5 “Crossfit” workouts to try in a regular gym

5 “Crossfit” workouts that you can do in a regular gym

Nowadays, if you train “functionally”, you must be doing Crossfit because well, what else is there...despite the fact that “functional” training or training “functionally” has existed long before Crossfit as a brand or as a training methodology was even invented. There seems to be a bit of a division between regular gym goers and people that do “Crossfit”, two teams, the bodybuilders and the crossfitters. That said, just because you go to a regular gym does not mean you have to shun everything about Crossfit (and vice-versa) with a “we don’t do that here” sort of outlook. Why not implement beneficial aspects from both sides into your training? There is a lot that Crossfit does right, especially if you are short on time and want to get a quick sweat on, so here are 5 Crossfit style workouts that you can do in a regular gym. And look...not a kipping pull up, handstand push up or olympic weightlifting lift in site.

1) Strict Cindy - 20 minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) of 5 strict pull ups, 10 press ups and 15 squats

This workout is beautiful in its simplicity and a great example of a minimal equipment workout that can be a real challenge. Whilst the twenty minute AMRAP format is an important aspect of the workout, the real champion is the pull up, press up and squat combination which can be adjusted to cater for any ability (e.g. substituting the pull ups for trx or ring rows or adjust the reps as needed). Next time you’ve only got 20 minutes to workout, give this one a go!

Make it easier - reduce to 15 minutes or perform Chelsea (which is a 20-30 minute EMOM (every minute on the minute)) of the same movements. So at the start of each minute you would perform 5 pull ups, 10 press ups and 15 squats and repeat every minute.

Great for: a quick full body bodyweight beasting.

2) Annie - 50/40/30/20/10 of double unders and sit ups

All you need is a skipping rope for this one. Perform 50 double unders directly into 50 sit ups and then 40 of each and so on, all the way down to 10. How much you rest is up to you. This is another really simple but great workout, the skipping spikes your heart rate and the sit ups...well they’re sit ups and there are a lot of them. How fast you go is up to you, the faster you go, the more it is going to hurt.

Make it easier - obviously, if you can’t do double unders (when the rope goes under your feet twice every jump), doing single unders still makes it a great workout. Or alternatively, you could double the single unders so it would be 100/80/60/40/20 and keep the sit ups as is.

Great if: you are short on time or space and enjoy skipping.

3) 21, 18, 15, 12, 9, 6, 3 of Thrusters and Burpees

If you’ve never done a thruster, it’s basically a front squat to an overhead press (using either a barbell, dumbbells or kettlebells) and if you’ve never done a burpee, well...see my previous post. Now put them together and you have a potent combination for the lungs and for pretty much every muscle in your body. Again, perform 21 reps of the thrusters directly into the burpees and then 18 and so on. A challenging workout but another great one if you are short on time.

Make it easier - reduce the reps, for example, do just 21, 15, 9 reps or put in prescribed amounts of rest between the movements.

Great for: a cardio test, a psychological test and a full body workout all in one.

4) Kettlebell DT - 5 rounds of 12 kettlebell swings, 9 kettlebell two handed cleans, 6 two handed kettlebell push presses

Originally performed with a barbell, this kettlebell variation is a much more accessible version of the complex. You perform 12 two handed kettlebell swings directly into 9 two handed cleans (with the kettlebell between your legs, deadlift the weight up powerfully, shrugging at the top to catch the kettlebell in the goblet position) into 6 two handed push presses (an overhead press where you bend your knees slightly and then use that leg momentum to drive the kettlebell overhead). Try to not put the kettlebell down between movements. The amount you rest between rounds is up to you.

Make it easier - prescribe a certain amount of rest between rounds or reduce the number of rounds performed to 3.

Great for - a full body single kettlebell workout.

5) Death by assault bike/ row/ ski erg

Don’t let the name put you off, this workout is an EMOM (every minute on the minute) where you increase the amount of work that is required to be completed each minute until you fail to complete the prescribed work. So for example, you would complete 2 calories on the assault bike the first minute, 4 calories, the second minute and continue up, adding 2 calories each minute until you can no longer complete the required amount of calories in that minute. These workouts start off easy but then start to get difficult very quickly. You can perform this style of workout on any single piece of kit or perform it on multiple pieces of kit. For example, start with the assault bike, upon failing to complete the required amount of reps, rest 2 minutes and start the same process on the rower and then repeat again on the ski erg.

Make it easier - only increase the reps by 1 calorie each round.

Great for - all the cardio gains.

By Luca Samara