What is Crossfit Training?

CrossFit is a training philosophy that coaches people of all shapes and sizes to
improve their physical well-being and cardiovascular fitness in a hardcore yet accepting and
encouraging environment.
Who is CrossFit for?
Beginners to weight training – If you have NEVER weight trained before (or trained
only on machines), CrossFit is a great place for you to start (provided you have a great coach,
which I’ll cover shortly).
People looking for support and community – This is the appeal to CrossFit: every
CrossFit gym has a really tight-knit community feel to it.
Fitness fanatics – You know those people that love to work out every day and feel
like something is missing if they don’t?
Masochists – I mean that in the nicest way possible. CrossFit often rewards people
for finishing workouts in the least amount of time possible.
Former athletes – CrossFit has built-in teamwork, camaraderie, and competition.

16 ESSENTIAL CROSSFIT MOVES

1. THE BOX JUMP

Jumping is the purest form of explosiveness. In this

move, the athlete starts from the ground and jumps onto a
box of a certain height – start with a lower height box and
build your way up. HOW TO DO IT: Start with your feet
shoulder-width apart, and drop down to a quarter squat.
Then, drive your arms up as they explode out of the quarter
squat and onto the box. Once your feet land on the top of the
box, you open your hips and stand up. To repeat, you can
"plyo" the jump by rebounding immediately off of the
ground. An alternate way of completing repeated box jumps
is to step down off of the box before jumping back up.
MUSCLES USED: Glutes, quads, hamstrings and calves.

2. THE CLEAN
This is a lift that builds full-body power and tests the
ability to move quickly. HOW TO DO IT: Start with the bar
on the ground. Place your hands on the bar -- a little outside
of your shins -- with the bar touching your mid shin. You
should keep your weight on your heels with your chest big
and pull the bar up like a deadlift, while driving the knees
back so that the bar path stays perpendicular to the floor and
you stay over the bar. This utilizes your hip hinge and
activates your posterior chain. Once the bar passes the
knees, you jump up (you may not actually leave the ground,
but you should feel like you're trying to) and shrug so that
the bar comes as high as possible. The next step is for you
to get under the bar or "catch" it as quickly as possible by
squatting under the bar and changing the hand position
underneath the bar, putting the body into a front squat
position with the bar resting on the shoulders. You then
stand the bar up. MUSCLES USED: Glutes, quads,
hamstring, calves, shoulders, core and traps.
 3. THE FRONT SQUAT
.
One of the foundational moves of any strength
program is the back squat. The back squat is performed
with a barbell across the trapezius muscles, feet a little
wider than shoulder-width apart, and feet slightly turned
out. HOW TO DO IT: Take a big breath to brace the core,
and then send your buttocks back while keeping your chest
big and proud. You should squat below parallel if your
mobility allows. As you drive up, think of screwing your
feet out and into the ground. This cue will fire the glutes so
that you can get the most strength out of the movement.
MUSCLES USED: Glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves and

4. THE FRONT SQUAT

This exercise is similar in movement to the back squat;
however, the bar sits in the front rack position across the
collarbones and shoulders of the athlete. HOW TO DO
IT: as you drive back up, it is imperative that you raise
your elbows to the sky to keep the bar in the correct
position. The core should be tight to prevent the back
from rounding. If you have mobility issues in front rack
position, you can cross your forearms in front of your
body, parallel to the ground. MUSCLES USED: Glutes,
quads, hamstrings, calves and core.

5. THE SNATCH
This is an extremely high-skill movement, and is one
of two Olympic Weightlifting events. HOW TO DO IT:
Start with the bar on the ground with your feet hip-width
apart. With your hands wide on the bar, keep a big chest as
you deadlift the weight off the ground (similar to the
beginning of the clean). Pull from the floor with your arms
in a locked position. Then, drive your hips and pull the bar
as high as possible. As you receive the bar overhead, drop
down as quickly as possible and lock your arms into place
in a squat position with the bar overhead. MUSCLES
USED: Glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves, traps, core,
shoulders and back.
6 .THE SPLIT JERK
The split jerk is a very powerful and fast move.
HOW TO DO IT: The bar starts in the front rack position
with your feet hip-width apart. Take a big breath to tighten
your core, then dip straight down just a few inches to get
more power. Next, drive the bar up overhead while splitting
your legs into a lunge position. The goal is to get under the
bar as fast as possible while driving the bar up overhead.
MUSCLES USED: Glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves, core,
shoulders, back and triceps.
 7. THE HANDSTAND PUSH-UP

There are many ways to do a handstand push-up. One

starts in the handstand position against a wall. HOW TO DO
IT: To complete this movement, lower your body to the ground
so that your head touches the ground (or mat) below. Then,
push yourself away from the ground into a handstand. You can
also kip this so that your lower body helps drive the upper
body. This can be done by bringing your knees to your chest
while you lower your head toward the ground. Then, kick up to
the sky as you push off of the ground with your hands. The
two forces combine to bring you back to the beginning
handstand position. MUSCLES USED: Shoulders, core and
triceps.

8. THE PULL-UP
Pull-ups have become the quintessential move to any
CrossFit workout. HOW TO DO IT: To complete a pull-up,
start by hanging from a secured bar with your hands in an
overhand grip (palm pointing outward, away from your body)
and slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. While
squeezing your traps together and engaging your abs, pull
yourself up to the bar so that your chin passes over.
MUSCLES USED: Back, core, shoulders and chest.

9. THE MUSCLE-UP
This gymnastics move is for the advanced CrossFitter.
Hailing from gymnastics, the ring muscle-up is one of the
hardest moves a CrossFitter can complete. HOW TO DO IT:
Start10. THE
with CHEST-TO-BAR
either PULL-UP
a false grip or regular grip. For the false grip,
hook your wrists into the ring. This position, while
uncomfortable, shortens the lever of the arm, creating less
distance for you to travel. Most CrossFitters kip this move
because of its degree of difficulty, but it can be done strict as
well. Swing your body back to gain momentum and thrust your
hips into the air while pulling with all your upper body strength
(similar to a pull-up) so that the body raises to ring height or
above. Always keep the rings as close to your body as possible
to have the most control and strength on the rings. Once you are
at ring height, quickly push your head and chest through the
rings into a dip position. Then push up out of the dip position
with a kip from the legs or from strict strength. MUSCLES

10. THE CHEST-TO-BAR PULL-UP

Since this move is more difficult, you may sometimes
use a kipping motion to propel your body higher into the air in
order for your chest to touch the bar. HOW TO DO IT: Start by
hanging from a secured bar with your hands slightly wider than
shoulder-width apart. While squeezing the traps together and
engaging the abs, pull yourself up to the bar and touch your
chest to the bar. MUSCLES USED: Back, core, shoulders and
 11. THE PUSH-UP
An essential move to any workout. Keep in mind that
if doing a push-up on your toes is too tough, you can always
start on your knees. It's still a very effective strengthening
move. HOW TO DO IT: Begin the push-up in a plank
position with your hands on the ground under your shoulders
and with your feet together, toes driving into the ground.
Your body should be in one straight line with your core
locked. Slowly lower yourself down to the ground so that
your chest touches the ground, then push yourself back up to
the starting position without collapsing your lower back.
MUSCLES USED: Shoulders, triceps, biceps and core.

12. THE THRUSTER

The thruster is a compound movement, meaning that
it is a multi-joint movement that works several muscle
groups. HOW TO DO IT: The thruster begins in the front
rack position across your chest. Squat down, keeping your
chest big and knees out. Drive out of the bottom of the hole,
similar to a front squat, while driving your knees out. Then
use the force you are creating in the squat to drive the bar
overhead. Then lock out your arms overhead. MUSCLES
USED: Glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves, core, shoulders,
back and triceps.

13. THE DEADLIFT

The deadlift is one of the foundational strength
movements in any exercise program. HOW TO DO IT: The
deadlift begins with the bar on the ground. You can perform
this with a regular grip or an alternating grip, which means
one hand facing towards your body and one hand facing
away. With a proud chest and locked core, pull the bar up
while keeping it as close to your body as possible. Use your
hip hinge and push your knees back to keep your body over
the bar. Then extend the hips and squeeze the glutes to
complete the move. MUSCLES USED: Glutes, quads,
hamstrings, calves, back and core.
14. THE PISTOL SQUAT
This move requires a great deal of strength, balance
and flexibility. HOW TO DO IT: Start by standing on one
leg. The opposite leg can be held out in front of your body
with your hands on the non-working leg. Think about rooting
your foot into the ground while you squat down and back so
that the glutes pass below parallel. MUSCLES USED:
Glutes, quads, hamstrings and calves.
 15. THE PUSH PRESS
The Push Press is a move that incorporates your
entire body. While the strict press focuses only on the
upper body, the push press incorporates the lower body to
drive the bar up overhead. This synchronic movement is
great for building power and pure strength. HOW TO DO
IT: Start with the bar across your shoulders. Your hands
position on the bar should be just slightly outside of your
shoulders, and your feet should be shoulder-width apart.
Brace your core, dip slightly into a quarter squat and
squeeze your glutes while driving the bar up overhead.
Complete the movement with your arms in the lockout
position overhead. There is only one dip in the push press,
and that is when you push the bar overhead. There should
not be a second dip at the top of the bar path or that
movement would be called a "jerk." MUSCLES USED:
Glutes, quads, hamstrings, shoulders and core.

16. THE OVERHEAD SQUAT

The overhead squat requires strength and
flexibility. HOW TO DO IT: You can take the bar from a
squat rack by snatching it overhead or by cleaning and
jerking it. The arms should be wider on the bar, very
similar to a snatch grip. The feet should be a little outside
of shoulder-width. Brace your core, and send your butt
back into a squat position while keeping your arms locked
overhead. A good cue to think of is "show me your pits" or
bending the bar, which automatically externally rotates the
shoulders and locks them into a strong position. Once you
have reached below parallel, drive your knees out, squeeze
your glutes and stand the bar back up. MUSCLES USED:
Glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves, core, shoulders and
back.