How to get started with CrossFit?

Crossfit is a young trend in sports, and more and more athletes are starting their training using this method. From year to year it becomes more and more popular and attracts young and inexperienced athletes. It's quite difficult to figure out right away, how can a beginner start doing CrossFit? Where to start: which gym to go to, whether you need a coach during training, whether you need special physical training, and so on. We tried to collect all the most common questions, and also prepared for you a guide for a beginner - the first steps in CrossFit.

First, you need to find out what your level of sports training is and what goals you set for yourself. After all, beginners are different: someone has already played sports and is in good physical shape, but for someone the decision to go in for this sport was spontaneous, and the person has absolutely no training. Often, crossfit for beginners is something mysterious and scary, and in the absence of information in the Russian information field, it is simply not clear how to start doing crossfit.

Lesson objectives

First of all, you need to decide for yourself - why do you need this sport, what goals do you set for yourself? Conventionally, all those who came to CrossFit can be divided into several groups. Let's discuss them and find out the pros and cons of choosing a CrossFit for each.

As a way to lose weight

Quite a few newbies come to CrossFit from scratch to lose weight. Is this the right place for such a purpose? In general, yes, CrossFit is a fairly high-intensity training with elements of strength and aerobic work. In the process of training, you will have a fairly high calorie consumption (up to 1000 kcal per session, depending on the particular athlete and training program), which, together with the daily calorie deficit, will lead to successful fat burning.

Strength loading will tone the muscles. However, you don't need to think that you will be able to gain muscle mass and lose weight at the same time, this is impossible.

As an alternative to the "rocking chair" and a place to hang out

Many beginners, guys and girls, come from their usual gyms to CrossFit boxes for a reason. CrossFit is primarily a group exercise that takes place in a very motivating atmosphere. In addition, each workout, the complexes change and alternate - you will never do the same movement from time to time.

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As a way to pump up

If your goal is only to gain muscle, it is better to give preference to traditional strength training in the gym, so the effectiveness will be much higher. Crossfitter will always be inferior in performance to narrowly targeted athletes - bodybuilders in mass, powerlifters and weightlifters in strength.

If your goal is muscle gain, functionality, and strength endurance, go for CrossFit. Look at the photos of top crossfit athletes - if they suit you, then yes, this is for you. However, remember that most of the top athletes are adopting sports pharmacology and have been training for years.

It is worth adding that CrossFit is often used as a training tool for security forces - special forces units, for example, as well as for professional fighters from MMA and other types of martial arts. CrossFit is a great way to improve endurance, flexibility, coordination and strength.

To study with a coach or not?

How to start doing CrossFit - with or without a trainer? Of course, you can learn absolutely everything yourself - especially since now there are a lot of sources of information on the Internet. Most of them, unfortunately, are in English. But in Russian there is also:

Theory is, of course, good. But is it enough? How can a trainer help you at the beginning of your CrossFit session?

• He will clearly show the technique of performing the exercises, demonstrate the main mistakes and, most importantly, make sure that you do the exercises correctly.
• The trainer will give exactly the load that will be optimal for you. Many rush from one extreme to another - someone puts unbearable weights on themselves and gets injured, someone, on the contrary, takes too little and does not get the result.
• He will give you personalized advice on nutrition and post-workout recovery. Even if you have group training, it is a rare case when a normal coach would not give his advice to a direct question about it.

Should a newbie do CrossFit with a trainer or not? For us, the unequivocal answer is yes, a mentor is really needed in initial training. But at the same time, it will not be superfluous to first study the issue in the above sources.

Video about what awaits a beginner in CrossFit:

Recommendations for beginners

Next, we will give recommendations-squeezes for the first steps in CrossFit - what you need to know before starting classes and what to be prepared for. The first and most important thing is the choice of training with a coach, we wrote about this in detail above.

Physical training

Do not be afraid of your poor physical condition and, conversely, do not think that your couple of years in the rocking chair will give you an advantage. They will only give you that you will work with large weights. But in crossfit training, it is equally difficult for all beginners, and if the complex was really hardy, everyone will crawl into the locker room the same way.

Health

Since CrossFit is, first of all, high-intensity training and, in addition, traumatic in places, be sure to inform the trainer about all your ailments. After all, there are quite a few contraindications to CrossFit due to illness, and also in some cases (for example, your knees or back hurt), the coach will select individual tasks for you, alternative to the current complex.

In addition, a very important part of CrossFit is a warm-up - you should always do it, regardless of the type of WOD (complex of the day) and your mood.

Equipment

In general, it is not necessary for a beginner to specially stock up on knee pads, special crossfit nano 2.0 sneakers, compression form, wristbands, gloves, etc. All these things are needed by already experienced athletes, who clearly see the difference in how much it is necessary or not to practice in a particular equipment.

What's really important:

• Comfortable shoes with flat, durable soles. You have to work with weights and keep your body balanced. If you do exercises in uncomfortable shoes, then you run the risk of simply not learning how to do it correctly - you simply won't succeed. But more importantly, you run the risk of injury.
• Comfortable clothes. Well-stretched shorts and a T-shirt that is roomy enough to keep you moving. But tight enough so that the edges don't dangle or cling to anything.

Everything else you need in the process. Wristbands - if you suddenly feel that your wrists are under too much stress and constantly hurt, knee calipers in case of pain or discomfort in the knees (and best of all, as prescribed by a doctor). Calf gaiters - for rope training. And so on. Don't bother with that yet.

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Nutrition and recovery

A few simple rules and guidelines for crossfit nutrition and recovery for beginners:

• Don't eat right before training. Best in just 2 hours. In the future, focus on your condition - if you feel heaviness because of food during training, then eat in more than 2 hours. Or, conversely, you feel weak and lack of strength, take my writing a little closer to class time and focus on complex carbohydrates.
• If you want to achieve your goals, then keeping a close eye on your nutrition is a very important part of CrossFit culture. Successful progress requires a small surplus in daily calorie intake, a sufficient amount of protein and complex carbohydrates. When losing weight, it is extremely important to be in a calorie deficit.
• Get some rest. While you're just starting out on your CrossFit journey, consider your training frequency carefully. Load yourself up gradually. For example, you can start with 2 workouts per week. After 1-2 months, switch to 3 workouts per week. And after six months, when you feel your body, you can individually approach this issue. But there is also a downside - do not forget to train and attend them regularly. This is called a regime, and you have to work out it.

Where to begin?

So where to start a newbie in CrossFit? Let's go through the order.

If you decide to work out in a crossfit gym

If you have decided that you want to try CrossFit and do it in a professional setting, then the action plan for you is:

1. Set a goal, if it coincides with the above goals, then go to step 2.
2. Choose a gym, a coach and study a little the principles and rules of CrossFit (see our recommendations for sources in the table above).
3. Sign up for workouts and do not miss them for at least a month (8 classes) - then you can definitely conclude whether this is right for you or not.

If you are not ready to spend money on professional crossfit workouts (in Moscow, the price starts from 5,000 rubles per month), then we recommend reading the article on free crossfit workouts, where we talk about where you can find free groups with trainers, all the advantages and cons of this format of classes.

If you decide to do it yourself

Perhaps, for some reason, classes in professional crossfit gyms or even in free groups are not suitable for you. Then the action plan is as follows:

1. The first point is the same. We set a goal - why do we need CrossFit.
2. We carefully study the information about CrossFit, namely: do we go through health, prepare equipment (and sports equipment if we want to do it at home), choose a training program and study the technique of exercises that we have to do within the program.

We have several ready-made options for complexes for different occasions: a home workout program for men, a home workout program for women, for beginners in the gym. Each program is detailed for each of the cases + all the features of the training site are taken into account.

We hope you enjoyed this post. Share it with your friends on social networks. Still have questions? Write in the comments.

Watch the video: Crossfit 101 - The Basics (December 2024).