OK, so last night after my workout (WOD – Workout Of the Day), I decided I should post some of my body-weight favorites here for the non CrossFit world to see, and HOPEFULLY attempt.
First, last week we did a great running WOD.
Run 20 seconds (as hard as you can) and rest 40 seconds. Be sure to start back at the EXACT place that you stopped running your 20 seconds. You do this for 15 minutes (which equals 5 minutes of total running). Shoot for more than a mile, but if you only get half a mile, at least you have a target for the next time… slightly better.
You can incorporate squats, push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, jumping, jumping rope, running, burpees, and more into body-weight workouts. And once you know how to properly do these exercises, you really don’t need any equipment to maintain a measure of fitness much greater than most of our present time world has ever known.
OK, so this is meant to be an informational WOD, not an inspirational one, so let me get back to the details. The intensity training phenomenon is not a new one. For years, high level athletes have found themselves pushing their intensity higher and higher. Further separating themselves from the masses who have dogmatically followed the approach to exercise that has said, slow… controlled… feel the burn… hold it and slowly release. Which is so ridiculous I cannot believe i fell victim to this lifestyle for any amount of time, much less a bunch of years!
Is there anything that you do in your life that you purposefully do slow, besides sleeping and driving when you are trying to impress your parents on your first week of your learner’s permit? I mean come on! If you are in training (which is what exercise is, it is training for your life, for any and every part of it), then what in the world are you training for when you are moving at anything less than maximum?
CrossFit has taught this well. Maximized Living (the group of chiropractors that I am part of), have learned it too – though it took longer than I would have hoped – by incorporating what they simply term “burst” training. The simple description is this: perform the set amount of work in the least amount of time; or perform as much work as possible, in a pre-determined amount of time. The result in either case, is you working fast.
So here is an example if an easy workout, that you could use as a first step into this world. In 5 minutes, do as many rounds of 5 push-ups, 5 sit-ups, and 10 squats as possible. This takes no equipment, it takes little technique training to start (the squat actually is technique rich, but you can get underway with not much more than “push your butt back, keep your knees behind your toes, attempt to have the crease of your hip below the top of your knee at the bottom, and your leg and hip completely straightened at the top”.
Do this little number, and if you are a relatively low activity person… you will hurt. For awhile. The cool thing is, you can stick with the same workout and get great advantage, or you can change things up in a hundred ways, and still get that advantage.
Coaching is of ridiculous value, so in the end I recommend finding a CrossFit gym to coach you. But if that is out of the question, you can still get a ton done with this list of exercises, on your own time and own terms.
There is no excuse to not be fit when the exercise takes 5 mins, and the well rounded needs are available in your own home. See you on the side of fit.