Best CrossFit Warm-Ups
In traditional gyms, warming up comprises of a bit more than getting engaged for fifteen or twenty minutes on a treadmill, rowing machine, stair climber, or bike. Though better than nothing, this warm-up actually is a time waster because it does not enhance flexibility.
It also doesn’t involve the entire body or affect the functional areas of the body and over all cannot properly prepare the athlete for a high-intensity workout session.
Rather than that, what is needed is a warm-up that will increase the heart rate and body temperature. A good CrossFit warm-up also permist a certain amount of stretching, fuels up the whole body and foremost biomechanical functions. It also deliver the opportunity to practice for fundamental movements, and, ultimately, make the body ready for invigorating athletic training.
Purpose of CrossFit WarmUps
The CrossFit warm-up actually fulfills the basic needs of any CrossFit regime, whereas its traditional counterpart only leaves people with an elevated heart rate and body temperature. The crucial features of CrossFit warm-ups are that they incorporate the stretch and the fundamental hip/leg expansion, hip/trunk expansion and contraction, as well as pulling and pushing movements.
The amalgamations are unlimited and might inculcate more demanding movements like hollow rocks, good mornings, a rope climb, sit-ups, or handstand push-ups in place of back stretching, pull-ups using a pull up assist band, and, of course, dips. The activities used will largely bank on your athletic maturity, but with time the more demanding maneuvers can be incorporated rather than being an entire workout.
The Best Cross Fit Warm-Up
CrossFit Warm-Up Criteria
Now, coming to the point of what actually can constitute an effective CrossFit warm-up. For this, the following criteria have to be kept in mind.
Cross-Fit Warm-Up: Should Do What It Claims To Do
A warm-up should do what it claims to do; what is meant by that is that it should be able to raise the body temperature properly and should do away with your stiffness. The right warm-ups should actually free the joints and should prepare the soft tissues for more sturdy warm-ups.
People have a tendency to make the warm-ups either too intense or too light. So when scheduling your daily warm-ups, keep in mind that the apt workout should not be too intense or too light but be effective.
Training Warm-Up: Develops and Reinforces Basic Calisthenics
A great warm-up not only prepares one’s body for a workout but also augments the value of the training time and helps the athlete to improve his or her daily WODs. For example, chin-ups should be done very consistently by adhering to its rules very minutely. If performed impeccably, then not only do they raise the exposure but they also help the person get closer to the next level of achievement.
Should Not Be a Constraint on the Actual WOD
Athletes shouldn’t overdo their workout, i.e., one should not strain oneself with the warm-up so much that their bodies get fatigued before they even start off the actual workout regime. According to some athletes, a warm-up is the appetizer that will increase your appetite for the main course, not get you full.
Balance of the WODs
While scheduling WODs, make sure that the joint movements are well balanced. By that, what is meant is there should be a symmetry in the horizontal and vertical pushes and pulls and all the other exercises that involve the lower body. By this, it is ensured that a particular portion of the body is not being over trained while other portions are ignored.
Should Be at the Fingertips
Warm-ups should be at the fingertips of the athletes and time should not be wasted to plan out which WODs should be practiced and how. The daily warm-up regime should be preplanned, just like that of the actual workout session.
Should be Less than 10 Minutes
Time is money, and this means that your workout should be 10 minutes max. I’ve seen some people in the gym warming up for 30 minutes or even longer.
However, I prefer to keep my warmups quick and effective at around 5 minutes. Then, I get into my workout and I’d done in less than an hour. I just don’t have the time to warm-up for 30 minutes, and then do my main workout for another hour.
The Simplest and Fastest CrossFit Warmups
If you’re looking for something effective that’ll do the trick, then here are a few exercises that’ll be at your fingertips.
- Squats (with nothing, or bar with no weight)
- Burpees
- Overhead reverse lunges
- Jumping jacks
- Jumping rope
Also consider what you kind of exercises you’re doing during your workout. If you’re doing squats, do some without any weight for a warm-up.
Or, if you’re doing deadlifts, or shoulder presses, do some with no weight, or very light weights.
Cross Fit Warm-Up with Matt Chan
CrossFit Warm-Up Routines
Below are listed some of the combinations of CrossFit warm-ups that can be performed before starting your regular workout regime.
Cross-Fit Warm-up 1:
- 5 Kang squats
- 5 Glute ham raises
- 15 Knees to elbows
- 5 Jumping lunge
Cross-Fit Warm-up 2:
- 5 Pull-ups (top picks for pull-up bars here)
- 5 Push-ups
- 10 AbMat sit-ups
- 10 Air squats
Cross-Fit Warm-up 3:
- 25 Kettlebell figure eights (use a light kettlebell)
Cross-Fit Warm-up 4:
- 2 Minutes – jump rope
- 2 Minutes – kettlebell swings
Have to performed two rounds each.
Cross-Fit Warm-up 5:
- 8 Chest-to-bar pull-ups
- 8 Ring dips
- 7 GHD sit-ups
- 12 Tuck jumps
Cross-Fit Warm-up 6:
- 4 Muscle-ups
- 10 HSPU
- 20 Seconds – hollow rock
- 30 Air squats
Cross-Fit Warm-up 7:
- 1200 Meters – row
Cross-Fit Warm-up 8:
- 20 Single-leg hip bridges (each side)
- 10 Seated good mornings
- 20 Glute ham raises
- 10 Pull-ups
Cross-Fit Warm-up 9:
- Havoc loop run
Cross-Fit Warm-up 10:
- 100 Feet – high skips
- 50 Feet – crab walk
- 50 Feet – bear crawl
- 100 Feet – high skips
CrossFit: Warm-up 11:
- 500 Meter row
- 5 Minutes – empty bar snatch work
- 5 Minutes – empty bar clean and jerk work
CrossFit Warm-up 12:
- 40 Burpees
Cross-Fit Warm-up 13:
- 10 Back extensions
- 20 Bench sit-ups
- 10 Pendlay row
CrossFit Warm-Up With Chris Hinshaw
Learn More About Dynamic CrossFit Warm-Ups
A static warm-up is all about stretching the muscles through basic stretching, or something like foam rolling. On the other hand, dynamic stretching is a warm-up that gets the muscles moving, and primed for movement. Why should you keep your warmups dynamic instead of static? There are a few different reasons:
- Dynamic warm-ups don’t relax the muscles. Instead, they activate them so that you’re ready for diverse movements like you’d experience in a training workout.
- Dynamic warmups increase blood flow and stimulate joint lubrication, which is what you want before starting a tough training session.
- You can reduce your risk of injury
- It can increase range of motion
Here’s one example of a dynamic workout that is perfect for any sport or training session:
A Good Warm-Up Should Not Include:
If you go to a workout class, or CrossFit training session, you’ll notice a wide variation in warm-ups. However, there are some things that a warmup should NOT do:
- Fatigue the muscles that you’re going to use during a workout
- Running people into the ground with gruelling warmups
- Use heavy weights
- Include static holds such as a wall-sit
- Just warm-up the lower body for an upper body workout, and vice-versa
Start with a Warm-Up, then Begin your Crossfit Workout
Thus if you plan out your CrossFit warm-ups like the above, exactly what has to be done and how many reps have to be performed, then no time will be spent in thinking and planning out what has to be done and what not while performing the warm-ups.
If you are able to complete the first round of warm-ups as they are stipulated, then you are eligible to move on to the next level. But you should make sure that these are performed as prescribed, otherwise they won’t be effective.
Moreover, keep in mind that you should start from the first round every week. This is because by resetting every week, not only will you get a large amount of exposure of movements, but also you can track how much progress you’ve made since the past week.
Besides warming up your body before starting your training in earnest, having a good pair of shoes will help you go further in your workout. For some advice on choosing the best CrossFit shoes for your body type, please see:
Cross Fit Warm-Ups: Have your Say!
What is your favourite CrossFit warm-up routine? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts with us.
Also be sure to give this article a share on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter. It’ll help other fitness enthusiasts, like yourself find this useful resource.
Brian Westen
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