A typical triathlon workout schedule includes cycling, swimming, and running. In themselves, these are a full plate for any athlete and they can easily edge out the time for strength training. That said, any person who wants to become a successful athlete can’t afford to let go strength training. This is because this type of training doesn’t just build power in your muscles, but keeps you healthy as well. CrossFit workouts give you a relatively quick way to integrate strength training into your triathlon schedule and make fun out of it. CrossFit helps you to focus on strength and power as it identifies and fixes muscular imbalances and works on your form. To reap the most out of CrossFit, you should use it intelligently in your training schedule and commit yourself to it with the help of a trained coach. The Simplicity of CrossFit One of the best thing about CrossFit is that it is simple. The exercises or movements are purely based on strength training and include deadlifts, squats, and push-ups. Due to the fact that you do these exercises explosively and with heavyweights, they can help you build strength. Swimming, running, and cycling are excellent ways of building stamina, but they are limited when it comes to building power. This missing link is provided by CrossFit workouts such as sprints and kettlebell swings. Inserting one or two WODs in your weekly triathlon regimen can enrich your training. Something you should watch out during these training is that you shouldn’t be focused on impressing others with your liftings, but rather hone your competitive nature with a clear view on your limits, weaknesses, and priorities. The reason you are at CrossFit is to maximize your triathlon training and not to display superiority. Building Function through CrossFit If you want to benefit your sport, your focus needs to be directed to the mechanics of each movement. For instance, a CrossFit coach can help you in determining if your knees are correctly positioned or they are bowing out during a squat. Weaknesses in your inner thighs and outer hips can affect your cycling and running mechanics in addition to exposing you to injury. When doing your push-ups, too wide of arms and a sagging back points toward weaker core strength. By improving your core muscles and strength, you will enjoy a spillover effect into your swimming, running, and cycling. For instance, core strength is critical in ensuring shoulder stability during swimming. Many of your body system imbalances become noticeable when you start lifting at the intensity and level of a WOD. With your coach, you can tailor your workout of the day so as to address these specific weaknesses. Building Power during Off Season Through functional moves such as pull-ups, burpees, and 400-meter sprints and kettlebell swings, you can build your ability and power to push through on the bike and run. However, you should always remember that CrossFit doesn’t replace your running, biking, and swimming, it simply augments it. When you have an event coming up, minimize on your CrossFit workouts so that you can be in the best form for the competition.

CrossFit is an amazing program that enables athletes to achieve their goals quickly. CrossFit workouts usually entail complex movements at high intensity and you are meant to do more and more work in lesser time as you go by. The exercises you undertake develop power, strength, and explosiveness.If you are traveling and have no access to a box or just want to work out from home, don’t worry because there are set of CrossFit workouts you can do even without equipment. When you are frequently doing a variety of reps at different times, your body will never get used to just one type of exercise and the gains will be enormous. Ensure you keep a record of the time and reps every day and always strive to get better and faster. Discussed below are some great workouts you can do at the comfort of your home. Jump Squats These are high-intensity exercises amazing for building explosive power and enhancing the height of your vertical jump. Because of the complexity of jump squats, they should be done correctly to avoid injury as well as get the best from the workout. First, take the appropriate stance by getting into a normal standing position with feet hip-width apart. You should then push the hips back as you drop your butt closer to the floor for a low squat. Secondly, push your feet off the ground and explode up for the jump as high as you possibly can. You should ensure that you land back softly and correctly with knees bent. Do the reps you are comfortable with at first, but strive to increase this with time. Handstand Push-Up This is also referred to as press-up, inverted push-up or vertical push-up.  It is a CrossFit exercise done when your body is in a handstand position; downward-facing. First, bend your elbows in until your head slightly above the floor. Secondly, throw your body up against the wall and support yourself using the hands. Try to hold yourself in the inverted position for at least 15 seconds before repeating the exercise. Practice until you can hold yourself in this position for adequate time. Ensure you lower your body slowly and don’t dive because this can result to injury. This exercise among many other CrossFit workouts helps to build your shoulders, chest, and triceps strength; condition the core and improve your balance. You require lots of balance and strength to master this move, but you will definitely reap the mentioned benefits. Broad Jump Burpee This is a high-intensity exercise that will help you burn loads of calories in a short time and requires no equipment. The first thing is to stand with your feet at shoulder width while the toes are pointing slightly out. Lower your knees as you push your butt back until they are at 90 degrees. Jump explosively as you propel yourself forward as far as you can possibly can. Once you land from the jump, bend at the knees and hips leaning forward as you place your palms on the ground. When you attain this position, jump both your feet back at the same time for a push-up position. These are some of the amazing CrossFit workouts of the day you can engage in without requiring any equipment.  

As you step into the CrossFit gym, one of the people you are likely to see more of is your coach. This is the professional who will take you through the basics of CrossFit including the movements, lingo, and how to use the equipment. Unfortunately, the flow of communication between you and your coach is likely to be interrupted by class size, concurrent workouts, distractions, and time-related issues. This notwithstanding, you have a duty as an athlete to get the highest rate of return possible from your coaching. Below are some of the ways to ensure your athlete-coach link is always activated. Arrive Early Athletes who are conscious of time and particularly those who arrive between 10 and 15 minutes early at the CrossFit Gym have the advantage of checking out the WOD of the previous class by watching them finish. This will give you a glimpse of the different scaling options, goals, and targeting times for the workout. You will also give yourself adequate transition time to ramp up mentally and get to the right mindset. Converse with Your Coach The best time to raise any special needs or consideration with your coach is before the workout of the day. You could be having an injury or facing a unique challenge in your exercises. Before the class begins, you can have a one-on-one with your coach as you address these and many other things you may have. Listen Carefully When Your Coach is Talking The discipline of listening is invaluable in CrossFit. Just like when it is cold and you huddle around the fire, listen to your coach as he gives directives on the WOD or simply going through the routines on how to attack workouts and briefing on certain performance and standard issues.Repeating stuff takes away time from you and as such, it is important to get it right the first time. Focus on the Details of Movement Progression The goal in CrossFit Gym is not quantity, but rather quality. Learning movements is all about discipline because when you are in a rush, you cannot quiet your mind and your concentration is not at its best. Watch the coach closely as they give cues on the movement. Focus on improving the little, but often ignored details and retain the little improvements so that over time they can accumulate. Write Down Your Cues If there is a verbal or tactile cue that worked out really well with you, put it down in a log. As an athlete, your way of internalizing things is different from others. For instance, you may find squatting against the wall effective in giving you a better lumbar curve. Keep this inventory of fixes. In addition to the above, stay behind after your day’s CrossFit programme so as to pick the brains of your coach. If there are any recommendations or fixes they made for you, allow them to go into more details as they address the why of the actionable cues you put down in a log.

CrossFit has had the reputation of being a tough sport laced with some of the most gut-wrenching workouts. Nothing has changed and in as much as the coaches may usher you to a soft start in CrossFit training, know that as you proceed you will come to a point where your speed, strength, and endurance will be put to test. The beauty of these vicious and insane workouts is that they push your adrenaline into an overdrive and you won’t believe how your body responds to all this. You will be more resilient, lean, and so strong that nothing you face in life will intimidate you. The following are some of the CrossFit workouts that will push your body system to the borderline. Fran This is a series of quickly done pull-ups and thrusters. It is essentially a shorter workout of the day consisting of 3 rounds. In the first round, there are 21 reps per exercise. For the second round, you have 15 reps and the third and last round you have 9 reps per exercise. Fran is flexible and you can easily modify it to suit your ability. As you get into CrossFit, Fran is one of those workouts you will be exposed to. The pull-ups are the hardest and both men and women struggle with the same measure. The challenge time is 5 minutes. Filthy 50 If you have never done this WOD before, its exercises may seem endless and taxing. The entire circuit has 10 different CrossFit workouts each having 50 reps and done in quick succession. You do 50 box jumps, 50 kettlebell swings, 50 jumping pull-ups, 50 back extensions, 50 push press reps done with 45 pounds, 50 double-unders, 50 wall balls done with a 20-pound ball, 50 knees to elbows, and 50 walking lunge steps. Through this workout, you will learn the basics, but also the insanity of CrossFit. The knees to elbows workout are the most difficult and the fact that Filthy 50 tasks the entire body means you have to be good at everything. The Seven As the name suggests, there are 7 rounds of each exercise and done quickly. In a typical cycle, you will have 7 rounds of the following CrossFit workouts: Burpees Kettlebell swings Deadlifts with 245-pound weights Thrusters with 135-pound Knees to elbows Handstand push-ups Pull-ups The most difficult exercises in this WOD are the thrusts and handstand push-ups. The challenge time is 20 minutes and you can modify the exercises to suit you. King Kong This is a relatively faster workout consisting of 3 rounds of exercises. It is some sort of a progression starting with a single deadlift comprising 455 pounds, thereafter 2 reps of muscle pull-ups, then 3 reps of squat clean done at 250 pounds and lastly 4 handstand push-ups. Both the deadlift and the squat cleans pose a real challenge to most athletes as they are extremely difficult. The challenge time is just 5 minutes and if you can power through this workout of the day, you are a real monster! These are a just a few of the many brutal workouts in CrossFit. You may also check Fight Gone Bad, Bull, Grace, Kalsu, and Chelsea.  

CrossFit has become the buzzword in every fitness conversation. Its high-intensity workout regime with varying functional movements has taken almost everyone by storm. The beauty of CrossFit is that it can work with anyone as long as they are willing. Athletes ranging from ex-footballers to swimming professionals, have found CrossFit as a safe enclave to tone their muscles and improve their effectiveness. So much has been written about CrossFit until people out there have developed a certain picture that the workouts and weights used in this sport are scary. Since it is not easy, CrossFit Workouts are challenging and will push you to your limits. Below are some of the WODs that will slowly usher you into the CrossFit world. Half Cindy This CrossFit workout can last up to 20 minutes, but if you can do ten as a beginner, it will be a great achievement. It consists of 5 pull-ups, ten push-ups, and 15 air squats. Since this WOD requires endurance, don’t be surprised if you are unable to rise from the ground following the first round. As you begin, you will be able to take the cue from your body system, and you will know how fast you hit exhaustion. CrossFit Total Focus This consists of 5 back squats, three overhead presses, and three deadlifts. Here, you will have to contend with heavy lifts which can be intimidating at times, but their purpose is to make you stronger. The goal of this WOD is to get you accustomed to lifting heavy weights. There is no timing here, but the focus is on learning the impact of the weights on your body. This workout requires form and if you are not quite sure how the lifting should be done, consult a trainer or someone who is used to lifting for assistance. Helen In this workout of the day, you do a 400-meters run, 12 pull-ups, and 21 American kettlebell swings. While it is true that anyone can run, Helen is all about technique. Don’t make a mistake of running fast in the first round because you will get exhausted and unable to proceed. Endurance is very important, but it will take quite a while in the building. However, CrossFit will teach you on the match your body can be able to handle. If you want to modify this WOD, you can try Russian kettlebell swings or wrap a resistance band on the bar for assistance. Sit-Ups, Lunges This consists of 3 rounds with 15 sit-ups and 15 lunges. As an interval-style WOD, sit-ups, and lunges require that you push extra hard for about 3 minutes then resting for 2 minutes. The beauty with this WOD is that it enables you to buildup cardio while at the same time pushing up your endurance needle. If you find yourself getting comfortable at one level, you can add more weight to the lunge or add two more rounds to make them 5. The advantage in CrossFit for beginners is that every workout can be modified. You can alter the time, weight, and even rep schemes. For success, you should always work your way up!

If you walk into any CrossFit gym, you will see lots of Olympic barbells, medicine balls, rowing machines, pull-up bars, and differently sized kettlebells. Most workouts in the gym rely on the kettlebell, and this is why it is one of the most fundamental tools in the box. If you have a home gym but do not have access to some of the equipment modern gyms have, you can still bank on the kettlebell to do lots of workouts. Swings Up First CrossFit coaches emphasize that beginners in kettlebell workouts should learn the swing first. The reason behind this is that it forms the foundation to all kettlebell programs. A majority of CrossFit workouts include swings. The normal swings take the kettlebell up to the eye level and then stops. However, with CrossFit workouts, you do what is called the American swing. This involves lifting the kettlebell to an overhead position and then using your lats to stop it from slipping too far overhead. War of WODs Workout of the day refers to how CrossFit enthusiasts plan their training. Every time a new workout is published on CrossFit, competitors the world over aim to set their best times on the routine. Some of the workouts are so famous that they immediately turn into benchmark workouts and are included in CrossFit games. One of the popular benchmark workouts is Helen which comprises a 400-meter sprint followed by 21 swings using a kettlebell weighing 24 Kgs and after that 12 pull-ups completed in 3 reps. There is another similar kettlebell only WOD which comprises five rounds of 4 muscle ups, eight kettlebell swings, ten kettlebell presses done with each arm and lastly 12 knees to elbows. If you are daring enough, you can go for the Zombie Complex consisting of push presses, kettlebell cleans, front squats, lateral hops, walkouts, all of which are interspersed with 200 meters sprints. Super Substitutions Even if a CrossFit workout demands an exercise to be performed using a barbell, you can modify it using kettlebells. The best way to do this is by substituting barbell cleans with kettlebells. You can also do this for snatches, thrusters, as well as high pulls. Beginners in CrossFit may find this an easier option because barbell Olympic lifts can be notoriously difficult to learn. Readiness for CrossFit In the event you assess yourself, but find it rather hard to go full throttle into a CrossFit exercise routine, learning basic moves to add to your training can benefit you immensely. Some of the moves you may want to consider include kettlebell clean and jerks, jump squats, swings with a heavy bell, and snatches. You can group your kettlebell workouts into a circuit format and then time yourself so that you can give your workout a CrossFit feel.

CrossFit is one of the most engaging and all-encompassing workout regime available today. Its top competitors are ranked amongst the fittest men and women in the world. Despite this profile, CrossFit doesn’t make you the best in everything. For instance, if you want to pack muscles you may think of adding in mass building training into your workout. There is a strong similarity between a mass building and bodybuilding training, but the former is concentrated more of the lifting of weights than fitness. CrossFit Workouts CrossFit by its very nature doesn’t have a predictable workout routine. They refer to their workouts as WODs which in full means workout of the day. Every day there is a new workout which is the official CrossFit website publishes. The workouts are usually a mixture of gymnastic exercises, barbell exercises, and endurance exercises. Because of the unpredictability of CrossFit training, you can’t add an extra style of training on it. Scheduling Mass Training Traditional mass training which is more of bodybuilding involves working the same muscles day in day out. To gain muscle mass, recovery becomes important. Since CrossFit isn’t inclined towards mass training, there is no priority in working the same muscle groups on consecutive days. The tricky part of mass training is the difficulty in scheduling it in the same week with CrossFit. This is because the two regimes have different philosophies. Scheduling becomes much more complicated in a scenario where your schedule is busy. To organize your schedule, you must prioritize your goals and allocate more time to either mass training or CrossFit. For instance, where you have three days to work out, you can allocate a day to mass training and two to CrossFit. Prioritizing Mass Training If you want to do mass training and CrossFit within the same timeframe, you may hive off part of your CrossFit workout if it exercises the same muscle group trained on the day before. A good example is where you train your legs on Monday during your mass training program, and on Tuesday the plan is to do leg exercises such as barbell squats during your CrossFit training program. In this case, it makes a lot of sense to skip the squats so that your leg can recover. Because of this mix-up, you will always find yourself at a crossroads in your training where your priority will have to be in one or the other, but not both. If you want to gain mass, CrossFit will have to be sacrificed and replaced with mass training in most of the workouts. Planning Your Workouts and Energy Balance When planning your mass workouts, you should split your muscle groups into lower body and upper body muscles. Twice per week, ensure you work out each half of your body and in between slot a rest day. The other approach is to break down your body into muscle groups such as chest, back, core, arms, and legs. To ensure that more energy is dedicated to mass training in any given week, you should start with the mass workout before going into the CrossFit exercises. Working out is one part of the equation that will enable you to gain mass. The other part is CrossFit nutrition. Eating enough and balanced diet will give your body system the energy you need to blaze through your workouts. A caloric surplus is recommended for muscle mass.

CrossFit benchmark workouts have their best completion time, and from the onset, these may seem impossible to attain and that they can only be held by the elite. Since these benchmark workouts are well known across the CrossFit community, they are the best when comparing times. The main purpose of benchmark workouts in CrossFit is that they give you a platform and serve as an instrument through which you can measure your progress. Workouts change from time to time, and this makes it difficult to compare your performance today with past performance levels. Using benchmark workouts, you can gather tangible evidence on the progress of your fitness level. Not all benchmark CrossFit workouts are timed, but most are, and CrossFitters have posted some amazing times. Some of these benchmark workouts have gained entries into year-end CrossFit games. What is important with these times is that they give you a comparison yardstick, but you shouldn’t feel bad if you find your times being nowhere closer to these records. CrossFit has hundreds of thousands of participants and it is a very competitive sport. Fran This is a famous CrossFit workout and a deceptively challenging one. In this workout, you will perform pull-ups and thrusters. Thrusters are barbell front squats done using an overhead press at the top. Both exercises are done in three sets and the reps for each set are in a descending order starting from 21 then 15 and lastly 9. The barbell used by men and women vary in weight with men using a 95pound and women 65pound. The best time set for this workout is 1 minute and 53 seconds and it was done by Jason Kaplan. Diane This workout shares lots of similarities with Fran. It comprises of deadlifts and handstand push-ups. The deadlifts for men comprise 225 pounds while for women it is 155 pounds. Every exercise is done in 3 sets with descending repetitions in the order of 21, 15 and nine reps. The best time was posted by Dan Bailey who did 1 minute 35 seconds in the 2012 CrossFit games. Murph This is commonly referred to as a hero workout of the day. It was named in the memory of Michael Murphy, a Navy lieutenant. This workout gives you an option of wearing a vest measuring 20 pounds to mimic military body armor. This workout is done by running one mile, then 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, and lastly 300 bodyweight squats. After you have done all of them, you run another mile. The best time was recorded by Josh Bridges in 34 minutes 38 seconds. Naughty Nancy This is slightly more difficult compared to its sister CrossFit workout, Nancy. It is a relatively newer benchmark workout and featured in the 2013 CrossFit games to give the competitors an extra challenge. Every athlete completes four sets of 600-meter runs coupled with 25 overhead squats. The best time ever recorded for the Naughty Nancy workout is 16 minutes 31 seconds by Josh Bridges.