Crossfit Bodyweight Exercises
CrossFit training aims to encompass every single aspect of fitness. Creator Greg Glassman set 10 physical components that CrossFit training should improve, including cardiovascular endurance, strength, power, agility and balance. While CrossFit workouts do use various pieces of gym equipment, such as barbells, kettlebells and rowing machines, there is also a heavy reliance on body-weight exercises. Forget leg lifts and crunches, though, because CrossFit body-weight moves are tough, challenging and brutal.
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Squats
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Many of the more advanced CrossFit workouts, often called WODs, or workouts of the day, include barbell front and back squats, but body-weight squats feature prominently too. Many CrossFit workouts are given girls' names, and the Angie, Barbara and Chelsea workouts all feature body-weight squats. In Angie you perform 100 squats along with 100 each of pullups, pushups and situps in as quick a time as possible. Barbara and Chelsea are both timed circuits with multiple rounds of 50 and 15 squats respectively. Another squatting variation to feature heavily is the jump squat, usually performed by jumping onto a box or bench. These are highly demanding and can be stressful for your knees and ankles, so only attempt them if you're already comfortable with the beginner CrossFit workouts.
Pullups
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CrossFit pullups are slightly different from the pullups you'd normally perform. In CrossFit, you're allowed to use a large amount of leg swing and body momentum to get your chin above the bar. These are known as kipping pullups, and the idea is that you can perform more reps in this manner. However, kipping pullups are far riskier than regular pullups and offer no real benefit, according to strength coach Tony Gentilcore of Cressey Performance in Boston.
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Burpees
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Burpees are a CrossFit staple and a tough body-weight cardio move. To perform burpees, start standing up, place your hands on the floor and kick your legs back so you're in a pushup position. Jump your legs back in and stand up -- that's one rep. Add in a pushup on every rep or jump up at the top to make them more difficult.
Pushups and Dips
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Bench presses aren't featured in CrossFit, so to hit your chest, shoulders and triceps, CrossFit workouts include pushups and dips. Pushups tend to be performed for a higher number of reps and beginners can perform them with knees on the floor. Rather than traditional parallel bar dips, gymnastic rings are used. These are much harder as they introduce an element of instability and balance, but if you're not comfortable with ring dips you can stick to bar dips or resistance band-assisted dips. To make your normal pushups a bit harder, put your hands or feet through the gymnastics rings.
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References
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