At-Home CrossFit Workouts – Introduction
What are the best CrossFit workouts at home without equipment?
If you want to get in shape, burn fat, build muscle, get stronger, and become more athletic, CrossFit can help.
CrossFit is a multidisciplinary workout system that borrows from many different types of training to develop what is best described as all-around fitness.
CrossFit workouts also known as CrossFit WODs, which is short for Workout of The Day, include functional movements and training methods from gymnastics, powerlifting, Olympic weightlifting, athletic training, calisthenics, and many other sources.
This comprehensive approach to exercise means that CrossFit is very popular with law enforcement officers, the military, athletes from many sports, and anyone who doesn’t want to limit themselves to bodybuilding style or standard cardio workouts.
If CrossFit has a downside, it is that many of the WODs require specialized equipment, such as:
- rowing machine
- assault bike
- dumbbells
- barbells
- wall balls
While some gyms may have kettlebells, pull-up bars, plyo boxes, Olympic barbells, medicine balls, and space to run, lift, and even throw, many do not.
And what if you are a home exerciser?
Do you need to buy a ton of workout equipment so you can do the latest WOD in your garage or backyard?
The good news is that there are plenty of CrossFit workouts you can do at home without equipment.
All you need is enough space to move without obstruction.
This article reveals our ten favorite low-tech, equipment-free CrossFit home workouts.
A Note on Scaling
Some of these WODs are incredibly challenging, which is why they are so effective.
Add to that the fact you may be racing against the clock, and it’s easy to see how CrossFit has built a reputation for ultra-taxing workouts.
However, you don’t have to do CrossFit workouts as prescribed.
In fact, scaling is more than acceptable – it’s often recommended.
When you scale a CrossFit workout, you adjust it to make it more manageable.
This could involve:
- Doing fewer reps, e.g., 12 instead of 20
- Doing fewer rounds, e.g., three instead of five
- Using easier exercises, e.g., kneeling push-ups instead of plyometric push-ups
- Reducing the total time, e.g., three minutes per round instead of five minutes
- Reducing distances, e.g., 50 meters instead of 100
Ultimately, if you look at a workout and think it’s too much for you, scale it down a little to make it less intimidating.
It’s better to underdo it today and come back feeling strong tomorrow than overdo it, crush yourself, and never do that workout again!
Got it? Good!
Let’s get to work!
10 CrossFit Workouts at Home Without Equipment
Before you start any of these workouts, make sure you spend a few minutes warming up.
Begin with 5-10 minutes of easy cardio, e.g., jump rope, and then dynamically stretch and mobilize your main muscle and joints.
Finish your warm-up with a slow run-through of the main parts of the workout you are about to do.
Practice the exercises to make sure you are 100 percent proficient.
Note: some of these workouts are “official” named CrossFit workouts, whereas others are CrossFit-style workouts that have been done in regional CrossFit boxes but may not come from National HQ.
Here is a list of the top ten most effective at-home CrossFit routines:
- Marguerita
- Mini-Murph
- Cindy
- Jell-O-Legs AMRAP
- Angie
- Descending Bodyweight Pyramid
- Super Legs Relay
- Tabata Something Else
- Rich Froning’s Travel Workout
- The Longest Mile Run
At-Home No Equipment CrossFit Workout Descriptions
#1. Marguerita
Many CrossFit workouts are named after girls.
Why?
It’s probably just a weird quirk!
The girl workouts are benchmarks that CrossFitters use to compare and measure their progress.
Don’t let these gentle names fool you; the CrossFit girl workouts of the day are tough as nails!
Marguerita is an excellent bodyweight WOD that’s ideal for home exercisers.
Do one set of 50 reps of each exercise as fast as possible:
- Burpees
- Push-ups
- Jumping jacks
- Sit-ups
- Handstands (freestanding or against a wall as preferred)
“Marguerita” Benchmark WOD
#2. Mini-Murph
Murph is one of several hero workouts named after fallen military personnel.
The official hero WOD Murph workout usually involves doing pull-ups and wearing a weighted vest, but the mini-Murph variation does away with these to make it more accessible.
However, you will need to measure a mile for the first and last part of this great workout.
Do one set of the following as fast as you can. Complete each exercise in turn:
- Run 1 mile
- 50 sit-ups
- 100 push-ups
- 150 air-squats
- Run 1-mile
Mini Murph: CrossFit Workout for Beginners
#3. Cindy
If you’ve got somewhere to do pull-ups, you can do the CrossFit Cindy workout.
Cindy is a triplet which is three exercises done back-to-back.
For pullups, you don’t need a pull-up bar or Power Tower, instead, you can use something like an exposed roof joist, or tree branch.
Alternatively, do this work out in a local park, where you can perform pull-ups from a climbing frame.
Every minute, on the minute, do one lap of the following exercises.
Continue for 20 minutes/20 sets:
- 5 pull-ups
- 10 push-ups
- 15 squats
Alternatively, if you cannot manage to do one set per minute, just do as many rounds as you can in 20 minutes.
20-Minute AMRAP “Cindy” WOD
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#4. Jell-O-legs AMRAP
This equipment-free home CrossFit workout trains every muscle in your body except your upper back and biceps.
AMRAP stands for As Many Rounds (or reps) as Possible, so it’s up to you how hard you work.
Simply complete as many rounds or laps as possible of the prescribed exercises in the time allowed.
Do as many rounds as possible of the following three exercises in 20 minutes:
- 20 walking lunges (ten per leg)
- 15 push-ups
- 30-second plank
#5. Angie
If you liked the Cindy workout, you’re going to love Angie!
This workout is a chipper.
That means you have a set number of reps to do of each exercise and must chip away at it until you have done all of them before moving on to the next.
Keep your rests short as the clock is always ticking!
Complete the following as fast as you can:
- 100 pull-ups (skip this exercise if you don’t have a way to do pull-ups)
- 100 push-ups
- 100 sit-ups
- 100 squats
Angie WOD
#6. Descending bodyweight pyramid
What is the best way to eat a plate full of frogs?
By starting with the biggest one first!
This workout uses the same concept.
It starts hard but then gets gradually easier as you near the end.
This should ensure you are able to maintain a brisk pace from start to finish.
Do 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 rep in turn and as fast as you can of the following triplet:
- Burpees
- Push-Ups
- Air Squats
So, to clarify, do 10 burpees, 10 push-ups, and 10 air squats, then nine burpees, nine push-ups, and nine air squats, and so on.
For this CrossFit bodyweight workout, continue decreasing the reps by one until you are finished.
#7. Super legs relay
A lot of people think that you can’t build strong, enduring legs with bodyweight exercises.
How wrong they are!
This CrossFit leg blaster will leave most hardcore gym rats crying for mercy.
Expect some severe soreness after doing this workout for the first time.
Do five rounds for time of the following four lower body exercises.
Do not rest between exercises or laps, as the clock is always ticking!
- 20 air squats
- 20 squat jumps
- 20 alternating lunges – 10 per leg
- 20 alternating split squat jumps – 10 per leg
#8. Tabata something else
Tabata workouts are a type of high intensity interval training during which you work hard for 20 seconds and rest for ten.
You then repeat this sequence eight times.
You can use Tabatas with various exercises and types of training, including cardio, free weights, and calisthenics.
This home-friendly bodyweight-only Tabata workout consists of four exercises and works a large percentage of your muscle mass.
It only takes 20 minutes, so it’s highly time-efficient, too.
Do eight sets of 20 seconds work alternated with ten seconds of rest for each of the following bodyweight exercises:
- Push-ups
- Air-squats
- Sit ups
- Burpees
“Tabata Something Else” with Alex Vigneault
#9. Rich Froning’s favorite travel workout
Rich Froning is a CrossFit legend, having won the CrossFit games four times (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014).
As a CrossFit ambassador, Froning has to travel a lot, so he doesn’t always have access to a fully-equipped gym.
This workout is his go-to training session when he’s on the road.
Do five rounds as fast as possible of the following four exercises:
- 20 push-ups
- 20 squats
- 20 burpees
- 10 pistol squats per leg (single leg squats)
Rich Froning: The Fittest Man in CrossFit®
#10. The longest mile run
This challenging workout combines running one mile with several energy-sapping bodyweight exercises.
However, you won’t be running a mile in one go.
Instead, the run is completed 100 meters at a time.
There are 16 100-meter intervals, which adds up to one mile, but it will likely feel a lot further than that!
Do four rounds of the following as fast as possible.
Rest whenever you need to, but remember, the clock is always ticking!
- 10 burpees
- 100-meter run
- 10 air squats
- 100-meter run
- 10 push-ups
- 100-meter run
- 10 sit-ups
- 100-meter run
From Overweight at 38 to 2x CrossFit Games Champ – Jason Grubb
CrossFit Workouts at Home Without Equipment – Wrapping Up
Doing CrossFit at an official box can be very rewarding.
At any CrossFit gym, you will find all the equipment you need to do all the WODs.
Plus, there will be coaching and a support network available to help you push yourself to new levels of fitness and performance.
Part of the appeal of CrossFit for many people is the social community.
However, that doesn’t mean you can’t get an effective CrossFit workout at home – and without strength training equipment.
In fact, all you really need is some open space, such as your garage, backyard, or even a park near your home.
CrossFit is a style of training that’s perfect for home exercisers.
It combines circuit-style workouts and interval training to create simple yet intense conditioning requiring very little equipment.
It can help you build unstoppable endurance, exceptional aerobic and anaerobic fitness level, and burns calories by the bucket load!
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Rich is a NASM-CPT (Certified Personal Trainer),