FITNESS REVIEWS AND IMAGES: CrossFit

New Exercise and Fitness Review

Holiday travel and other seasonal obligations can put a damper on even the best-laid workout plans. Sneaking away from Auntie Jill and her five cats can be difficult, especially when the whole fam-damly is sitting in her living room just itching to hear about your job, new hobby, or latest relationship developments.

Between these awkward conversations, there’s not always time to drive to a gym or CrossFit box, train for an hour, and then drive back. It might be possible, though, to sneak outside or go down to the basement for half an hour for some exercise and much-needed personal time.

So, if you suddenly find yourself alone with a cat on your lap and a cookie in your hand, get up and do one of these five CrossFit workouts. They’re quick and dirty, and you can do them with little or no equipment.

“There’s not always time to drive to a gym or CrossFit box, train for an hour, and then drive back. It might be possible, though, to sneak outside or go down to the basement for half an hour for some exercise and much-needed personal time.”

5 Do-Anywhere CrossFit Workouts

Circuit: AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) 10 minutes

Burpees
10 reps

Air Squats
20 reps

Sit-Ups
30 reps

Go through each of the exercises for the prescribed number of reps for 10 minutes. Try not to rest. Keep moving and get through as many rounds as you can. Keep track of how many rounds you get, so you’ll have a score to beat the next time you do this workout.

Circuit: 5 rounds for time

Handstand Push-Ups
5 reps

Jumping Lunges
10 reps per leg

Mountain Climbers
15 reps

Sprint
200-meters

To complete one round, go through every rep of all four exercises. Aim to complete five rounds. You can do handstand push-ups on the outside of a house, on a fence, or on a wall. If you’re unable to do them, just do regular push-ups. If you have no way to measure 200 meters, just run hard for about 30 seconds.

Minute by Minute: 20 minutes

Minute 1

Burpees
10 reps

Minute 2

Box Jumps
15 reps

Step-Ups
15 reps

Minute 3

Kettlebell or Dumbbell Swings
20 reps

You’ll do this workout minute by minute. So, on the first minute, you’ll have 60 seconds in which to do 10 burpees. If you finish the 10 burpees with time to spare, rest until minute 2 starts. When the clock hits 2 minutes, begin doing 15 box jumps. (If you don’t have a box, jump on a bench or up a step.) Try to complete 15 jumps in 1 minute. If you complete all 15 reps within the time, then rest until minute 3 starts. If you can’t complete all the reps, start the kettlebell swings when the clock gets to 3 minutes. At minute 3, you’ll perform 20 kettlebell swings. When minute 4 starts, you’ll go back to burpees. Continue in this fashion for 20 minutes.

This workout may seem easier because you get a little rest, but as you get tired, those rest periods will get shorter and shorter.

“If you’re not accustomed to running or moving quickly for a fairly extended period of time, this workout will probably be very difficult.”

Circuit: 1 round for time

Run
800-meters

Push-Ups
50 reps

Air Squats
100 reps

Sit-Ups
150 reps

Run
800-meters

If you’re not accustomed to running or moving quickly for a fairly extended period of time, this workout will probably be very difficult. But, it’s great if you want a special challenge. The key is to keep moving through all of the reps. If you want to make yourself extra miserable, double everything.

Circuit: AMRAP 15 minutes

Alternating Pistol Squats
10 reps

Pull-Ups
10 reps

Box Jumps
10 reps

Push-Ups
10 reps

Sit-Ups
10 reps

Pistol squats can be a fairly advanced movement, but you can do them by holding onto a wall for support or using a counterweight. If you don’t have any way to do the pull-ups, just leave them out of the workout and do the other four exercises. Fifteen minutes can seem like a long time if you start out going blazing fast. Pace yourself early so you can keep moving for the entire 15 minutes.

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About The Author

Cassie Smith is a writer/editor for Bodybuilding.com and former professor & college athlete. Find out more about her right here.

Bodybuilding.com Articles

5 CrossFit Workouts You Can Do Anywhere

New Exercise and Fitness Review

If you saw any of the 2014 CrossFit Games in July, I’m sure you noticed some of the incredible physiques cheering in the audience and competing in the arena.

When I first started CrossFit 10 years ago, the emphasis was on cardio. Back then, most participants had that lean, supple look. Since then, CrossFit has exploded into a more well- rounded and intense training protocol. Today, CrossFitters have to be strong, powerful, and able to work for long periods of time. As the sport has evolved, so have the bodies of CrossFitters. They are now bigger and leaner than ever.

In order to survive the evolution of CrossFit, I had to come up with mental strategies in order to cope with the overwhelming workload. If not, the demands of CrossFit would have crushed me and forced me to quit the sport I enjoy so much.

Although I’ve applied these mental strategies to my improvement in CrossFit, they aren’t exclusive to CrossFitters. These mental strategies are applicable to everyone—from the competitive bodybuilder to the marathon runner. Use them to make yourself better, no matter your sport or your goal. When you learn how to push your body to the limit, you expect your physique to look better than ever.

1 The mind will always lead the body

Many gym-goers struggle to learn how to push themselves beyond the limit of their perceived limitations. If you’re tired, you stop, right? The problem with pushing yourself only so far is that your body will stop changing. As your body and mind grow accustomed to a particular workload, they’ll stop making progress.

What CrossFit has taught me, and what I think everyone can apply to their own fitness, is the idea that the body can always do more. The average CrossFit WOD (Workout of the Day) is deliberately designed to fatigue your body to the point where you don’t think you can go on. The lesson in the WODs is that when your body is totally exhausted, you must look for a different energy source. And guess what? Your body will do it.

You must learn to rely on your mind to push you through the suffering. It is in your mentality, not your 20-inch biceps, that your true power lies. When you learn to depend on your mind, you’ll be amazed at the unlimited amount of strength and endurance that your body has. Once you discover that your mind can will your tired body to lift heavier weights, do more reps, and perform longer, you can develop a better physique, perform better in sports, or be mentally tougher for any aspect in life.

So the next time you want to quit, listen to that positive voice in your head and let it push you to keep going!

2 Don’t fear failure

If you lift weights, you probably know they have to get progressively heavier in order for your muscles to grow. However, there will come a time when lifting a challenging weight will be an intense struggle. You might even fail.

These big weights can be scary. They can push you beyond your comfort zone and make you feel like a total wuss. That’s a good thing. The worst thing you can do is be overly hesitant to try again. Don’t live in your comfort zone! Instead of lifting weights you know you can handle all the time, plan for PR attempts, try that bigger dumbbell, and constantly strive to get better every time you walk into the gym.

To CrossFitters, professional weightlifters, big powerlifters, and even college and high school athletes, fail lifts are part of a positive progression. It is a sign that they are overcoming fear and doubt. Once the fear of the heavier weight is eliminated, you can be persistent in your pursuit of smashing old personal records with giant weights. These big weights are why CrossFitters can pack on big muscle.

Don’t wait any longer. Go for a new one-rep personal best in your deadlift or back squat today. If you fail, who cares? Just adjust your training and try again in a few weeks!

Once the fear of the heavier weight is eliminated, you can be persistent in your pursuit of smashing old personal records with giant weights.

3 Change your weakness to strength

Go to any commercial gym and I bet you’ll see most guys doing biceps curls or bench presses, and most gals doing cardio or working on their butts. A lot of people spend the majority of their time in the gym working on their favorite muscle groups or doing their favorite exercises.

Sure, you biceps-curlers might have big arms and you booty-blasters might have tight buns, but eventually your positive body composition changes will come to a disappointing halt. Moreover, exclusively (or semi-exclusively) training just one or two body parts can make your physique unbalanced, your body more prone to injury, and your overall fitness a joke.

To be a good bodybuilder, a good CrossFitter, a good athlete, or even just a fit, healthy person, you must be well-rounded. That means sometimes you have to do movements that you suck at.

To be a good bodybuilder, a good CrossFitter, a good athlete, or even just a fit, healthy person, you must be well-rounded.

Every CrossFittter has a weakness. For me, it was the Olympic lifts. For others, it might be handstand push-ups or rowing. To be successful in the gym, you must have the mentality to overcome your weakness. When you work on movements you don’t usually do, you exert your muscles in new ways and recruit different fibers you normally don’t use. This stimulates growth and builds overall muscle in your entire body.

By constantly learning new and challenging physical skills, you force your body to grow all over. This is a huge reason why veteran CrossFit men and women look great from top to bottom! You don’t have to work out in a CrossFit box to achieve similar results. Pick a new movement you’ve never tried before, like front squats or power cleans, and give it a go in your next workout!