Cross fit Items explained

CrossFit is an effective way to get fit. Anyone can do it. It is a fitness program that combines a wide variety of functional movements into a timed or scored workout. We do pull-ups, squats, push-ups, weightlifting, gymnastics, running, rowing, and a host of other movements.

Following are the popular items in crossfit competitions.

1. Prowler push

A prowler is a specific type of sled that allows you to load multiple plates onto it to increase the resistance that one must work against when pushing (or pulling the sled/weight).

Focus areas: This is meant to be an all-out, high-intensity exercise, requires simultaneous engagement from your back, gluts, hips, core, hamstrings, calves, triceps, and shoulders.

2.   Military press

Typically performed while standing, in which a weight is pressed straight upwards from racking position until the arms are locked out overhead, while the legs, lower back and abs maintain balance.

Focus areas: The military press targets the deltoid muscles in the shoulders as well as the triceps. Additionally, it works the core and legs, which the lifter uses to help stabilize the weight.

3.   Monkey Bar

Monkey bars provide a great exercise that can help maintain a postural strength. This in turn, will reduce fatigue at work.

Focus areas: When you are hanging from monkey bars, your abdominal muscles are working hard to provide you with stability. The act of gripping the monkey bars will really put some pressure on your forearms. Your latimus dorsi will also be engaged to stabilise your body when you traverse monkey bars.

4.   Squat

Squats are considered a vital exercise for increasing the strength and size of the lower body muscles as well as developing core strength.

Focus areas: Overall, the squat is one of the most compounded lower body exercises since it requires simultaneous action at all the primary joints, including hips, knees, and ankles.

5.    Rope climbing

Rope climbing is a traditional exercise used by armed forces to prepare soldiers for climbing up and down from hovering helicopters and scaling tall buildings. Rope climbing has also become a mainstream conditioning exercise used by certain training groups like Cross Fit.

Focus areas: The muscles in your arms are essential for rope climbing and work in synergy to forcefully bend your elbow and help you climb. The biggest and strongest muscle is your biceps brachii, located at the front of your upper arm. Additionally Shoulder musles as well as musles of lower body are important.

6.   Bench press

The bench press is a core fundamental exercise for developing upper body strength. You’re not only working your pectorals (chest), you are also working your anterior deltoids (front shoulders), triceps brachii, and latissimus dorsi (back). You just can’t develop the same upper body with any other exercise.

Focus areas: The primary muscles that are worked in a bench press are the triceps brachii and pectoralis major with the anterior (front) deltoids, traps & back as secondary muscles used in the flat barbell bench press.

7.    Pull up

Pull Up is a well known compound exercise for training back. It mostly targets Latissimus Dorsi (Lats) but some other back muscles and biceps are also training.

Focus areas: Pull ups are the most effective upper body exercises for developing pulling strength and muscle mass in the back and biceps. Pull ups are an incredibly versatile compound movement that recruits muscles in the back, arms shoulders, chest and core to work simultaneously in one fluid movement.

8.   Dead lift

It is one of the three powerlifting exercises, along with the squat and bench press. It builds core stability. The deadlift directly targets all of the major muscle groups responsible for correct posture and core strength.

Focus areas: The deadlift will also strengthen all the surrounding supporting muscles of the waist, backside, hips and, of course, lower back.

9.   Tire flipping

The first concept to consider is the fact that the tire flip is not a deadlift; it is more like a hack squat.

Focus areas: It is not about isolating a particular muscle, but using your muscles together efficiently to perform a real world task. At the beginning of a tire flip, you are essentially doing a deadlift. It exercises primarily your back, glutes and hamstrings. By the end of the flip, and to a lesser degree you use your biceps, triceps, pectorals and even abdominals.

10. Tire pulling

Using a tire drag is the best form of sport-specific cross-training a runner can do. When you pull a tire, you change the points of resistance and load on your body, and you train your muscles in a way that’s slightly different from your regular running gait.

Focus areas: The tire drag targets some of the hard-to-tone muscles like abs and glutes.