The 5 Best Crossfit Workouts

We are always searching for the best exercises to tone our bodies. But sometimes nothing seems to work, be it exercise our diet. That’s when CrossFit workouts may come to your rescue. Many of us turn to CrossFit because these workouts help us stay fit and healthy. They are also beneficial for people who are dealing with stubborn belly fat.

Popularity of CrossFit

You don’t have to be a genius to realize that some of the most popular CrossFit workouts are named after girls. While we would never know the real identity of these females, we do know that these workout regimes are sure to make you sweat.

Greg Glassman, the founder of CrossFit, is a 60-year old former gymnast who began training individuals throughout the 1970s. However, he launched his first gym in 1995. Within two decades, his exercise style is now a fitness technique for a healthy lifestyle. During the 2010s, the exercise style skyrocketed in popularity and is inspiring millions of people today.

CrossFit is becoming increasingly popular and mainstream, as people realize it isn’t reserved solely for the fittest people on the planet.

Instead, it can be a really sociable, enjoyable way of training that focuses on functional movements instead of training for aesthetics.

CrossFit combines cardio, gymnastics and weightlifting, and usually involves exercises like running, rowing, and skipping.

We can maintain a healthy body by combining CrossFit workouts with diet. Reducing junk food intake and working out with a professional fitness coach can go a long way to maintain a healthy weight.

Let’s find out more about the amazing benefits of CrossFit and how these workouts can reduce fat to build more mass.

Does CrossFit Aid in Weight Loss?

A mix of aerobic exercises, strength training, and high-intensity interval training can assist in accomplishing your weight goals. On average, a CrossFitter burns around 2,700 calories within a week if he/she exercises for five hours and fifteen minutes. A great way to observe the difference in weight after incorporating CrossFit into your exercise regime is to take ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures.

When it comes to nutrition, the key is to eat as much as you can burn through exercise and physical activity. What you eat will ultimately affect your weight loss efforts. Remember to consume a healthy mix of vegetables, lean meat, nuts, and seeds. Most people think eating unlimited servings of fruits is ‘ok.’ However, it’s important to stick to the right fruits that can fuel your CrossFit workouts.

Eating well is a part of CrossFit exercises since these workouts break down your muscles through catabolism. While resting, your body goes into repair mode and restores your energy levels. To make this process faster, you should provide your body with adequate nutrients and energy.

This is best done by eating one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight because your body needs protein as an essential nutrient. Some good sources of protein are meat, fish, poultry, eggs, soy products, nuts, and beans.

Common CrossFit Terms

If you are new to the world of exercise, you probably don’t know the meaning behind common terms that fitness coaches mostly use. For example:

WOD – Workout of the Day

WOD refers to the prescribed CrossFit workout you will get when you are attending a CrossFit class. Your fitness trainer will suggest the best WOD according to your body and weight loss goals. However, the coach will also consider other factors, such as any underlying medical condition and your stamina. Professional athletes who have specific competition goals may need additional work to improve their fitness.

RFT – Rounds for Time

Rounds for Time refers to an exercise structure, where you have to finish X rounds of a prescribed set of exercises as quickly as you can.

EMOM

It is an acronym for every minute on the minute. You do a prescribed number of reps at the top of every minute.

Girls

We are not referring to the ladies here. Girls represent the benchmark workouts named after females like Nancy, Kelly, and Cindy. These CrossFit workouts measure an athlete’s progress.

Heroes

These benchmark fitness workouts are named after firefighters, law enforcement officers, and soldiers –for example, Michael, Wade, and Bert, etc.

Some other popular terms include:

• K2E: knees to elbow
• HRPU: hand-release pushup
• PU: pushup or pull-up

Benefits of CrossFit Workouts

The fast-paced and high-intensity workouts like pushups, burpees, and squats can help you shed fat without letting your skin sag. You can benefit from circuit training, sprinting, and other high-intensity training methods to burn calories by incorporating them into your CrossFit workouts.

Here are some more benefits of a CrossFit workout regime.

More Strength

Although CrossFit workouts won’t make you look like a weight-lifter, bodyweight exercises like kettlebells and air squats are great for staying in shape. Since CrossFit is a full-body workout, you can strengthen different areas of your body, from quads to your triceps.

More Endurance

While a workout that lasts only fifteen minutes does not seem potent enough to build endurance, it is enough to get the heart rate up. The key is to focus on the intensity of the workout. That’s why you should work out for shorter periods but with more intensity. As your body absorbs more oxygen during CrossFit exercises, you build more endurance.

Flexibility and Agility

CrossFit workouts feature functional exercises that imitate movements you perform in your daily life. Functional movements, such as swings, squats, overhead presses, or kettlebell, can improve balance, flexibility, and agility.

Weight Loss

CrossFit allows you to burn more calories than most other forms of exercise. If you are a female who weighs 165 pounds, you can burn at least 18 calories per minute. Likewise, a male who weighs 195 pounds can burn at least 15 calories per minute during a CrossFit circuit. The best part is you can also burn calories throughout the recovery period.

Don’t forget to adopt a healthy diet to get the most out of your CrossFit exercise regime. If you are a student or a parent who can’t fit a swimming session or a gym workout in your busy regime, CrossFit offers a quick and easy way to burn more calories.

Best CrossFit Workouts

There are so many Crossfit workouts out there, many of which you can perform anywhere and are pretty quick too! Don’t underestimate them, though – they’ll have you working up a sweat in no time.

Give them a go, time yourself, and see if you can beat your time on your second go!

1.      Kelly

5 rounds for time:

• 400m run
• 30 box jumps
• 30 wall balls

2.      Jackie

• 1000m row
• 50 thrusters
• 30 pull-ups

3.      Helen

• 400m run
• 21 kettlebell swings
• 12 pull-ups

4.      Cindy

AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) for 20 minutes

• 5 pull-ups
• 10 press ups
• 15 air squats

5.      Fran

21 reps, 15 reps, 9 reps of each exercise

• Thrusters
• Pull-ups

How Often Should You CrossFit?

Generally, the minimum number of workouts you can do is thrice a week. However, you can take it up to five times a day. Allow your body to rest for one day, so you don’t increase any risks of injury. If you are new to CrossFit Workouts, you must work out under the supervision of a trained fitness coach. Since CrossFit can do more harm than good to your body if you don’t perform it the right way, make sure you get in touch with a professional fitness coach who can guide you well.