Did you know that Crossfit has become so popular that it is now a noun in the dictionary?
It is defined there as, a high-intensity fitness program incorporating elements from several
sports and types of exercise.
Hi viewers and Welcome back to Bestie.
Crossfit is a high intensity interval training or HIIT workout based on functional movements.
These movements reflect the best aspects of gymnastics, weightlifting, running, rowing
and so on.
The more work you do in less time, or the higher the power output, the more intense
the effort.
This type of varied training is fun and challenging because you can always improve, not to mention
that a HIIT workout can be as short as five minutes and really wipe you out.
Crossfit holds benefits for both your mind and body.
And in today’s video, we will tell you what these are, from making you stronger, improving
heart health, promoting weight loss to motivating you to achieve your fitness goals and more,
watch till the end to learn about all of them.
Builds Mental Confidence: Challenging yourself day after day at the gym and continuing to
surpass your previous personal records gives you a great sense of accomplishment.
For people who have never been able to do a pull-up, doing their first pull-up is exciting.
It's a big moment for people.
This kind of positive reinforcement of your skills and strength naturally makes you feel
more self-confident.
A feeling you can take with you into other areas of your life.
What is that one thing that stops you from going to the gym and working out regularly?
Tell us in the comments section below!
Improves Muscular Endurance: Muscular endurance is the ability of your muscles to perform
over an extended period of time without becoming fatigued.
This is crucial for participants in endurance sports like running and cycling.
But it's an important part of any daily activity.
A study published looked at the effects of two different exercise modalities — CrossFit
and a traditional training program — on muscular endurance.
The researchers found that CrossFit participants increased muscular endurance by 22 percent
and their aerobic capacity by six percent.
Helps You Lose Weight: When you burn more calories than you consume, in any activity,
you will lose weight.
And CrossFit requires a ton of effort.
A study saw 27 normal CrossFit athletes randomly assigned to either train CrossFit for 6 weeks
while restricted to a low-carb keto diet or to train 6 weeks of CrossFit while sticking
to their regular diet.
They found that people who combined CrossFit with a keto diet significantly decreased weight,
body fat percentage and fat mass.
But don't let that study make you think you have to adopt the keto diet to see results
from CrossFit.
Remember, the diet suggested by CrossFit is to eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds,
some fruit, little starch and no sugar, or in other words, a balanced diet.
Learn to balance your energy first.
Don’t worry about any type of diet, just try to get the energy expenditure vs consumed
balance right first, rather than trying to go down the line of one particular diet.
It’s Very Versatile: CrossFit programs are designed to increase physical performance
in a diverse way.
Whether it be everyday tasks or preparing your body for tough competitions.
CrossFit trains your muscles, joints and ligaments using functional movements.
This means they’re useful for more than just looking good in a bathing suit.
A Well-rounded workout like Crossfit leads to better overall health, posture, flexibility,
strength and balance.
You'll get stronger: Lifting weights and resistance training makes you stronger, movements like
this are incorporated in CrossFit.
Most are compound movements, meaning they recruit muscles from all over your body.
For instance, when you're doing a lift like the snatch, squat, or deadlift, you're activating
and strengthening all of your muscles from head to toe.
In fact, one study found that compound movements, also called multi-joint exercises are more
effective for improving strength and general fitness compared to single-joint exercises
like the bicep curl, calf raise, or leg curl.
Keeps You Motivated To Achieve Your Fitness Goals: Something that draws many people to
CrossFit is its strong sense of community.
Thanks to the ongoing support that stems from the group-based exercise setting, CrossFitters
get the added benefit of having fellow athletes there to encourage and motivate them.
A study collected questionnaires from a total of 144 members to assess participants’ perceptions
of CrossFit goal structures and the motivational climate encouraged by the trainer and fellow
athletes.
They found that although goals differed depending on gender, all members generally felt motivation
to stick with the program and fitness-related goals as time went on.
A support system is crucial for keeping you on track and helping you overcome obstacles.
Group motivation means lower dropout rates and more accountability, which often equates
to better results.
Improves Your Flexibility: Since CrossFit incorporates the same functional movements
you use in daily life, it helps you tackle everyday tasks.
Moving your limbs in different directions for squats and lifts improves joint mobility,
and the number of reps will open up these muscles.
This will give them the opportunity to develop a greater range of motion.
Since the workout of the day changes constantly, you won’t be performing too many reps of
the same exercise or focusing on one area of the body.
This will reduce the risk of injury from overworking one area, improving overall fitness.
Makes You A Better Runner: CrossFit improves your strength from head to toe.
This leads to better performance whether you're an endurance athlete or sprinter.
Research shows that running efficiency is improved when runners add two or three days
of strength training to their workout routine every week.
Not to forget, CrossFit helps you strengthen your core as well.
And a strong core helps transfer and utilize the strength throughout the rest of your body-including
your arms and legs.
This leads to more power per stride.
Plus, a stronger core could improve your running form-which means reduced risk of injury.
You’ll Get Fitter: CrossFit isn’t just about lifting weights.
Most workouts follow the premise of the ‘High Intensity Interval Training’ or HIIT model.
Here, you work out - hard - for short periods mixed with rest.
Sure, you’ll have strength days where your workout is primarily about lifting heavy,
but on other days your workouts will be totally different.
These high intensity days will introduce you to a cardio workout that is much tougher,
and more fun, than just running on a treadmill or joining a spin class.
Best of all, you’ll get a serious workout in a much shorter time.
Your cardio workouts might have you pulling tires, carrying sandbags, jumping onto boxes,
and throwing weighted balls.
If you’ve shied away from cardio workouts because you didn’t think you could do them,
but you still want to get fit, then CrossFit is perfect.
Some workouts push you very hard, but in short intervals, really anyone can do it.
And over time you’ll find that your speed, power, and endurance all improve.
Betters Heart Health: Your heart rate remains elevated throughout the entire crossfit workout
routine.
This increases your endurance.
In fact, data from an exercise study showed that participants’ heart rates were elevated
to 90 percent of maximum heart rate, which was sustained throughout two CrossFit workouts.
Fitness industry guidelines suggest a maximum heart rate between 64 to 94 percent in order
to improve cardio endurance.
Scientists also found that individuals averaged 80 percent of VO2max, which is the maximum
amount of oxygen a person can utilize during intense exercise.
Industry guidelines suggest 40 to 85 percent of VO2max for improving cardio fitness and
body composition.
Did you know that food plays a very important role in heart health?
To find out what these foods are, watch this video titled “These Foods Clean Your Arteries
& Can Prevent A Heart Attack”
Now back to Why You Should Give CrossFit A Try
Saves You Time: Feeling less than motivated today to exercise?
It is so much easier to convince yourself to spend 20 minutes working out than it is
to commit to a workout that is an hour or two long.
Many of the crossfit workouts of the day can be done in about 20 minutes.
That means that you aren’t committing to spending a lifetime at the gym.
All of us have a life.
We can't spend our whole day working out.
Decreased Risk of Osteoporosis: The weight training in Crossfit keeps your muscles healthy
and increases bone mineral density.
Because bone density slowly declines with age, it’s important to keep up this workout
along with maintaining regular intake of calcium.
This also goes for problems such as back pain, injury and arthritis.
Why?
Crossfit builds stronger muscles.
With regular conditioning, your body will be able to build stronger stability in your
joints and connective tissues in the muscles.
Have you ever tried CrossFit?
Did you like itl?
Let us know in the comments section below!