Help your CrossFit customers achieve their goals of getting in shape by including the 11 best CrossFit exercises in your program and WOD. Designed to target key muscle groups, boost stamina and endurance, and build muscle, these exercises are perfect workout moves for everyone from new beginners to experienced athletes.
Learn each of their benefits and how to properly teach your customers how to perform each exercise. As an added bonus, some of our TeamUp CrossFit owners shared which are their favourites for their CrossFit box and why. Let's go.
One of the most popular foundational movements in CrossFit is the barbell deadlift. There are many benefits to barbell deadlifts including activating the hip extensors, reducing lower back pain, activating the core, and being an exercise that even beginners can quickly improve on.
Teaching a new CrossFitter how to do a barbell deadlift technique is quite simple, as it is one singular movement repeated:
An important tip is to drive through the heels and lift the chest as the bar lifts, taking away pressure from the knees. If the athlete swings the bar or their bodies as they rise, they are not doing the exercise correctly, and this can result in injury.
The deadlift is one of the most functional exercises there is, due to the fact that it's essentially what we do when we pick stuff off the ground. Done well, it increases overall strength including the elusive but so important grip strength, improves posture, increases power output (for sports mostly). For sure get an experienced professional to help with proper form, as it's easy to mess that up. - Roberto Morales, CrossFit Ville-Marie
The front squat technique differs from your average squat or air squat (another move we'll discuss in this guide). Targeting the lower body area, thighs, and glute muscles, this strength exercise includes a weighted barbell that is held in front of the body and maintained at shoulder height throughout the entire workout.
To achieve the proper front squat form with a barbell, the athlete will usually start with a squat rack with the bar level at the middle of the chest before rising it to shoulder height.
A good front squat technique to remember is to take full deep breaths and to keep the torso firm with heels driven down into the ground. In any squat, the knees should never go over the toes of the foot, and if the athlete is doing that they need to sit lower back into their heels.
The front squat, being a squat, is obviously another very functional exercise, mimicking a stand-up motion. The beauty of the front squat is that it can be done with any weight or even no weight at all. A broomstick is plenty to start and works the shoulder flexibility and stability, as well as leg and core strength. It's also the finishing position of a clean, the start of a thruster, a wall ball, etc. Overall a very complete movement. - Roberto Morales, CrossFit Ville-Marie
Introducing the first plyometric exercise in this list, box jumps. Box jumps are fast and help athletes build their speed, agility and strength. Even when performed in a short amount of time, when the box jump technique is performed well it can make an athlete burn calories quickly and get a boost of cardio. A great addition for the best CrossFit exercise programs, box jumps primarily work and strengthen lower-body muscles including glutes, calves, hamstrings, and quads while giving the athlete a boost of cardio and increase stamina and endurance.
To instruct your customers how to do a box jump they need to stand about a foot away from the box at its side. A recommended starting height is typically 50cm but this also depends on the height of the athlete.
A fan favourite for CrossFitters who love abdominal exercises that don't require you to lay on the floor, kettlebell swings target almost every area of the body. When performed well kettlebell swings work the abs, pec, glute, and quad muscles, laterals, hips, hamstrings, and shoulders. New CrossFitters love how powerful kettlebell swings make them feel and how great of a workout they are for building both endurance and muscle strength.
To properly perform a kettlebell swing workout, the athlete should do the following:
Remember that for standard kettlebell swings during CrossFit Workouts, your kettlebell should never swing higher than shoulder height, and be careful not to send it too far behind you.
Coaches will always choose the squat. Back squats because they give members the most satisfaction! - Sue, CrossFit BattleBox
Get ready to make the lower body explode with wall balls. The benefits of wall balls as part of a WOD are numerous with the exercise targeting all the lower body muscles while also working the biceps, triceps, and shoulders for a complete full-body workout. Wall balls are a staple in CrossFit and a great way to get a burst of endurance while focusing on target muscle groups in several moves.
Known as a multi-part workout, wall balls can look easy, but be difficult when not performed correctly. New beginners to CrossFit exercises who are wondering what weight wall balls are best should use wall balls of 6 to 8 pounds to start. Advanced athletes will use 10 and above.
Another CrossFit favourite is the overhead press. An exercise that is excellent for building upper body strength, the overhead press targets the shoulders, chest, arms, and upper back. Beginners will start with little to no weight except for the bar, but as they scale up they will add more and more weight to intensify this workout.
To teach your client the proper overhead press technique we recommend using a squat rack or light enough weight for your client to be able to and raise the barbell from the ground.
Instruct your clients to stand firm and not to swing their hips when they lift the bar.
Each person has their personal favourites but the squat is a fundamental movement in Crossfit that everyone should master unweighted first. - Brenda Dougan, CrossFit Fife
If you have heard of CrossFit you have heard of thrusters. A well-known compound exercise that offers many benefits, thrusters are included in almost every CrossFit workout program and combine the two foundational moves of a front squat and an overhead press.
Thrusters combine two foundational CrossFit workouts, the front squat and the overhead press. To assist your clients with their thrusters technique they must first collect the weighted barbell from the squat rack.
Remember to instruct them to keep their arms bent at a 45-degree angle when in squat position and fully extended when thrusting.
Thrusters are on the CrossFit desert island disc list of barbell movements. If you could only do one movement for the rest of your life - the thruster would be it. Work on 1, 2 or 3 reps as heavy as you can go will get you strong! Go lighter and do as many as you can in three minutes, lighter, will have you flat on your back gasping for air. Great for abs - great for legs and bum - great for shoulders and back - what’s not to like? Take it from the floor every time and turn it into a cluster to make it just that bit more awful! - Kryzsia Stevens, CrossFit Uckfield
An effective workout for athletes eager to give their shoulder muscles a burn, handstand pushups are ideal for strength and muscle building. Unlike your ordinary pushup, handstand pushups are performed on one's hands with their legs straight up towards the ceiling. This is not an easy CrossFit move and easily one of the most challenging for newcomers, but with a little bit of practice, dedicated athletes will quickly learn to appreciate the benefits this exercise provides them.
To perform a handstand push up, there are two options for a starter stance.
For the best results, remember to instruct them to squeeze abs, glutes and thighs as tight as possible to keep the body firm.
For CrossFit athletes who really want to test their skills and strength, rope climbing is no easy challenge. This CrossFit exercise is a great way to strengthen grip and the upper body and build up biceps. Not only a physical exercise, but a mental one at that, rope climbing requires a lot of endurance and the ability to completely use one's own bodyweight to scale up the rope.
To program standard or legless rope climbs, first, your gym needs to have a sturdy rope properly and securely attached to the ceiling. You could also use a squat rack for your beginners.
Remember to instruct your athletes to keep their core tight.
Give your clients strength and cardio boost by teaching them how to do ring muscle-ups. This exercise is no easy feat and is one of the most challenging workouts in CrossFit, which makes it one of the most exciting to practice.
Safety in this CrossFit exercise is key, and teaching your clients how to properly do a ring muscle-up with the right type of grip is essential.
For CrossFit clients who need more practice with this exercise before moving to the rings, try using a resistance band and a rack with a bar to practice the pull-up movements.
For me, it's the ring muscle-up. It ticks so many boxes of the ten attributes of fitness...and it looks really cool. - Donald Beaton, CrossFit 57 North.
The overhead squat is one of the most basic CrossFit exercises, yet also the most important fundamental exercises in CrossFit. Nail the overhead squat technique and every other squat will be easier to learn, perform, and scale up. Often combined with other exercises, the overhead squat is a staple in any CrossFit program.
The proper overhead squat form is similar to that over a normal squat, only this time using a barbell or weighted barbell.
Remind your athletes that their knees should not go over their toes to avoid injury.
Once we lose the ability to sit down and stand up we need to be cared for. A proficient Air Squat will keep up functionally independent. - Karl Learnihan, CrossFit All or Nothing
To break it down, if you want to focus on endurance in your programs, the best CrossFit exercises to increase stamina and endurance found in this list are:
If you want to add more strength and muscle building exercises into your program, the best CrossFit workouts to build muscle are:
Here are a few questions your new CrossFit customers might have for you at the start of their new journey.
Yes! The good news about each of these positions is that they can be performed with little or low weight to start. As an athlete improves and progresses, they will scale up and can add more weight.
While it's up to the athlete to decide how many Crossfit classes to attend a week, typically the official CrossFit body recommends attendance of 3-5 days a week, minimum being at least 3 days a week, with the maximum being 5 and never all in a row. Rest is essential in CrossFit and boxes usually require their athletes have at least one day a week of rest for the best recovery.
According to the official CrossFit website, there are 9 foundational movements built into every exercise and workout program. They include:
These movements are designed to cover and optimise the fundamental areas of CrossFit which are cardio and respiratory endurance, strength, flexibility, stamina, power, speed, coordination, accuracy, balance, and agility.
To learn more about the best ways to run your CrossFit business, check out TeamUp's CrossFit management software and our guide on managing your affiliate and more common CrossFit FAQs.