From the outside, CrossFit looks scary: Lots of heavy weights. Big muscles. Loud noises. Moves that look like they shouldn’t be humanly possible. And there’s that way that everyone who does CrossFit always talks about it in a suspiciously cultish manner. So if you’ve been nervous of trying it, I don’t blame you! When Leigh Champanis-King and I signed up at CrossFit District Six in Cape Town for the #WHGetsFit winter fitness challenge, I felt genuinely afraid. But, at risk of sounding like the newest member of the cult, I’ve really been enjoying it. This is a taste of a typical workout that you can do at any regular gym.
This speed rope is great for mastering double-unders or just, y'know, learning normal skipping.
READ MORE: “I Finally Learnt To Skip At The Age of 36.” How You Can Too…
Workout Of The Day
As it turns out, if you’ve been hyping CrossFit up in your mind like I was, it probably isn’t as hectic as you imagine. The class actually starts off nice and slowly, with a lot of focus on mobility and warming up. Then there’s a pretty long stint where you get to grips with the day’s moves and a feel for what weights you can handle comfortably or scale up to challenge yourself. High reps, but slow and controlled. Only right at the end does it get hectic with a metabolic-conditioning workout (metcon) of the day that has you pushing as hard as you can to beat the clock. This 10-minute workout from my coach, Lushwill Rossouw is a typical example of a metcon.
READ MORE: Why Does It Feel So Much Harder To Lose Weight When You’re Short?
How It Works
The workout is divided into three rounds. In each round, do all the reps of the first move, followed immediately by all the reps of the second move. Each round starts with 10 chest-to-floor burpees. You can rest as needed, but try to rest as little as possible.
EQUIPMENT Box; Pair of Dumbbells; Timer
TIME You have 10 minutes to finish the workout (or get as far as you can).
REPS Round 1: 30 reps Round 2: 20 reps Round 3: 10 reps
READ MORE: Which Is Actually Better? Cardio Or Weights?
Your Moves
Chest-To-Floor Burpee
Do 10 to start each round.
Dumbell Box Step Overs
Tip: Choose a wall (e.g. the logo wall in this video). Every time you step up, step with the leg closest to the wall you chose. That way, you don’t need to think about alternating legs. One step-over in one direction = one rep.
Alternating Dumbbell Shoulder Press
The number of reps is a total rep count, so you do half the reps on each arm. Swap arms with every rep.