Crossfit in details

Crossfit is a competitive sport that borrows movements from a variety of disciplines, including gymnastics, weightlifting, powerlifting and rowing. It was created by former gymnast Greg Glassman as a branded physical fitness system aimed at maximizing the potential of work performed in the shortest possible time. Let us take a more detailed look at this sport to see what peculiarities it has.

General information

The goal of crossfit is to improve physical abilities and motor function, which is achieved by performing a large number of functional movements with high intensity.

The trend is designed to develop all the physical indicators of the body at once as much as possible. Strength, power, speed and endurance are trained almost simultaneously. Crossfit exercises also help to improve coordination, balance, flexibility and agility. Crossfit trainee will be adapted to all types of physical loads and living conditions in all situations, compared to powerlifting, where an athlete mainly develops his or her strength.

This sport develops the functions of the cardiorespiratory system, increases the tone and elasticity of muscles, improves overall physical condition.

Training

Now, let us characterize the training process. As a rule, each training session is divided into three parts:

1. warm-up;
2. the skills development segment or the strength component;
3. high-intensity “workouts of the day”, or WOD.

During the warm-up, athletes prepare their bodies for intensive physical activity. Skilled workouts are designed to improve your ability to perform certain exercises, such as jumping rope, and the strength component, as the name implies, is aimed at getting stronger.

The final part of the class is the WOD, during which athletes must perform a specific set of exercises in a given time or number of repetitions. The abbreviation stands for “workout of the day”. WODs are usually total body workouts that range in length from eight to 16 minutes, but they can also be very shorter.

The “workout of the day” sets are designed in a special way so that you can train every day, loading different body systems and muscle groups. For example, the first day of the complex is aimed at power mode, it includes crunches, lifts and pulls. On the next day, WOD can include aerobic exercise, aimed at training the cardiovascular system and the development of speed.

Types of workouts

There are several types of exercise, each developing different body functions and abilities.

Cardio exercises (M) are the first type of crossfit training. Aerobic or metabolic exercises (such as rowing, running, jumping rope, and other types of cardio) help to increase an athlete’s endurance. Such loads increase the heart rate, consequently speeding up the metabolism, and at low intensity develop the ability to train for longer periods of time.

A well-constructed cardio exercise program has the following benefits.

• Provided that the diet is correct, it will lead to intense fat burning and, as a consequence, loss of excess weight. This is one of the main reasons why crossfit training is so popular among those who want to lose weight.
• Gradually increasing effective lung volume will lead to easier access and processing of oxygen.
• It is a good way of strengthening the heart muscle, which improves blood flow, as a trained heart has no problem transporting blood through the vessels.
• Combining cardio with other physical activities reduces the risk of heart attacks and strokes, diabetes, and stabilizes blood pressure.
• The metabolism speeds up and you feel better.

Gymnastic exercises (G) are all exercises that are performed with your own weight or on equipment, including pull-ups, push-ups, rope. The exercises in this group develop muscle strength, flexibility, coordination, agility.

The basic technique of crossfit training in a gymnastics set involves working on the following projectiles:

• Rope climbing involves the arm muscles into work and influences the development of flexibility and agility.
• Pull-ups on the rings effectively affect the development of the upper body.
• Pull-ups on the horizontal bar are aimed at strengthening the upper body as well.
• The “corner” exercises are performed on bars, rings or a horizontal bar, which improves not only the physical preparation of the arms, but also the abdominal area.
• There are push-ups on the uneven bars.
• Different kinds of push-ups from the floor are included in the gymnastics set of crossfit training.
• Burpee is a combination of push-ups and jumps that involves most muscle groups.

Weightlifting (W) includes all exercises that are performed with weights. The exercises develop strength, power, endurance, and balance.

Each type of exercise is designated by capital letters. It makes compiling the workout of the day much easier. For example, “MG” means that the complex includes aerobic and gymnastic exercises.

Crossfit workout modes

Different training modes are present in crossfit. They are usually written as acronyms.

• AFAP (as fast as possible) is the complex that specifies the number of rounds and reps to be performed as quickly as possible in the shortest time.
• AMRAP (as many rounds as you possible) means that athletes must perform the maximum number of rounds in a certain amount of time, for example, in 10 minutes.
• EMOM (each minute one movement) is the mode in which the number of rounds and exercises are defined in the complex, each should be performed for exactly one minute, regardless of the speed of execution and number of repetitions. With the start of each minute, start a new exercise.
• Chipper is one single round to be performed in the shortest possible time.
• Tabata is the type of interval training consisting of eight exercises. Tabata training is performed according to the following pattern: 20 seconds of exertion, 10 seconds of rest, and so on for each exercise.
• AMReps (as many repetitions as possible in a certain time) means that one exercise is performed as many times as possible in the allotted time interval. For example, 10 minutes of jumping rope or 10 minutes of burpees.
• Death by reps is the mode in which the weight of equipment does not change, and the number of reps constantly increases.
• Death by weight is vice verse, it means that the number of reps does not change, but the weight of the load constantly increases.

A common mistake of many beginner athletes is that they think that crossfit is a non-stop training. Improper training is dangerous for one’s health. Moreover, it can prevent a sportsman from improvement. What are the consequences of improper non-stop training?

• The plateau effect is an adaptation of the body to a certain type of physical activity, as a result of which muscle strength and other physical indicators stop increasing. Knowing what crossfit is for, athletes alternate loads and gradually increase them, thereby avoiding this unpleasant symptom.
• Injuries are what untrained athletes get most often. They are usually related to fatigue and lack of coordination due to an ill-informed approach to gymnastic and cardio sets when switching to weightlifting. In addition, injuries occur as a result of uncomfortable equipment.
• Overtraining is a fairly common phenomenon for those who do not understand that the crossfit system must be accompanied not only by uninterrupted training, but also by proper rest and healthy sleep. To avoid it, it is necessary to make small breaks between sets, accompanied by low five-minute physical activity, and arrange days off from training.

Contraindications

As any other type of training, crossfit is not suitable for everyone as it implies intensive workouts. In some cases, practicing this sport can be prohibited. What contraindications are there for crossfit?

• Diseases of the cardiovascular system.
• Inflammatory processes and diseases of internal organs.
• Any trauma, diseases of the joints, spine, exacerbation of diseases.

Women are not allowed to train if they suffer from endocrine disorders, such as thyroid disorders, ovarian, menstrual disorders. Pregnancy and breast-feeding are contraindications as well.

Advantages and disadvantages of crossfit training

What are the main advantages of the technique?

• It improves the physical shape and appearance of the athlete. Men manage to build voluminous muscles, and women have beautiful athletic forms.
• The method helps to reduce weight.
• It improves the general state of health, both physical and mental, and increases the stress-resistance of the body to various factors.
• It increases all physical development indicators: strength, power, endurance, speed, flexibility and coordination.
• It allows you to train frequently without taking much time.
• Simplified techniques and complexes allow you to start training from scratch.
• A huge variety of complexes allows you to keep interest and motivation to train.

Of course, crossfit as a training method has some disadvantages. What are they?

• This sport is traumatic. If you overestimate your own strength do not follow the correct technique, it can lead to serious injuries.
• It has contraindications to training, because it involves a high intensity load.
• High speed, jerks, pulls, squats and other shock and compression loads can lead to injuries of joints, vertebrae and tension in internal organs.
• Some exercises can put pressure on pelvic organs, which can negatively affect menstrual cycles.

History

In 2000, Greg Glassman and his wife Lauren Jenai created their own corporation, CrossFit Inc. and the training method became a brand and a competitive sport. From that moment on, they began opening specialized gyms around the world, which can only exist with a CrossFit Inc. license. Crossfit trainers are also certified to protect the right to teach this technique.

When planning to start CrossFit training, you must be prepared to carefully observe the training regime. It is crucial to monitor the moderate heart rate zone, perform each exercise as precisely as possible, not forgetting about the technique, and be sure to give sufficient time to recover your body after intensive workouts.