Three CrossFit Tips for Total Beginners

Serving as a police officer for the Bristol Police Department, Bob Osborne of Farmington, CT, was named the 2006 Police Officer of the Year. Outside of work, Bob Osborne enjoys staying physically active and loves CrossFit training. 

If you are new to the CrossFit fitness regimen, you might be a little confused and intimidated. These three tips will help you ease into CrossFit and make the most out of it early on. 

1. Form – Before you start to worry about working out with weights, make sure you have proper form down perfectly. Watch others in your gym, and don’t be afraid to ask for pointers and advice. Poor form leads to bad habits that are harder to break once you have gotten into a routine, so work on establishing good form from the beginning. 

2. A Good Gym – While you can do CrossFit at home or at your normal gym, consider finding a gym, otherwise known as a “box,” that emphasizes CrossFit. Find a place that has a quality coaching staff to help you while you are learning the ropes. The positive community of like-minded exercisers is an added bonus. 

3. Friendly Competition – Friendly competition is part of the spirit of CrossFit. Many boxes keep track of the weight you lift and repetitions you complete during each class. This score, while making it easier to track your own progress, can also help motivate you to push harder, to keep up with others in your class.

The Nine Foundational Movements of CrossFit

 

A police officer with 14 years of experience on the Bristol, CT, police force, Farmington resident Bob Osborne was named the department’s Police Officer of the Year in 2006. Away from work, Bob Osborne enjoys running the trails around Farmington, CT, and practicing CrossFit.

A form of high-intensity interval training (HIIT), CrossFit workouts are built around practical motions that borrow from a variety of sports including gymnastics, running, weightlifting, and rowing. Core strength and conditioning are the primary goals of this fitness practice, and participants keep records of their performance to motivate themselves and develop useful data.

CrossFit programs are designed around nine “foundational movements,” which can be divided into three broad categories:

1. Squats - The squat-related CrossFit exercises are the air squat, front squat, and overhead squat.

2. Presses - The three presses practiced in CrossFit are the shoulder press, push press, and push jerk.

3. Lifts - CrossFit athletes regularly practice the weighted deadlift, sumo deadlift high pull, and medicine ball clean.

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