubs.  There are also gyms that aren’t officially CrossFit gyms, but use the same style of workout.

If you decide to try CrossFit, it’s important to make sure you’re doing the exercises correctly.  This workout is demanding on the body and you can become injured if you’re not properly trained or supervised.

While this is a tough workout, you shouldn’t let that scare you away.  This workout is designed for the average person to complete it.  It may take you some time to build up to the entire workout, but with commitment you’ll be able to handle it.

And the benefits of CrossFit extend to many aspects of your life.  You’ll be able to do more with your body. Not only will you look better, but you’ll feel great.  You’ll have flexibility, endurance, and strength to face the tasks you need to complete in your life.

If you’re looking for a great way to get in shape that’s different from the standard workout, this may be for you.  A CrossFit workout can help you to get in great shape and to enjoy variety with your workouts.

Why not give this full body CrossFit workout a try?  

5 Best (And Intense) Crossfit WODs

Crossfit’s workout of the day, or also referred as WOD, is one of the main reasons fitness buffs adore this sought-after fitness program. Ultimately, WOD is a daily workout designed randomly by the fit people of crossfit.com.

Normally performed in a group setting, WOD encourages camaraderie and friendly competition among practitioners of this workout regimen. Furthermore, it is a potent workout that promotes a well- balanced blend of strength conditioning, skill development and metabolic conditioning. 

Not all WODs, however, are intense and challenging. After all, not all workouts are designed to perfection.  Thankfully, this guide will unveil some of the best and most intense WODs designed by the folks at crossfit.com.

Grace

Don’t let the name deceive you, as this workout is as intense as it gets. For this workout, you will be doing 30 repetitions of clean and jerk using a standard weight of 95 pounds for women, and 135 pounds for men.

A mainstay in Olympic weightlifting, this workout will require flexibility, strength, power, coordination and speed.

Filthy 50

The Filthy 50 is indeed a WOD staple and a true of epitome of Crossfit. Basically, it is a brutal full-body strength workout that includes an extra element of cardio as well. Performed in circuit style, this is a non-stop grubwork of ten exercises with 50 repetitions each. If, however, you are someone new to this workout, you might want to perform 20 to 25 reps for very exercise.  As for the duration, practitioners are advised to complete it in 25 minutes or less.

•    Fifty jumps on a 24-inch box
•    Fifty jumping pull-ups
•    Fifty kettlebell swings
•    Fifty walking steps of lunges
•   Fifty elbows to knees
•   Fifty repetitions of 45-pound push press
•   Fifty back extensions
•    Fifty 20-pound medicine ball wallballs
•   Fifty burpees
•    Fifty double-unders

Murph

No list of the best and most brutal Crossfit workouts is complete without the inclusion of Murph. One of the most popular Hero WODs in Crossfit.com, this workout was named after Michael Murphy, a brave lieutenant who died in Afghanistan.

As for the actual workout, it is pretty simple, and won’t use a lot of equipment. As a matter of fact, you don’t need to be an experienced Crossfitter with an extensive knowledge in Olympic lifts for this WOD. But, this workout still requires a great deal of fortitude.

In this WOD, you will start off with a one-mile run, followed by a hundred pull-ups, 200 push-ups and 300 bodyweight squats.

Afterwards, you will finish the workout with another one-mile run.

While the exercises are pretty basic, its sheer length will torch the excess pounds and unwanted fat in the body.

As the folks from Crossfit have said, you have to finish the entire circuit within its challenge time, which is 40 minutes. But, finishing it in 45 minutes is still a decent time, and will signify that you are in terrific shape.

Fran

Fran may be one of the shortest WODs in Crossfit, but it is nonetheless a heart-pounding and exciting one. An all out sprint till the end, this workout is made up of three rounds of pull-ups and thrusters. In this first round of this WOD, you will be doing 21 reps for each exercise. Then, you will be doing 15 reps each for the next round, and 9 repetitions for the last round.

The Seven

The Seven, as the name implies, is a Crossfit WOD made up of seven rounds of seven challenging exercises with seven reps each.

As you do this WOD, you have to complete it in 20 minutes. But, if you are new to Crossfit or this workout, you should have a target time between 30 to 40 minutes.

• Handstand push-ups (Very challenging for those who have poor balance)
• Thrusters with a 135-pound barbell
• Knees to elbows
• Deadlifts with a 245-pound barbell
• Burpees
• Kettlebell swings
• Pull-ups  

How CrossFit Benefits Both Your Heart & Overall Fitness

General fitness and heart health are closely linked. Just like your other muscles, the heart is a very important muscle that also needs regular exercise to stay healthy. 

You may think that its regular function is exercise enough, but, when you don’t exercise regularly the heart can begin to accumulate high levels of bad cholesterol and eventually become diseased.

What Is CrossFit?

CrossFit is an intense exercise that helps whip the body into shape while also promoting optimal heart health. Heart health is just as important as general fitness because the heart is responsible for regulating all systems and providing oxygenated blood throughout the entire body.

The average adult is 5’7 or taller, meaning that the blood has to travel a long way to reach the extremities and back.

With proper heart health, however, the body will function at its best and facilitate the precention of early death through heart disease and heart attack.

With the help of CrossFit, you’ll be able to get into shape and reach peak fitness levels.

Origins Of The CrossFit Exercise Program

CrossFit is a recent fitness craze that has taken the nation by storm in just a few years. It was created by Greg Glassman, a coach and former gymnast in Santa Cruz, California, over many decades. The ball began rolling when Glassman developed his own website where he would post daily workout routines or what he called, “the workout of the day.”

Initially his first following consisted of firefighters, police offers, and military types and members, but, from this original group the popularity of his workout routines began to grow.

Devoted followers of CrossFit are now so numerous that they’re called CrossFitters, and gyms all across the United States have incorporated this amazing and intense workout program as part of their services.

Glassman’s goal with the CrossFit program is to present total body fitness in a meaningful and assessable way. This means that one’s work capacity will increase across a long range of time.

The CrossFit programs offered are often very diverse. The locations, routines, and even trainers take the program and, using the same principals, create a workout that works for them and their clients. Many people enjoy CrossFit on the beach, in the gym, and other places where one can get the most out of the environment while rigorously training their bodies.

How It Works

One of the main points of a CrossFit program is that there is no set routine. This simply means that each time you engage in a workout, you’ll be trying new moves to keep things interesting and get your body to try a wide range of exercises.

There are at least 50 basic exercises that are used to create every “workout of the day.” With so any options, the routines never become complacent and you will always be engaged and ready to see what the CrossFit workout will throw at you next.

This elite program is defined as a workout routine that will optimize fitness. Due to the ever-changing routines and movements performed at high intensity, your body will receive a total workout while facing new physical challenges every time you exercise.

The best part of CrossFit for most people is that it promotes community. Gyms often offer these classes to groups of people at one time so that individuals come together and have a common goal and activity in mind. Many have agreed that this is one of the reasons CrossFit so effective and enjoyable.

Basic Routines

The basic routines of CrossFit include Olympic weightlifting, gymnastics, and track and field. The goal is to increase core strength and conditioning through the mentioned exercises and the other basic moves that create the different routines every day.

To really engage in the CrossFit experience, the workouts are created for full-body functional movements. These include movements such as:

·         Lifting

·         Pulling

·         Pushing

·         Crawling

·         Running

·         Twisting

While these may sound simple, the other trademark of a CrossFit workout is its intensity. One of the positives of CrossFit is that because the workout is inclusive of the whole body, it can be accomplished in an intense but efficient 15-20 minute session. 

Many CrossFit trainers want their clients to be moving as quickly as they can as they go throughout the workout. It is meant to be a like a short but powerful burst of exercise that will provide the body and your heart with the regular exercise needed to stay strong.

Benefits

There are many benefits to the CrossFit program. While some people may get carried away and push themselves much too hard, those who take things day by day and pace themselves will soon experience excellent benefits.

A stronger, more toned body is the first and most noticeable benefit of engaging in the CrossFit program.

When you take the time to focus on the whole body rather than just a few section, you can begin to tone, strengthen, and work even the hard to reach places while working out others.

Heart health is another huge benefit of CrossFit.

As long as you are not overworking yourself and pushing far beyond the limit, you will be able to healthfully increase your heart rate during your exercise which can get the blood flowing almost effortlessly.

CrossFit may be intense but it is designed to give you general fitness for the entire body. When paired with a healthy diet, plenty of rest, and emotional and spiritual wellbeing, CrossFit can do wonders for your body and your life.  

If you are looking to go a bit deeper into the conception, birth, and journey of CrossFit, the following book is one that I have enjoyed immensely.  It is an engaging account of the grassroots beginnings of the CrossFit method, and a beautiful take on the primal principles of humanity and fitness.  Learning to Breathe Fire is wonderfully written, and I am a bit of a picky reader.  Check it out.

Some other books you may enjoy, along these same lines are:

• Beyond Training: Mastering Endurance, Health & Life; 
• Spartan Up! A Take-No-Prisoners Guide to Overcoming Obstacle and Achieving Peak Performance in Life
• Ready To Run: Unlocking Your Potential to Run Naturally
• Breaking Parallel: A Guide to CrossFit Gymnastics and Body Movement
• The Champion's Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train and Thrive