CrossFit as a sport appeared at the end of the 20th century. It was developed by Greg Glassman who started its spreading in the 80s. In 2001 he opened the first affiliated gym where people could try this fitness sport. It combines elements of different workouts, such as weightlifting, calisthenics, interval training, power lifting, plyometrics and gymnastics. CrossFit training is usually highly intensive, so they favor increasing of stamina and metabolism as well as boosting a sportsman’s physical form.
One of the advantages of going in for CrossFit is that you don’t need any expensive equipment or outfit for doing it. Moreover, you can choose a place where it will be most comfortable for you to work out – it might be a gym, your own home or even street training apparatus. The last variant is especially popular among teenagers and young adults.
Since CrossFit is pretty intense, you must understand the importance of warming-up. Before every training, don’t forget to warm up your body and muscles. At the same time, at the end make sure you do some stretching so that your muscles can relax. As you can see, such fitness sessions won’t take much of your time, but they’ll give you a visible result. If you want to lose a couple of kilograms, such sessions together with a healthy diet can be a perfect way out here.
For home trainings you don’t have to own special equipment. Turn on some active music, if possible, stand in front of the mirror and get started. If you’re not sure which exercises are good in this case, here are a few ideas:
- running in place;
- bends;
- squats;
- single leg jumps, then common jumps;
- sit-ups;
- push-ups;
- lunges.
If you want to diversify your home workouts, you can purchase the simplest equipment, which you can find in any sports store. Among such items are:
- sandbags - you can use them in various exercises to strengthen your core muscles and improve your physical endurance;
- dumbbells – with the help of this equipment you can do deadlifts, lunges and develop hand muscles;
- jump rope – you can use it in a usual way, but double-unders are considered to be more effective for CrossFit.
The efficient number of sessions is three times a week. You should practise regularly and gradually increase the intensity.
If it’s challenging for you to start doing sport at home, try going to the gym. When a person is aware of being watched, he or she usually does their best to look strong and skillful. During CrossFit workouts in the gym, you’re going to use some special equipment, namely:
- barbell – barbell squats are believed to be one of the basic exercises to train your gluteus;
- kettlebell – arm swings with kettlebells are widespread in CrossFit;
- ropes for fitness – you can climb up and down the rope as well as make us of a battle rope to train core strength.
CrossFit is a versatile kind of sport helping people to keep fit, that’s why it’s becoming more and more popular in the world.