How to Design a CrossFit Workout
Designed by Greg Glassman, CrossFit is intensely grueling exercises performed nonstop for as little as five to as long as 30 minutes. A CrossFit workout combines Olympic weight lifting with lightweight body weight, resistance and medicine ball exercises. The combination of both exercise types is designed to improve coordination, cardiovascular and respiratory endurance, power, speed, flexibility and balance. Creating your own CrossFit exercise regiment is fairly simple so long as you follow a few straightforward guidelines.
Instructions
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Choose two challenging Olympic lift exercises such as an overhead press, squats and the donkey kick. Use a broom handle to perfect the form of the two Olympic lifts you plan to incorporate into your workout; if you're not familiar with Olympic lifts watch the videos in the Resource section to learn proper form. Use an appropriate amount of weight for your body and do between one and 10 reps of each lift.
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Choose four lightweight exercises such as pushups, pullups, jump squats, medicine ball throws and resistance-band pulls. Choose exercises that will challenge you and that you are comfortable to perform for a high number of reps -- between 10 and 50.
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Organize your regimen by alternating between Olympic lifts and lightweight exercises. Begin with a simple regimen like one set of five reps of each lift followed by 20 reps of each lightweight exercise, and repeat for four or five sets without stopping.
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Increase the challenge of your crossfit workout using a dynamic structure, such as starting with 10 reps of each lift followed by 20 reps of each lightweight exercise and reducing the reps by one for a total of ten sets, until your final set is one of each lift followed by 11 reps of each lightweight exercise.
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Determine the length of your exercise. Start with five to 10 minutes and build up from there. Continually adjust your regimen as you get strong by either adding weight to your lifts, doing more reps or performing more sets faster within the allotted time.
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Tips & Warnings
There is no strict requirement as to how many reps or sets you do; structure your exercise in as creative manner as you wish.
Practice your regimen three to five times a week and make adjustments to keep the challenge consistently difficult.
The explosive nature of CrossFit requires that you don't take a rest between exercises and sets, but if you feel you absolutely must rest it's better to take a break so that you don't injure yourself.
Form is crucial when performing Olympic lifts; bad form could result in injury. Practice with light weight until you perfect your form and are comfortable with adding weight.
