CrossFit exercises, lift weights, muscle building 5 favourite CrossFit exercises. Image:Instagram/@freeletics
Whether you are a CrossFit fanatic or have barely set foot in a room, it is interesting to know the favorite exercises of CrossFit experts. Some are basic, but essential because they mobilize in-depth practice and great skill. Others are very intense and allow you to constantly take on new challenges. Let's not forget that what makes this sport so addictive is the variety of movements.
In addition to the overall improvement of strength, endurance, flexibility, coordination and agility, which translates into greater overall physical capacity, the variability of movements in CrossFit helps to avoid getting used to or stagnate, keeping interest and motivation at a high level, which encourages consistency in training.
Pectoral, deltoid, triceps, biceps, abdominal, dorsal, lumbar, quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes... This is the non-exhaustive list of muscles mobilized in this compound movement exercise whose fame is no longer to be done.
Ideal for working on strength, endurance and coordination, burpee is the favorite exercise of Alejandro Timoneda, Chief Operating Officer of Courage: “It really is the functional exercise that has the most resonance in our daily lives.
If we are not able to get up after a fall, our health is in great danger. For me, it's essential. There is little risk of injury, provided you do it correctly. Better to do one correctly than a hundred evil. Rather quality than quantity.”
One of the most used weightlifting movements in Crossfit is the snatch, and it's not for nothing... The reasons are multiple: this movement is complex, dynamic, it requires stability, dexterity and mobility, in addition to involving almost all muscle groups of the body. "It consists of bringing the bar from the ground above the head in a single movement," explains Rubén Méndez Cuenca, owner of the Crossfit LaBrutez box.
"It is a very complicated exercise, one of the most difficult, because it requires strength, coordination, balance, a lot of flexibility and mobility," continues the personal trainer.
"Normally, when we start CrossFit, we have little mobility in the shoulders and hips, so it is often quite difficult, either because we are very used to the equipment of the gym, or because of our own body composition. Everyone has a history, a particular genetics. Some people are more flexible, others less, some are stronger, others less.”
It is not because it is one of the most basic exercises that we should underestimate the importance of the squat, which allows you to work a wide variety of muscles of the lower body, such as the quadriceps, buttocks, calves and hamstrings, but also other groups such as the abdominals and part of the back. Not to mention that there are countless variants: Bulgarian, sumo, goblet, Jefferson, Hack, with resistance band...
That's why he's always there in CrossFit Valencia Full training: "The squat is health par excellence, the natural movement we've been doing since we were babies, one of the most functional too. It is used to lift weights, to land when you jump, after a lift, etc.," explains the general manager, Uwe Henningsmeyer.
Highly respected among crossfitters, the thruster is an exercise that improves functional strength, stability and balance, develops power and increases caloric expenditure due to its intensity, involving several muscle groups simultaneously, including the quadriceps, glutes, deltoids, triceps, pectorals and trunk.
“It's a front squat, with the bar in front rack position, with a push-press” summarizes Pepe Manzaneque, head coach at Terra CrossFit, about this exercise that he does not consider technically complex, but which requires a lot of practice, and which is demanding in terms of mobility.
"It combines squat and push-up, leg strength and arm strength, making it one of the most macro-structural exercises in CrossFit. Metabolically, as it is very demanding for the muscles, it is one of the most tiring exercises.” Edu Garriga, creator of 77 Feet, abounds in this sense: "The Squat Clean Thruster is very complete: it combines intensity, squat, thrust and traction, the four basic schemes. If I had to practice only one, it would be this one.”
When we talk about CrossFit, we quickly think of big violently lifted tires, swelling ropes to the rhythm of vigorous arms or perfectly synchronized kettlebell choreographies. But it is important to remember that gymnastics exercises are also part of his DNA. The Muscle-Up Bar is a perfect example. It combines a pull-up and a tricep dive.
It is also one of the exercises that personal trainers are most proud of when they see their students do it. “It's wonderful to see people flying above the bar. If they know how to do it well, it's very fluid and impressive, says Víctor Rodríguez Fernández, owner of CrossFit Morado. It takes a lot of strength, technique and training time.”
Via GQ France
Related Topics: