The Crossfit Workout

CrossFit is a cutting-edge training science that’s spreading around the world like a workout wildfire, and the best news is that you don’t need to join a CrossFit gym or box to harness it’s powerful benefits. Here are nine moves, most of which you can do on your own as long as you have a few key items: a barbell (can be replaced by a kettlebell or a set of dumbbells) and a pull-up bar (or equivalent).

1. Squat

Start with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Push your hips backwards and lower your butt towards the ground while keeping your torso upright. Keep lowering until your hips sink below the level of your kneecaps (so that your upper legs pass below being parallel with the floor), then push up explosively to the start.

MAKE IT EASIER: Make it an air squat (without weights).
MAKE IT HARDER: Increase the weight.

2. Strict Pull-Up

Start with a full grip (thumbs around the bar), your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Pull yourself upwards until your chin is over the bar. Lower to the start so that your arms are totally straight.

MAKE IT EASIER: Loop an elastic band around the bar, and then place your foot on the band to help lift your weight. Also, jumping pull-ups let you use momentum to help lift your chin over the bar.
MAKE IT HARDER: Hold a dumbbell between your legs.

3. Box Jump

Start the movement by bending your knees and swinging your arms backwards. As your arms swing forwards again, use the momentum and jump up as powerfully as you can. Land with both feet on the platform as gently as possible, and then stand up straight so that your hips are extended. Step back down to the start and repeat.

MAKE IT EASIER: Use a lower platform, and step down each time.
MAKE IT HARDER: Increase the height of your platform.

4. Dip

These are best done on a dip station, but you can improvise by doing them between two chairs or by placing your hands behind you on a bed or table. Start with an upright torso, and your hands grasping the arms of a chair or flat on a table behind you. Lower your torso by bending at the elbows. Push back powerfully to the start.

MAKE IT EASIER: Take up some of your body weight by placing your feet on the floor. You can also use an elastic band to make this easier.
MAKE IT HARDER: Hold a dumbbell in between your legs.

5. Burpee

Start standing with your feet shoulder-width apart. Lower to the floor and get into a push-up position by extending your feet behind you so that you’re in a plank position. Do a strict push-up, and then jump into a deep squat position with your arms bent at your sides. Your heels should be down on the floor, and your back straight. Then jump up powerfully.

MAKE IT EASIER: Rest your knees on the ground during the push-up.
MAKE IT HARDER: Jump onto a box at the end of every rep.

6. Dead Lift

Stand with your feet between hip and shoulder-width apart. Keeping your back straight, bend at the hip to reach down and grasp the bar in an overhand or mixed grip, hands a few inches wider than shoulder-width apart. Breathe in deeply and pull upwards, keeping the bar in touch with your shins and thighs until you are standing straight with it at arms length.

MAKE IT EASIER: Do this with just a PVC pipe, or barbell with no plates.
MAKE IT HARDER: Add more weight.

7. Thruster

Start with your feet shoulder-width apart and either holding a barbell across your chest or dumbbells just above your shoulders, elbows at 90-degrees and your palms facing up. Start the movement by doing a squat (as described in Move 1). Once your butt has passed below the level of your knees, push powerfully back up. Use the momentum to help press the barbell up overhead until your arms are completely straight, and your head is in front of the bar.

MAKE IT EASIER: Start with an easier weight.
MAKE IT HARDER: Complete “Fran” with regulation weight in 7 minutes.

8. Power Clean

Hold a barbell on the floor, hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Start by pressing down through your heels while keeping your arms straight. The power comes from the powerful hip extension. As soon as your hips are fully extended, lower down slightly into a partial squat and rotate your elbows forward so that you get under the barbell. Finish by extending your hips again, so that you’re standing straight.

MAKE IT EASIER: Use a lighter weight (or a barbell without any plates).
MAKE IT HARDER: Add more weight to the barbell.

9. Handstand Push-Up

Start by placing a mat or cushion in front of a wall, and then get into a handstand position with your back closest to the wall and your feet resting on it. Start lowering your body down towards the floor by bending at the elbows. Control the descent, and once your head touches the mat gently, press powerfully back to the start so that your arms are straight.

MAKE IT EASIER: Use a modified push-up move, where you place your knees on a raised platform and then do the handstand push-ups.
MAKE IT HARDER: Make it a deeper drop by using paralletes.