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CrossFits offer several popular exercise regimes. They’ve become so popular because they offer quick intensive workout sessions that you can be done within about 20 minutes or so. This is great for people who are often too busy to dedicate much more on workouts. While CrossFits are generally known for their heavy duty workouts like the barbells and several different kinds of dumbbell exercises using various Crossfit equipment, there is another one which can be performed with hardly any types of equipment at your own home and offers an optimal burn out session with which you can lose about 14 calories per minute. This is the Cindy WOD. But don’t be fooled by the name, it might sound easy, and the basic principles are, but it requires you to be tough as nails and gets your heart palpitating at 88% more than the average heart rate.
The Cindy WOD comprises three primary workouts done in quick circuits — 5 Pull-ups, 10 Push-ups, and 15 air squats. However, you don’t do it just once. You have to repeat them in quick succession without breaks for as many sets as possible in 20 minutes. You don’t need to take rests in between because each of these exercises hits a completely different muscle group and so while you perform the other exercises, your previous muscle groups can regain their strength, thus allowing you to go at it in full force. This wouldn’t be possible if you were to perform two exercises which hit the same muscle group consecutively — like the push-ups and a bench press.
CrossFit Cindy WOD Tips and Strategy
The following are some Cindy WOD Tips and Strategies that can be followed to make it as effective as possible.
Pull-Ups – For Back Muscles
These are done to exercise the back muscles. You need to hang from a bar overhead and then squeeze your chest upwards till you can feel your shoulder blades contracting. Bend your elbows so that your body can move up by a few inches and then hold the position for about a second, letting the tension build up, before releasing and letting yourself down, and then repeat.
Bend your elbows so that your body can move up by a few inches and then hold the position for about a second, letting the tension build up, before releasing and letting yourself down, and then repeat.
Push-Ups – For Chest Muscles
These are done to exercise the chest muscles and pump up your chest. This is one of the most commonly used and effective exercises out there. However, you have to be extremely mindful of the correct posture as otherwise, you might spend more energy for little returns.
Try bracing your core, and get your body to be firm and lateral, your spine shouldn’t be curled nor should your hip jut out upwards. Then squeeze the glutes, grip the floor with your arms shoulder length apart, and then push yourself towards the floor until your chest is almost touching it, and then push yourself away, and repeat.
Air Squats – For Lower Body Muscles
These are extremely dynamic exercises, and require a lot of flexibility of movements. You need to make use of your ankles, knees hips and back to perform these and as such the posture is key. To perform this correctly you need to first stand with your feet apart, toes pointed out and arms loose by your sides.
Your chest needs to be pumped up and pushed outwards so that your shoulder blades come closer together. Then make as if you were about to sit out, extend your arms ahead of yourself, bend down with your hips jutting backward and your knees just over your feet. Then, keeping your torso firm and upright, lower yourself further till you’ve gone down as far as possible. Then push yourself back up into the initial position, and repeat.
The Cindy WOD workout is really the ideal workout for anyone and everyone, regardless of whether you’re just a beginner or you’re a pro athlete or are into heavy workouts. This is because these three exercises hit all the major muscle groups in your body and because of their intensive nature you continue losing calories even after you’re done, once your body is cooling down. While beginners should keep to the basics of these exercises, the pros can increase the difficulty by wearing weighted vests to add resistance, or they can use an incline for the push-ups to boost up the difficulty and any number of other means can be applied to perform these activities with varying degrees of difficulty.
So let us know down in the comments whether these Cindy WOD exercises work for you, or if you have any variations to these that you’d like to suggest, let us know, we’d love to hear from you.
