One of the most interesting aspects of Cross training  is the possibility of adapting circuits to everyone. It is possible to offer the same workout to both experienced and intermediate athletes with little experience or who do not have it at all.

 

Each exercise involves functional movements that can be made more difficult by gaining weight or by doing an exercise that provides more advanced skills. In the same way, they can become beginner exercises by lowering the weight or eliminating it and scaling the movement to the most functional version possible.

In this article, I would like to give you some ideas to be able to perform a Cross training  workout without necessarily having to be competitive athletes. But first, it is important to know some characteristics of this type of discipline.

How is a Cross training workout structured?

Duration


Being a high-intensity workout, its duration can vary from a few minutes (under 10 minutes) to a maximum of 45-50 consecutive minutes. The duration of the training greatly influences the intensity of the same. The shorter it will be, the more intensity it is required and vice versa, if it is longer lasting.

Warm-up


In most cases, multiple muscle groups are stressed in a workout. Precisely for this reason, it is advisable to do a generalized warm-up that provides exercises for the mobility of the main joints (shoulders, wrists, hips, knees, and ankles) and more aerobic exercises, which allow a gradual increase in heart rate to prepare the body for effort.

Cooling down and stretching


After the training session, which may include one or two circuits, it is recommended to always do 15 minutes of stretching, always generalized, with greater attention to the muscle groups most stressed during the lesson.

Basic Cross training movements and execution

The most famous free-body movements in Cross training are squats, burpees, push-ups, abdominals in general. If we speak instead of Cross training inside certified Boxes, we can find more sophisticated movements such as weightlifting elements. These can be done with the barbell, dumbells or kettlebells.

We will also deal with tractions and other movements to be handled to the bar (pull-ups, chest to bar, knee to chest). No worries about those technical terms! In the beginning, it is more difficult to understand what the Coach is saying than to do the training itself... we all went through it. I assure you that this phase does not last long, you just have to hold on a bit without being discouraged! In any case, the movements mentioned above are introduced to people who decide to approach this sport.

Cross training workouts: with equipment and without (home WOD)

In this paragraph, I will describe and show in the videos two Cross training workouts of the day (WOD), one with equipment, if you can have it available, and one without, free body. I assure you that, even without tools, it will make you struggle a lot! You are ready? Let's begin!

WOD 1 (with equipment)

wod crossfit di Alice Mastriani

3 rounds of:

  • 5' Amrap
  • 10 deadlif 50/35 kg
  • 8 burpees over the bar
  • 6 box jump over 50/60cm
  • Rest 2'

Explanation: carry out this 5-minute circuit 3 times. The term AMRAP means "as many reps as possible", therefore the goal will be to perform as many repetitions as possible of the required exercises. At the end of each interval, you will have to rest for 2 minutes. The ideal goal would be to keep the number of repetitions more or less constant in the various intervals.

 

Total duration: 19 minutes

Wod 2 (without equipment)

wod crossfit a corpo libero

 

For Time:

  • 100 jumping jack
  • 80 air squat
  • 60 sit-up
  • 40 burpees
  • 20 push-up
  • 40 burpees
  • 60 sit-up
  • 80 air squat
  • 100 jumping jack

Explanation: the term "For Time" means to carry out the whole sequence of exercises until the end without a time limit. We must try to finish as quickly as possible for our abilities at that precise moment. Often, after some time, works already carried out to check whether our performance has improved following constant training are also proposed. In my opinion, this is a great way to give those who train positive stimuli and to encourage people to continue to improve their sports performance every day more.

Enjoy!