As a gym-goer, you’re spending 11 hours a week on your fitness while maintaining your mental health and social obligations. With a life this busy, you don’t have time to try every fitness trend that comes along or to change your exercise routine every week.

You want something that’s going to work and work well, without you having to worry about complex movements or equipment.

Maybe you’ve been thinking about trying CrossFit exercises but don’t want to look like a total newbie when you go for your first class. Here’s some good news: you don’t have to be super fit or even very muscular to get started with CrossFit. You just need the right attitude and some basic knowledge of what to expect from a typical WOD (workout of the day).

That’s where this blog post comes in. Here are ten exercises that are easy enough for beginners but challenging enough to give results:

1. Kettlebell Swings

Kettlebell swings are a classic CrossFit exercise for building strength in your lower back and core, which is essential for many other CrossFit exercises. To do them properly:

  • Hold a kettlebell with both hands between your legs
  • Thrust your hips forward
  • Pull the kettlebell to shoulder height
  • Return to start position
  • Repeat without pausing

2. Deadlifts

Deadlifts are another CrossFit staple you can add to your weekly workout routine. You can do them with a barbell or dumbbell, but the exercise looks the same either way:

  • Stand with your feet hip-width apart
  • Bend down and grab the weight with both hands, keeping your back straight
  • Lift it to thigh level by pushing through your heels

3. Box Jumps

Box jumps are a great way to make your calves burn. You can do them with a bench or even a step, but they work best when you have a proper box to jump onto and off of:

  • Place the box about a step in front of you
  • Lower yourself into a squat and extend your arms behind you
  • Jump up and onto the box
  • Swing your arms in front of you
  • Take a gentle step back and down to the floor

4. Barbell Squat

Of course, you can always do a regular squat, but CrossFit exercises with equipment are always more challenging. Barbell squats are an excellent way to work your quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves all at once. For this exercise:

  • Place your feet about shoulder-width apart
  • Hold a barbell across your upper back
  • Sit slowly back into a squat position: head up, spine straight, and buttocks thrust outward
  • Push your heels into the floor and propel your body up

5. Pull Ups

The pull-up is a classic CrossFit exercise that works your back, biceps, and abs. If you’re exercising at home and don’t have a bar, turn to a sturdy door frame for support. For this exercise:

  • Hang from a bar with your palms facing forward
  • Pull yourself up until your chin is over the bar
  • Lower yourself, but take it slow

6. Fran

Fran is one of those Crossfit cardio workouts that you turn to when you need to blow off some steam. It’s a benchmark WOD (Workout Of The Day) that tests your strength and endurance. You will perform a sequence of 21, 15, and 9 repetitions of thrusts and pull-ups.

Alternate between the workouts as seen below:

  • 21 thrusts
  • 21 pull-ups
  • 15 thrusters
  • 15 pull-ups
  • 9 thrusters
  • 9 pull-ups

7. Helen

Helen is a workout that you perform in the shortest amount of time. Do three rounds of the following as fast as you can:

  • 400-meter sprints
  • 21 kettlebell swings
  • 12 pull-ups

8. Kelly

In the Kelly WOD, athletes must complete five rounds comprising:

  • 400-meter run
  • 30 box jumps
  • 30 wall ball shots

If you’re looking for a challenge that is sure to keep your body moving nonstop for at least thirty minutes, this is it.

9. Man Manker

The Man Maker is a full-body exercise that combines elements of the pushup, row, and squat thruster. You’ll need a dumbbell and about 10 minutes to spare.

Do about 3 – 6 sets of:

  • High plank with single arm row
  • High plank to squat
  • Squat to overhead press

The upper back muscles are all engaged during single-arm rows, while squatting works your glutes, hamstrings, and quads.

10. Murph

Murph is a brutal workout that will leave you gasping for air and sweating like a slob. This one is best reserved for a day when you have plenty of time to kill and want to get in some serious conditioning.

The workout includes a one-mile run, followed by 100 pullups, 200 pushups, and 300 squats. Then you must run another mile.

Certainly, your body will improve, but this workout is also a great way to test your mental toughness. You’ll be tempted to quit after the first mile, but keep going!

Benefits of CrossFit

If you want a good burn, look no further than CrossFit. You’ll be dripping with sweat—and utterly exhausted—by the end of your workout. Combining cardiovascular and strength training with no breaks is a surefire way to torch calories and shed pounds.

A thirty-minute CrossFit workout can burn 450 to 540 calories, depending on how hard you work.

You’ll also build lean muscle mass, which is essential for weight loss. CrossFit workouts focus on compound movements, which work several muscles at once and require more energy than isolation exercises do. Compound lifts such as squats, deadlifts, and pull-ups are proven ways to burn fat and improve your overall health.

Improve Your CrossFit Exercises With Professional Tips

The key to getting the most out of your CrossFit exercises is to be consistent and work hard. The more often you train, the better results you’ll see.

We can help you get started. We have plenty of tips to keep you motivated and inspired, from beginner CrossFit routines to advanced techniques. Contact our team and we’ll help you get started on the right path to a better body and better health.