The warm summer weather may be good for holidaymakers, but in the CrossFit gym, it brings about the discussion on hydration and how it impacts on workouts. Experts in hydration, thermal regulation, and electrolyte replacement have been at the forefront in explaining to athletes what constitutes hydration and how to assess its severity in the body system. There has been a lot of myths and general misunderstanding about hydration, and it is important we separate fact from fiction. The Color of Urine Depicts the Extent of Dehydration According to experts from CrossFit gym, striving for clear urine is a mistaken hydration goal. This is because urine color tends to be a delayed response and as an athlete who is constantly sweating, exercises, and drinking fluids to hydrate, your body system is in constant flux which means you can’t use the color of urine as a metric in those scenarios. In addition, substances such as vitamins which you ingest can change the urine color. The bottom line, therefore, is that anytime you see your urine almost clear, chances are high you are overhydrated. By the Time You are Thirsty, Your Body is Dangerously Dehydrated This is not true. The reason is, the moment you feel thirsty, your body is still normally hydrated. In the same manner, some people may lose touch with hunger pangs; most people ignore their thirst which means they don’t understand how it feels like. If you are the type of a person who walks with a bottle of water always, the first sensation of thirst doesn’t mean you are dehydrated. According to CrossFit gym, you should stop drinking fluids when you are not thirsty. The body system is equipped to let you know when it needs fluids.  To Replace Electrolytes, You Need a Sports Drink Quite a number of sports drinks such as Powerade and Gatorade have small amounts of carbohydrates and sodium. However, these are not designed to replenish sodium, but rather to help the drinks be palatable. The problem with sports drinks is that they create a notion amongst athletes that they are putting in enough electrolytes. The reality is, these sports drinks do not put enough electrolytes to cover the losses in sweat and other means. If you are truly concerned about the loss of sodium during exercise, experts advise that you take your CrossFit diet with water after you are through working out. This will replace the sodium without running into the risk of overhydration. Irrespective of the Level, Dehydration Adversely Affects Performance If you are hydrated well, it is normal that over time you will experience dehydration. Simply put, dehydration is just a process of losing fluids, but not an illness. Dehydration and its impact on athletic performance largely depend on the hydration level of the athlete before the competition or exercise begun. If you begin the exercise and you are well hydrated, you may lose up to 4% of your total body weight through dehydration and still remain competitive.Pay attention to your body signals and only drink when you are thirsty. Flooding your body with fluids irrespective of their kind may lead to exercise-associated hyponatremia(EAH). If you have always believed that you can’t drink excess water, now you know that you can and the dangers of doing so.

If you keep on wondering why your back is smoked every time following glute ham developer (GHD) sit-ups, the answer could be in the way you do the workout. GHD refers to a piece of equipment which was made to help strengthen the glutes and the hams. Normally, this CrossFit workout movement is done while lying on your stomach, squeezing your butt, and keeping a fairly stable midline. It helps athletes move their hips while simultaneously maintaining a solid spine to protect the body during the movements. Many of the back problems that arise in GHD sit-ups are caused by the inability of the athletes to dissociate the hips from the spine. As a result, they move the two of them all at once which creates shear forces on the spine. Since we incorporate GHD in sit-ups, the truth is it wasn’t created to work the hip flexors and abdominals in a dynamic extension movement. GHD sit-ups is an extremely high-level exercise which requires baseline strength and body awareness as you fling the spine through ranges of flexion and extension. Deciding on the Readiness of Your Body for GHD Sit-Ups There are various steps mentioned by CrossFit workout that you need to go through to access whether indeed your spine can accommodate GHD sit-ups. The following are the steps: Flexibility to Sit Upright You need to access whether you are flexible enough to sit upright with your legs straightened right in front of you. Note that in this position, your lumbar spine must be straight and not round. If you pass this readiness test, then you can move to the next step. If you have problems, then you need to start working on mobility in your daily CrossFit workouts. Failing the flexibility test may point to a combination of spine stiffness as well as a problem with the entire posterior chain which includes calves, glutes, hamstrings, and the bottom of the feet. Holding Your Body in a Parallel Position The next assessment according to CrossFit workout is to check whether you can hold your body in a parallel position on the glute-ham developer equipment while keeping a good spine position and breathing. If you have a problem here, you need to practice especially on perfecting your mechanics. Transitioning from the Parallel Position If you have passed the above step, you now need to test how smoothly you can transition starting from the parallel position, then gradually up to the top and thereafter back to parallel position while maintaining a good spine position. This transition movement is similar to doing a hip hinge exercise such as hip extension and deadlift. The only difference with the GHD is the positioning. If you are able to transition, then you can do the GHD sit-ups very well. It is therefore important not to assume that you are prepared for GHD sit-ups and therefore you can include them in your CrossFit workout of the day. You need to take yourself first through these steps, and then if you are ready, you can move on comfortably.

It doesn’t matter whether you are a CrossFitter who is experienced or you are simply a beginner looking to curve your way out, the first few weeks of your exercises can be hurting. You need time to adapt so that your body can be in sync with the frequency and magnitude of your workouts. The pertinent question many people ask is how they should know they have optimized their recovery in between CrossFit workout of the day. Unfortunately, the answer is, there isn’t a way to tell. There are no markers or signs to show that you have fully recovered not even the delayed onset of muscle soreness. This is why you can always enhance your recovery efforts even if you feel you are getting better at handling WODs. For every athlete, optimal recovery is a dynamic and systematic physiological process which changes as the athletes change. The following tips will help you in optimizing your next WOD. Clean Up Your Diet What you eat and how you eat it on a day-to-day basis is one of the major factors that will impact on your recovery. The WOD is simply a stimulus for growth. However, the body won’t grow during the workout because real growth happens in the repair and recovery process. A clean CrossFit diet should include lean protein to support muscle growth as well as lots of fruits and veggies for the vitamins. Veggies and fruits contain antioxidants which are crucial in protecting your body against muscle cell damage. Similarly, the phytochemicals in the dark leafy greens can help in repairing connective tissue and reduce inflammation. Pre-WOD Nutrition An excellent way to optimize your recovery is to lower as much as possible the amount of stress your body encounters when working out at CrossFit gym. To do this, you have to eat as much energy packed nutrients as you can before the start of your session. Even though every person handles pre-WOD snack differently, try and consume a small meal or snack an hour or two before the training. Aim at getting 250 to 350 calories particularly coming from non-sucrose carbohydrate sources. Post-WOD Activities When you finish your WOD at CrossFit gym, you can engage in some light activities so as to cool down. Go for biking, jogging, or rowing, or even some light gymnastics. This will continuously push blood through your vessels thus helping in circulating out any waste products from muscle contraction. After Workout Massage To reduce swelling for the affected tissues, go for physical manipulation of the muscle tissue using lacrosse ball, roller, or even better, partner massage. This breaks up the tightness of the muscles. Sleep Inadequate sleep can sacrifice your growth and progress in the CrossFit gym. Research shows that much of the anabolic process takes place during sleep. Also, the regulation of growth hormones, cortisol, melatonin, and others which affect the adaptation of your muscles to training, takes place at night. Try about 8 hours a night of sleep and avoid intake of foods and drinks such as alcohol, sugar, caffeine, and water a few hours before your workout. Remember to stay hydrated, supplement adequately, and ensure that you follow your post-WOD nutrition carefully.

Every CrossFit athlete has their favorite workout and their least favorite as well. However, in certain circumstances, you may end up feeling average after your CrossFit gym session. Burpees are admittedly some of the most grueling CrossFit exercises. That notwithstanding, they carry tons of benefits such as strength building, cardiovascular fitness enhancement, and balance improvement. Also, burpees target almost every part of the body giving you an all-around workout. While it is clear burpees are beneficial, unless you integrate them into your workout routine, they will be of no use. The beauty of having a structured workout is the predictability that comes with it hence no room for guesswork. Because of the difficulty and challenge that comes with burpees, some athletes feel like giving up midway. By structuring out your routine, chances of backing off even when your body can’t take it anymore are greatly reduced. This ensures you score high in your metabolism benefits. The following burpee CrossFit workouts will certainly ramp up your metabolism and enhance fat-burning. The beauty is that the routines are designed to accommodate time constraints, finesses and equipment access for every athlete. The New Dad Workout If your time is so constrained that you cannot get to the gym, this burpee workout is for you. It takes about minutes to complete this workout and throughout this time, all you do are burpees. This makes it relatively simple. Depending on your fitness level, try and perform this workout in repetitions every minute instead of performing the entire exercise nonstop for the scheduled time. Ensure you rest for the remaining time before the start of the next minute. The most important aspect of this workout is the form, and at times you may be forced to start from the basic level to cultivate a perfect performance. Remember, it is much more beneficial to do six burpees perfectly than to fumble around with 12 burpees. The 100 Burpees Exercise Challenge This workout lasts for 15 minutes just the new dad workout, but it incorporates some variations as a way of breaking the monotony some athletes feel comes with doing the same things repeatedly for a quarter an hour. As the title puts it, you will do a total of 10 burpees in this type of CrossFit workouts. However, every ten reps, you will rest for about 25 seconds then switch to another variation. It is recommended that you limit high-intensity interval training to about 4 times per week so that you can have adequate rest. This is key to injury prevention. The Burpee Blast This is for the CrossFit athletes whose fitness levels are way up and simply want to boost their intensity. The burpee blast is rather simple CrossFit workouts to do. You begin with your normal burpee and then at the end, finish up with a push-up after you spring back to the plank position. Try moving as fast as you can without compromising on the form. The Bedroom Bodyweight Workout The bedroom bodyweight CrossFit exercise is a nine-move circuit comprising 3 circuits each having three exercises. Before you go to the next move, you should complete the prescribed number of reps. After the 3 circuit moves, you will have 30 seconds of rest and then repeat the entire process two more times. As pointed out, you don’t need gym equipment for this meaning you can do your burpees anywhere anytime.

It can be overwhelming figuring out what to eat after your workout in the CrossFit gym. The questions you need to consider are how much to eat and when you should eat. At times, you are too busy to plan, and this makes it challenging, especially when you are on a CrossFit diet such as paleo which demands strict adherence to nutrition rules. To help you in getting through this, it’s important to keep post-workout nutrition simple and sane. Meal Composition Post-workout nutrition is all about recovering and refueling. To do this, you will have to reach out too easily digestible sources of carbohydrates and protein. If you are trying to lean out, your primary focus should be on protein. When you have finished a high-intensity workout, or you are into multiple workouts a day, your post-workout nutrition focus should be on carbohydrates and protein. Fats are also crucial as part of your nutrition, but they digest slowly, an attribute that helps in keeping you full and satisfied. Try limiting fats in your post-workout CrossFit diet so that your body can have the opportunity of getting sufficient levels of protein and carbohydrates. Meal Timing In post-workout nutrition, the sooner you can lay hands on your diet the better. Normally, your muscles get damaged after a high-intensity workout, and your glycogen levels are also low. To replenish and repair, you need glucose and protein as fast as you possibly can.  Within 20 minutes of working out, you need to eat something and after that have your meal of the day which may be breakfast, lunch, or dinner depending on the timing of your workout. Within 2 hours of your workout, focus once more on carbohydrates and protein. Meal Size Your body system can process certain quantities of carbohydrates and protein at a time. This is why you need to make your CrossFit diet small and of easily digestible portions after your workout. It’s not advisable to eat boatloads of foods within 20 minutes after you finish your workout. Your nutrition will also depend on your size, your goals, and the extent of hard work you put in your exercises. Aim at between 15 and 35 grams and about 30 to 100 grams of protein and carbohydrates respectively. Meal Choices In your carbohydrates, ensure high levels of glucose. Look for something that has carbohydrates, but low levels of sugar or carbohydrate sources which do not have a sweet taste. Foods such as sweet potato, plantain, white potato, bagel, bread, oats, and cooked white rice are some of the best carbohydrate sources. On the part of proteins, go for chicken breast, bison, fish, low-fat Greek yogurt, low-fat cottage cheese, high-quality whey protein, and lean ground beef. In order to put all the above into practice, ensure you keep an open mind and try as much as possible to plan.

Not everyone has time at their disposal, and this means for optimal results, you have to work within your limited time to get the most out of it. This is where Tabata training comes in. It is a 4-minute Crossfit workout that will most certainly keep your heart racing and have you out of breath. It is short on time but tough on fat. Compared to all traditional physical CrossFit exercises, Tabata delivers greater health benefits. The training style of Tabata is unique in that it accommodates virtually any exercise in and out of the gym, from weightlifting to sprinting. This training style was developed by Izumi Tabata, a Japanese professor way back in 1996 and was targeted at the Japanese Olympic speed skating team. The 4-minute long Tabata session involves: Intense training for 20 seconds A rest period of 10 seconds A total of 8 rounds or sessions Digging deeper into the benefits of Tabata training, you will realize lots of benefits that you can reap from your sessions. Amongst these benefits include: Fat Burning Tabata training raises your heart rate and metabolism within a short time. Because of the high level of intensity, your body system tends to work harder so as to keep up with the pace. Both during and after this CrossFit workout, your metabolism will stay high which means your body will burn fat even when you are doing nothing. Within the first round of Tabata training, your body is literally plunged into the fat burning zone, and this is sustained for hours even after the exercise. Muscle Tissue Protection Tabata training doesn’t place huge demands on your hard-earned muscles. Compared to long durations of cardio, the Tabata method which comprises high-intensity interval training stresses your muscle and causes signals to be sent to your body that more muscle is needed. The result of this is, a favorable lean body mass to fat ratio. Requires Little Time Irrespective of how busy you are, you only need 4 to 8 minutes for this Crossfit workout. You don’t have to go to the CrossFit gym to reap the benefits because all you need is your own bodyweight or home equipment such as dumbbells and bands. Enhancement of Aerobic and Anaerobic Capacities The anaerobic capacity refers to the maximum amount of energy your body can produce in the absence of oxygen while the aerobic capacity refers to the maximum oxygen uptake. Both of these capacities are increased during Tabata training. Recent studies show that participants who underwent Tabata training experienced enhanced aerobic capacity exceeding 14% while their anaerobic capacities increased by a whopping 28%. The outcome of this is more energy and stamina as well as a high degree of resistance to continuous effort and strain. Looking at the above amazing benefits of Tabata training, it is worth giving it a try. To start with, you can go for a warmup lasting between 5 to 10 minutes. Some of the Tabata training routines to try out include sprinting and ropes Tabata, dumbbell Tabata, and bodyweight Tabata.

You don’t need to have been in the CrossFit gym for long for you to hear common phrases such as core strength or core. While most athletes appreciate the idea that having a strong core is desirable, few of them really dig up to find out what it means to have a stronger core and how it is helpful for them. Core strength is not like a rippling 6-pack. You may have well-defined and shredded abdominal muscles, but this is not a guarantee that you have a strong core. By definition, your core is everything your body is made of except the limbs. However, to be specific for athletes, the core consists of sections of your trunk that help in stabilizing you and resisting forces of gravity while at the same time allowing you to operate those limbs in whichever direction you may, at the speed you desire. It’s All in the Planes For you to change how the core operates as you stabilize in the various directions the body goes, you have to manipulate the muscles in the core. For instance, if you want to have a slight forward lean as you run or efficiently move either up or downhill, you require some control over your sagittal plane movement. Does not matter whether you are in CrossFit gym or in planes, you can still focus on your core strength by workouts. On the other hand, for you to keep balance while on rocky terrain or handle the effects of uneven leg lengths or generally forces moving you right and left, you require strong muscles which allow you to control the frontal or coronal plane movements. If you are a runner, you may want to limit your trunk rotation as much as you can. For you to do this, you need to enhance the strength of the muscles that give you control in the transverse plane. For all the alignment and directions needs, you have to pay attention to what is conventionally known as core muscles. Athletes ought to pay attention to their hip flexors, glutes, back, dip abdominals like the psoas, as well as the pelvic flow when doing their workouts of the day. If you manage to stay aligned, you stand the best chance to run effectively as you optimize your anatomy. Weak and Inflexible Core Whenever the core is inflexible or weak, some of the gravitational stress will be pushed over to the ends of the limbs attached to the core muscles. Your aching shoulders, sore calf, achilles, or tender plantar are some of the manifestations of inflexible or weak trunk muscles. It doesn’t matter whether you are struggling with an injury at the moment and you want to get out of it the soonest you can, or you want to improve performance and get more efficient, core strength should always be top on your priority list. Addressing Your Core Strength There are lots of ways you can build your core strength. Amongst them gym classes and do it yourself home videos. That said, the common elements which should define your approach should all focus on the variety of muscles ranging from the upper legs to the chest. There should also be a commitment on your end as far as consistency is concerned. The earlier you start, the better. There are some CrossFit training routines that can help you build a stronger core as long as you are committed to hard work. So, get ready to work on your core strength at CrossFit Gym.

L-Sit is a deceptively difficult CrossFit workout which you should think about adding to your staple if you want to blast your abs and triceps. When you look at a male Olympic gymnast, one of the things not hard to notice is the insane triceps and rippling abs. To any average person, this is an impressive development which can only be achieved through weightlifting. However, gymnasts know that you can achieve the same look without the need to pile up weights. By using your bodyweight as resistance, you can work out and replicate quite a number of the signature moves of gymnasts. L-sit is one of those moves that target your abs and triceps with precision. The benefits of this exercise go beyond the visual into giving you a solid body, chiseled abs, filled out sleeves, and impressive shoulder health. If you are into deadlifts which you must be as a CrossFit athlete, L-sits will help your performance in this CrossFit workout as well. Doing the L-Sit To perform this CrossFit workout, get yourself a pair of parallettes which are nothing, but a tiny version of parallel bars. If you work out in a well-equipped CrossFit gym, you may be lucky to find some in there. If for some reason you don’t find parallettes in your gym, get hold of dip bars or push-up bars and do your L-sits there. The bottom line is to get two secure and sturdy platforms measuring the same in height and which will lift your butt gradually off the ground. Position yourself in between the parallettes and set your shoulder width apart. Using a neutral, but firm grip, slowly push your body upwards from the ground as you lock your elbows in the same style you do when you are at the top of a dip exercise. So when you lock your knees and tightly hold your legs together, then make sure you keep your shoulders down to form a 90-degree right angle with your torso. Allow your legs to stretch and remain parallel to the ground. L-Sit Variations Just like other workouts, the L-sit has lots of other intermediary variations. The following are few of the popular ones. Tuck L-sit – Regarding positioning, the tuck L-sit resembles a chair L-sit with the only exception being that you tuck your knees close enough to your chest instead of keeping your thighs parallel to the ground. This works out the core, triceps, and your rear deltoids. One Leg Straight L-sit – This is a cross between a regular L-sit and a tuck L-sit. One of your legs is extended straight out and the other tucked in. Ensure you alternate your legs during the training. If you can, do a bicycle variation so that your legs alternate during the entire set. V-sit – The difference this brings to the L-sit is that your legs are raised much higher than the parallel position. It is an excellent muscle building exercise and will most definitely turn heads in the gym. The last variation to add to your CrossFit training schedule is the L-sit on rings. However, it is recommended that you try it out after gaining proficiency with the normal L-sit exercise. What makes this L-sit variation brutally challenging is the instability of the rings.