Working Out in the Cold – Cross Training Workouts for the Winter Season

It is the time of the year when athletes change their CrossFit gear to put on sweatpants over their sports shorts and thick pullovers over their shirts. As the cold season gradually sets in, your priority as a CrossFit athlete should be to add new workouts to your program.

If you are not going anywhere during the festive season, you can take advantage and build strength and toughness. That said, you will require dedication to wake up early in the morning and brave the chilly weather to get into the box for an early session. To become a tougher and disciplined athlete, ensure you train whatever the weather and keep off from excuses.

The Benefit of Proper Warmups

The quality of your warmup will be reflected in the quality of your workout. During winter, your body system will require additional time to ensure your heart rate is elevated to the level that gets the blood flowing to your extremities.

Having the right clothing will speed up the warming up process and help preserve the heat your body creates. Ensure the fabric you get for your CrossFit clothes is breathable, has built-in insulation complete with a capacity to wick sweat away from your body.

Despite the cold conditions, tough CrossFit workouts will make you sweat. If this sweat dampens your skin and clothes, it may lead to cold and sickness. This is why it is crucial to ensure your clothes have a sweat-wicking ability.

Working Out in Chilly Conditions

It can be very impressive dialing your training a notch higher as other people are running up and down getting ready to add more calories during the Christmas season. This is the perfect time to introduce your strongman exercises and enhance your weightlifting skills. The following workouts can help you do this.

Workout 1

This consists of one squat, clean, and jerk with 125/90kg. You can also include 3 strict muscle ups and 5 burpees box jump overs. Do about 10 rounds each time.

Workout 2 

This comprises 4 power snatches with 60kg of weight, 8 bar muscle-ups, and 12 burpees. Aim for 7 rounds each.

Workout 3

Do 3 rounds of this workout. The exercises include 5x strict weighted pull-ups and eccentric strict pull-ups. Rest for 10 seconds after each exercise and 3 minutes between rounds.

Workout 4

This is a much simpler workout where you do a trail run. Choose anything from a 3, 5, or 10km distance in a scenic route to do your trail run. The countryside or hills can provide a good atmosphere laced with fresh cold air.

Workout 5

Here, you do two rounds of rope climbs; bench presses with a 100kg of weight, 10kg weighted pull-ups, and 4-inch deficit HSPU. Rest for 2 minutes in between the individual exercises and 4 minutes after every round.

If you get an opportunity, go for an outdoor swimming winter workout. It could be in a river, lake, or sea, but if you cant find one, you can opt for a swimming pool.