Every exercise regimen emphasizes a specific aspect of fitness. CrossFit bodyweight workout involves elements of various training systems to develop functional strength and conditioning. CrossFit can burn fat and improve strength.
To look good in a swimsuit, be healthy and fit, exercise is a must. Every once in a while, a new training trend emerges. Some of these new methods become extinct, and few become popular. For a starter who is trying to get into the training world, it can be confusing to choose where to begin.
CrossFit bodyweight workout is a good option for those who want to try CrossFit but do not have equipment. CrossFit workouts can be done anywhere and anytime, with no special facilities required.
Table of Contents
What is a CrossFit Workout?
Crossfit as a word is composed of cross + fit. It implies that the notion of fitness should involve a diverse range of physical capabilities; a more holistic approach, so to speak.
CrossFit workouts can be intense and push you to the limit. It is a functional training system that seeks to improve fitness across ten recognized, measurable domains, including endurance, stamina, strength, power, flexibility, balance, coordination, speed, agility, and accuracy. Crossfit involves both bodyweight and weight training exercises but we can also have an exclusive bodyweight Crossfit workout.
What Does CrossFit Bodyweight Workout Entail?
CrossFit bodyweight workout entails constantly varied, high-intensity movements that use their body weight as resistance. CrossFit is a great way to improve fitness because it involves many different movements that exercise the entire body.
CrossFit Definition of Fitness
CrossFit defines fitness as the level of competency in the 10 domains mentioned above. Among those 10, endurance, stamina, strength, and flexibility are developed through training. On the other hand, to enhance coordination, balance, agility, and accuracy, you need to improve the function of your nervous system through regular practice. Nonetheless, power and speed require adaptation of both the nervous system and muscular system.
In real life, we are not dealing with predetermined sets, reps, and rest intervals. Each individual may encounter situations that require stamina, strength, and so forth. There are infinite possibilities that do not fit into a repetitive training routine. Thus, CrossFit’s model of fitness suggests that the exercise stimulus should cover a wide range of possibilities and be dynamic.
What Are the 3 Metabolic Energy Systems?
- Creatine phosphate system: This energy system provides energy for activities that last less than 10 seconds. Including explosive exercises, 100-meter sprint, 1RM lifting, etc. In this system, energy is provided through the decomposition of ATP. Afterward, creatine phosphate (CP) regenerates ATP. Muscle has a limited storage capacity of ATP and CP.
The creatine phosphate system is the fastest energy system in CrossFit. It provides energy for short-duration, high-intensity activities. - Anaerobic glycolysis system: This is the second energy system in CrossFit bodyweight workout. It can provide high-intensity, short-duration energy for activities that last about three minutes or less. This system uses glucose to produce ATP in the absence of oxygen.
- Aerobic Metabolism: Aerobic metabolism is CrossFit's third and slowest energy system. It provides energy for activities that last three minutes or more. This system uses oxygen to produce ATP from glucose, glycogen, and fat.
This energy system is used in activities that are low-intensity and take a long time. It is used after anaerobic and creatine phosphate systems are fatigued. Activities such as long-distance running and swimming make use of this energy pathway.
These energy systems are not independent of each other. CrossFit bodyweight workout is designed to recruit all three of these energy systems.
From CrossFit standpoint, putting too much emphasis on one or two of these pathways and not considering the totality of the energy system is a prevalent mistake in fitness.
CrossFit Bodyweight Workout Plan
CrossFit Bodyweight Workout Typically Has the following structure:
- Warm-up: This typically includes a combination of dynamic (moving) and static (non-moving) stretching for 10 to 15 minutes. The goal is to increase the range of motion in your joints and prepare your body for the workout.
- Skill work: This involves practicing the skills that you will be using in the workout. For example, if the workout includes pull-ups, you would practice doing pull-ups during this section.
- Strength work (WOD): Also known as Workout of the Day (WOD), this is where you do the main part of the workout. The Crossfit calisthenics WOD is typically a circuit-style workout with several different exercises that are done back-to-back. The goal is to complete a certain number of repetitions as quickly as possible or to do as many reps as possible in a limited time.
The exercises are typically weightlifting exercises, but you can also do CrossFit bodyweight workouts in this section. - Cool-down: This is where you reduce the intensity of your workout and do some static stretching. This will help improve your flexibility, help with recovery, and release stiffness of muscles.
How Do You Do CrossFit at Home without Equipment?
You can do CrossFit at home without equipment. Here are some examples of bodyweight exercises:
Burpee, pushup, jump squat, pull-ups (or chin-ups), air squats, and sit up. They all work the same way as weightlifting does to build muscle and increase your fitness level. You can often use CrossFit workouts with bodyweight when traveling or are unable to go to the gym.
Bodyweight Crossfit WOD is great to get you ready for a CrossFit competition too.
What is the Difference Between Weightlifting and CrossFit Training?
Weightlifting is a type of resistance training that uses weight to increase muscular strength, size, and endurance. CrossFit is a functional fitness system that incorporates different exercises.
CrossFit is more than just weightlifting; it includes metabolic conditioning, gymnastics, and monostructural movements like swimming and running as well. A WOD program is designed to improve overall fitness, not just muscular strength and size.
The main difference between bodybuilding exercises and CrossFit workouts is that a typical weightlifting session consists of one or two muscle groups at a time, while a CrossFit training program always involves multiple muscle groups.
For example, in a CrossFit workout, you might do a squat followed by an overhead press. This involves multiple muscle groups and is much more functional than just doing squats or overhead press separately.
Another difference is that CrossFit workouts are typically done for time or repetitions, while weightlifting exercises are usually done for sets and reps.
However, a study about Functional vs. Strength training compared the effect of traditional training with functional training. Participants were middle-aged and older age adults 40-60 and above. The subjects were in two groups for 24 sessions of training, two times a week.
The results showed that there is no significant difference between the two training protocols. Notwithstanding, the study indicated that functional training was less effective for women compared to men in the functional training group. Also, it was less effective in comparison to women in the traditional training group.
Despite this, it is worth considering that an individual’s conditions prior to the experiment can affect the result. That includes but is not limited to their basic fitness level, their skill in performing the exercises, and so forth.
Do CrossFit Bodyweight Workouts Build Muscle?
CrossFit workouts do build muscle. The WOD program is designed to improve overall fitness. This includes improving muscular strength, size, and endurance.
A bodyweight CrossFit WOD is also designed to be constantly varied, which helps to avoid boredom and stagnation. This also prevents your muscles from getting used to a certain exercise and forces your muscles to grow.
Read about hypertrophy sets with bodyweight.
Will CrossFit Help You Lose Weight?
Yes, CrossFit workouts are a very efficient way to lose weight! Exercises in a Crossfit training regimen always use multiple muscle groups at once. This increases your metabolism, which makes it possible to burn more calories during and after the workout.
However, if you want to lose weight even faster, combine CrossFit workouts with a healthy diet. This will make sure you burn off as much fat as possible and not lose muscle mass in the process.
CrossFit Endurance Training
In CrossFit, endurance is a key component. Endurance training for Crossfitters focuses on stamina and the ability to work at a high intensity for an extended period of time.
CrossFit endurance workouts improve cardiovascular fitness, speed, agility, strength, coordination, and they maximize performance.
Endurance training helps build your capacity for increased work output. It means you can do more reps with heavier weights or run farther without getting tired. In CrossFit endurance workouts, you will consistently be doing different types of exercises that combine aerobic conditioning with muscle strengthening. Exercises such as running up hills or sprinting intervals mixed in with bodyweight exercises like squats or pushups.
With CrossFit endurance training, you will be able to work harder and longer.
What Are CrossFit’s Benefits?
Compared to traditional weightlifting, CrossFit uses full-body movements that exercise different muscles. So, it helps increase your metabolism and burn fat faster.
CrossFit bodyweight workout is also very efficient in terms of time. It typically lasts around 30-45 minutes.
In bodyweight WOD, it is possible to reach certain fitness goals in a short time. Due to its intensity and fast pace, you can have a 15-minute training session each day and still benefit from it.
Compared to traditional weight training, CrossFit bodyweight burns more fat in a certain amount of time. Considering that calisthenics WOD makes use of different energy systems, it burns more calories as well.
Owing to its cardiovascular features, CrossFit improves the health of the heart and thus overall well-being. The function of the heart has a direct relation to endurance. In this way, it will improve endurance too, because the heart is better able to serve other organs.
What Are the Disadvantages of CrossFit?
The CrossFit program is often seen as being too intense for people who are not in moderate physical condition which is one of the disadvantages of Crossfit. CrossFit is also notorious for its high injury rate, which can be due to the intensity of workouts combined with a lack of instruction from CrossFit trainers.
CrossFit also has a high dropout rate, typically due to injury. A study shows that CrossFitters compared to traditional weight lifters are more prone to injury. Due to the intensity of the workout, they push beyond their limits that sometimes lead to injury.
CrossFit is also known to be expensive. Their membership fees are higher than traditional gyms.
Tabata in Bodyweight WOD
Tabata is a high intensity exercise that combines 20 seconds of intense work, followed by 10 seconds of rest eight times. This is an outstanding Crossfit bodyweight workout that will help you burn fat even faster.
Tabata is named after Dr. Izumi Tabata, who researched the effects of high-intensity interval training (HIIT). He found it to be a very efficient way to improve aerobic and anaerobic performance. Tabata is in fact a type of HIIT with a time limit of 4 minutes and with limited rest periods. HIIT is more flexible and can have different rest intervals; workout time can be 20-40 minutes.
Crossfitters often do Tabata workouts as a finisher to really push themselves and achieve an amazing workout!
In CrossFit, there are many types of WODs or Workouts of the Day. A Crossfit bodyweight workout is a great way to get started with CrossFit if you don't own any equipment.
Is CrossFit a HIIT?
CrossFit has borrowed many aspects of HIIT but still, the two are different approaches. HIIT stands on the principle of doing exercise as intensely as you can for a short period and then a short rest. Again, another burst of activity followed by an interval rest.
A Crossfit bodyweight workout plan can include Olympic weight lifting, gymnastics, long-distance cardiovascular training apart from HIIT. These types of exercise cannot be built into the HIIT methodology, due to its short intervals. Crossfit bodyweight WOD believes that a fitness regimen should be all-encompassing. So, HIIT is just one of its main aspects.
In CrossFit, you will have a different workout every day, whereas HIIT usually follows the same routine periodically.
HIIT typically lasts for around 20 minutes, while CrossFit workouts last anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes.
TRX vs. Crossfit Bodyweight Workout
- Both TRX and calisthenics CrossFit are types of functional training. This means that both aim to prepare a physique suitable for everyday life challenges. Nevertheless, they apply different approaches towards this end. TRX focuses on bodyweight type of training with no more than TRX bands, whereas CrossFit incorporates a variety of equipment and techniques.
- TRX is a safe training system. The rate of injuries in bodyweight WOD is much higher than TRX training.
Read about different types of muscle contractions in TRX suspension training
- CrossFit bodyweight exercise can include TRX as well.
- CrossFit is a community-based system. They encourage group training, CrossFit gyms and so on, whereas TRX encourages independence and a minimalist approach.
- It is possible to lend the minimalist approach of TRX to bodyweight CrossFit. Instead of using kettlebells and weights, you can use TRX for bodyweight WOD.
For more information study, the differences between Crossfit and TRX.
How Do You Start CrossFit with no Equipment?
The best way to start CrossFit is by finding a certified CrossFit trainer. They can help you learn the movements and intensity level that’s best for you. You can also find many free Crossfit workouts online. Just be careful not to push yourself too hard in the beginning, as this can lead to injuries.
For a Crossfit workout with no equipment you need to use your creativity a bit. Modify Crossfit exercises by using a tool such as TRX, or a pull-up bar. There are a variety of calisthenics exercises that can be fit into a crossfit body weight WOD. Start with a lower intensity and increase the difficulty as you get stronger. Always make sure to warm up properly before starting your workout!
To sum up, CrossFit has many health benefits compared to traditional weightlifting! CrossFit workouts use full-body movements which help increase your metabolism and burn fat faster. Bodyweight WOD has been shown to improve cardiovascular health, increase muscular strength and power, and promote better speed, agility, and coordination. Finally, No equipment Crossfit workout is a great way to get in shape, and it is challenging!
Read about: How to avoid Crossfit knee pain.
