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.

Have you ever thought how you could gain a perfect fit body without lifting heavy weights? Well, there are lots of exercises that can assure you of an overall fitness and strength improvement without the hassle and nightmare of pulling and pushing heavy loads. The most popular CrossFit workout that can give you exactly this is walking lunges. Whenever people get into an exercise, their main aim is to achieve overall fitness and particularly tone their muscles. That said, there are parts of the body that subconsciously tend to be left out during these routine workouts. These are the outer and inner thighs. These muscles are important, but surprisingly some athletes are not aware of this. Toning up the inner and outer thighs makes you appealing as well as boosts your athletic performance and promotes hip stability. Lunges give you an excellent way to strengthen your hips and develop thigh muscles. It mainly concentrates on two types of muscles: the knee extensors and hip extensors. The lunges movement is similar to squatting save for the wide range of motion and stress on the muscles when performing lunges.  For purposes of discussion and analysis, lunges can be divided into two walking lunges and stationary lunges. Stationary Lunges This type of lunge comprises a downward movement where a strong eccentric contraction of the glutes, hams, and quads is exerted. This ensures the whole bodyweight falls on the forward leg. At the same time, the backward leg gives you better support and balance. On the upward movement, both the front and backward legs bear the pressure and push your body back to the standing position. Walking Lunges In this lunge, the downward movement remains almost the same with an equal amount of pressure exerted on the thigh and leg muscles. However, on the upward movement, the focus is on the forward leg. The muscles of this leg contract to stand straight again. If there is one thing you need throughout this CrossFit exercise, it is stability. Since walking lunges are preferred to stationary lunges because they utilize all the thigh and leg muscles, they do not work the rear leg muscles as effectively, and this is why it is critical that you perform both stationary lunges and walking lunges at regular intervals. What You Gain from Walking Lunges There are lots of benefits, which you can get from walking lunges some of which include: Improved Balance –Since the lunges workout involves both sides of your body, it helps in improving coordination and balance. Boosts Functionality –Walking lunges train your body in a way to improve its functionality as well as helping you to acquire a better body posture. Symmetrical Toning –By the fact that walking lunges focus on some of the most ignored parts of your body, they help in achieving a symmetrically toned body. They address some of the other body parts which other exercises overlook. Improves Hip Flexibility –Walking lunges enhances the flexibility of your hip flexor muscles which may become tight because of the sedentary lifestyle most of us lead. In addition to the above benefits, including walking lunges in your CrossFit training routine enhance core stability, tone gluteal muscles, and gives rest to your spine.

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.

Indoor rowing has grown in popularity thanks to the huge contribution CrossFit has made by integrating it into its workouts. Initially, rowing was found mostly in boutique studios, but this is quickly changing following the adoption of the same by large CrossFit gym chains that are putting up rowing machines on their premises. The beauty with rowing workouts is that they address every area of your body starting from the lungs all the way to your lower body including the back, core, and arms. On top of this, the CrossFit workout burns fat while at the same time giving you extraordinary endurance and cardiovascular fitness. When you compare rowing exercises to other cardio sports such as cross-country skiing and swimming, you will find out that rowing builds more power and strength. A majority of boutique rowing gyms are advancing their rowing workouts to include rowing intervals together with strength training. This burns fatter and allows you to hit more muscles than just rowing. The following are some of the indoor rowing workouts to try out. From the Ground Up Workout In this CrossFit exercise, you take 5 minutes for warmup and after that row for 100 meters before doing ten reps of bodyweight squat. Without breaking the order, row for another 200 meters before doing another ten reps of bodyweight squat. The fifth move comprises 20 reps of alternating reverse lunge followed by the sixth move which is 10 reps of kneeling biceps curl to overhead press. This constitutes round one. This entire CrossFit workout should be at least 3 rounds with rests in between. Pump and Row Pyramid Again, you should start with 5 minutes of warmup and after that row for 100 meters with speed fast enough depending on your capacity. When done with the rowing, do 5 reps of bodyweight squats followed by 5 reps of push-ups before finishing round 1 with 5 reps of a feet-elevated mountain climber. After the first round, endeavor to do 4 more rounds with round 2 comprising rowing 200 meters and 10 reps of each of the above moves. Round 3 has rowing 300 meters and 15 reps of the other moves while round 4 consists of rowing 200 meters and ten reps of each move. The last round is some slowdown with rowing only 400 meters and five reps of each move. To finish it up, do a 60-second plank. 20-Minute Metabolic Burner After the 5 minutes of warmup, row for 500 meters as fast as you can and then do 25 reps of dumbbell thruster. This will complete round 1 leaving you with other three rounds to complete. Rest whenever necessary in between the rounds and always target to complete this CrossFit workout in under 20 minutes. Burpee Blast Challenge This workout makes use of a rower’s monitor which keeps count of the calories. Start by rowing hard for about 2 minutes and take note of your calorie score because that is the same number you will be targeting to hit in the subsequent rows. Do ten burpees and row until you attain the same calorie score as that achieved during the 2-minute row. Then, descend to 9 burpees and row again with the same calorie goal before going to 8 burpees and move on down the ladder until you get to 1 burpee. Aim to finish this Crossfit workout within 30 minutes, but take rests in between whenever needed.

Creatine is one of those supplements best suited for the job. Anyone wanting to improve their CrossFit workout performance, creatine is the supplement to go for. Regarding popularity, this sports supplement is arguably more peer-reviewed than any other. The number of positive testimonials from CrossFit alone is sufficient to convince you that it is crucial and should be included in your diet. As early as the 90s, creatine had already started becoming a popular sports supplement, and to date, its benefits have continued growing. Below are some of the ways this amazing supplement will help you in boosting your CrossFit workout performance. The beauty of every claim around creatine is that it is supported by scientific research and proven real-world testimonials. Creatine Enhances Your Strength Studies done reveal that the amount you can lift in workouts such as deadlifts, bench presses, and squats can improve by as much as 50% more when you are in this supplement. This surpasses by far the gains you can make in 8 to 12 weeks when exercising without supplementing. Faster Muscle Building It is common to hear an athlete has gained 5 pounds of muscle or even more after a few weeks of using the supplement. Critics have argued that what creatine adds is only water weight and not real muscle and therefore can be lost quickly. Again, studies have proved the critics wrong because creatine adds pure muscle with very little water. Since creatine is stored in your muscles and not under the skin, you will not look bloated or puffy, but rather your muscles will look fuller and better. Fast Recovery Between Sets The number of reps, which you are capable of doing will depend on a great deal the recovery and the quality of it in between your sets. Creatine helps in getting your muscles recover faster which means you will put more effort than you normally would in the next set. As the set progresses, you become much stronger. Apart from the above benefits, creatine also reduces your chance of cramping. We all know that cramping in the middle of your CrossFit training routine can easily grind your CrossFit workout to a halt. The Best Creatine Supplement for CrossFit There are a lot of creatine-based supplements in the CrossFit industry, and this may confuse you when you are searching for a credible variety to supplement your CrossFit workout. Without fronting any names, the best criteria to follow when shopping, is to look for that variety that is tested before and after packaging for purity. The only ingredient present in the supplement whichever brand it is should be creatine monohydrate. Also, every serving of the supplement should give you an equivalent of 5 grams of creatine. Lastly, the creatine supplement you purchase should be micronized. This means it is milled into tiny particles thereby helping it to dissolve faster and remain dissolved even while drinking. The best way to take creatine is fast to load it. This is where you take sufficient creatine to fill your muscles. For this reason, it is called the loading phase. The second step is the maintenance phase where you just take enough to fill up your muscles. The loading phase takes about 20 grams per day for a period of 5 to 7 days while the maintenance phase only involves taking 5 grams per day.

Body strength training is one of the workouts that has been getting exposure of late. Think of moves such as the human flag which initially was only done in circus arts, is now in TV commercials. CrossFit gym goers have become excited by the simplicity and beauty of using bodyweight to create new exercises which are challenging in their own measures. Bodybuilders and the folks from calisthenics have lots in common than they may realize. The following moves will give you the best of both bodybuilding and callisthenic worlds to help you achieve your athletic and aesthetic goals. The Full Back Bridge This is a timeless, functional movement which also makes up for an impressive visual. For those who have tried it, they can tell you that this movement is instrumental in improving your flexibility as well as total body strength. If you have never attempted bridging, the first try can be quite humbling because even the strongest athletes in the gym struggle to hold a full back bridge. Just like another CrossFit workout, the back bridge comes with its own set of variations. The advice is to keep on progressing into dynamic versions that will challenge not just your strength, but also flexibility. It doesn’t really matter how you do back bridges; they always work wonders for your posterior chin especially the spinal erectors, glutes, and hamstrings. The L-Sit Being a classic isometric exercise, the L-sit works out the entire body. It emphasizes the abdominal muscles as well. The basic L-sit CrossFit workout is done on a pair of parallel or just any other elevated sturdy surface. To do this workout, you hold yourself upright in the same position as if you are at the top of a parallel bar dip and then raise your legs and allow them to stretch straight right in front of you to parallel the ground. Your body should wind up looking like letter “L.” The tangible benefits of L-sits include building shoulder strength and core strength. Elbow Lever Performing this CrossFit workout requires flexibility, mental focus, and above all grace. It is one of the few exercises which help in developing balance and strength throughout the body. As you practice this move, you will learn how to build serious core strength as well as total body tension. To do an elbow lever, leverage your hip bones up against the elbows as you balance on your hands and your body completely outstretched. Your palms should be on the floor, and your fingers are pointing towards your legs. Bend your elbows in such a manner as to rest your hips on them. Gradually shift your weight forward and move it away from your feet up until you float up off the floor. Once you get this move right, you can start raising the stakes by doing the single arm version of it. The Archer Pull-up This is a great way you can use your bodyweight to add some degree of resistance to your traditional pull-up CrossFit exercise. Start as if you are doing a normal pull-up, but gradually bend either your left or right arm as you slowly pull your chin over the bar. Your torso will shift towards one side while your arm stays straight on the opposite. Your legs should be slightly to the side so that you achieve a counterbalance. To get the most out of this move, do it on alternating sides.

Beta-alanine is not a new supplement to the sports and fitness industry, and most people know what it feels like. That said, not as many people know what Beta-alanine does in the body. For this reason, below is a description of how this all-important supplement contributes to your CrossFit workout fitness. Beta-alanine is a non-essential beta amino acid which has quickly become invaluable in performance, nutrition, and bodybuilding. Due to the claims that it raises carnosine levels in the body muscles and enhances the amount of work you can undertake at high intensities, it has grown to become a shining star in CrossFit workout. Insofar as Beta alanine gives you real performance benefits, it is important to understand its unique chemical properties. According to research, this supplement has a unique relationship with taurine which you should carefully consider. Understanding Beta Alanine Also referred to as 3-aminopropionic acid, Beta-alanine occurs naturally and is one of the components forming vitamin B5, anserine, and carnosine. Regarding structure, this supplement is a cross between GABA and L-glycine neurotransmitters. Probably, this is the reason why athletes using it claim to experience some caffeine-like experience. The body has three ways in which it can produce Beta-alanine with CrossFit workout. One of them is the breakdown of anserine or carnosine; the other is through its formation as a secondary byproduct of a chemical reaction converting L-alanine to pyruvate while the last one is its formation during digestion where the microbes present in the intestinal chambers remove a carbon atom from L-aspartate thereby releasing carbon dioxide and Beta-alanine. When you consume this supplement in your CrossFit diet, it passes straight from the bloodstream and into your skeletal muscle through what is known as a Beta-alanine and taurine transporter. The transportation depends on the availability of sodium and chloride. When it gets into the skeletal muscle cell, Beta-alanine binds with L-histidine to result in the carnosine dipeptide. What Beta Alanine Does The ability of the Beta-alanine to raise the level of carnosine concertation in the muscles is what defines its function. The studies done have confirmed that in about four weeks of Beta-alanine supplementation, carnosine concentration can go up by about 58% and in 10 weeks, the concentration levels can go up to 80%. Carnosine is a potent antioxidant and therefore gives your muscles the first line of defense against any buildup and accumulation of hydrogen ions when performing high-intensity exercises. When hydrogen ions build up, they lower the pH in your muscle cells, and this negatively affects the function of the various enzymes as well as the muscle excitation-contraction coupling events which are important for continued high-intensity output. A drop in muscle Ph is often associated with muscle fatigue. Some of the known sources of Beta-alanine include foods such as pork, tuna, and venison. Since the body doesn’t produce enough of this non-essential amino acid, it is highly recommended that you supplement. You can take it as a pre-workout supplement to help you power through your CrossFit training routine.  

Apart from helping you to develop explosive strength, power clean has lots of other benefits in store for you. First things first, power cleans are not your ordinary CrossFit workout; it can get a little tricky in doing it right. It is therefore recommended that you learn how to do it properly so that the below benefits can be yours for keeps. Muscle Development Technically, power cleans are categorized as a shoulder exercise in the Crossfit workout, but they can go a long way in building up your deltoids. Because they hit your posterior chain hard, they develop your leg muscles including glutes, hamstrings, and calves. Also, the power clean technique targets the lower and upper back muscles as well as the traps. Explosive Power Power clean is a lifting exercise that can significantly improve your explosiveness quite fast. With the first pull portion during CrossFit workout, you can rapidly build explosiveness. The rest of the power clean motion aids in building speed and strength which gives you additional power and explosive potential. Burning Body Fat If you are looking ways to burn calories and body fat, power cleans can be tremendous in helping you achieve this. You will gradually develop a lean physique which includes impressive muscle size and definition. One of the things you must bear in mind though is that power cleans are best undertaken in low reps. When you insist on high reps, you will deteriorate your form. A Full Body Workout Power clean is an Olympic-style CrossFit exercise routine which demands coordination from every single muscle group in the body. As you continue exercising, your muscle density and functional strength will improve especially on the shoulders and posterior chain including the glutes, back, hams, calves, and traps. Many pieces of training and athletes have found this exercise attractive due to the advantage it gives them over the rest. The first half of power clean is similar to that of a deadlift and needs intense muscle contractions. The advantage of this is that it trains your explosiveness right from the ground which is helpful for any fast-paced sport such as football, basketball, or running. The second part of the power clean movement is useful for athletes who require quick fit movement. When executing this workout, you will be required to hold on to some heavyweights at extremely high velocities, and this will undoubtedly enhance your grip strength. Therefore, whether you are looking for a great exercise to add to your CrossFit workout of the day or a highly effective sport-specific exercise, power cleans can’t lead you the wrong way!