In this article, I will give you a comprehensive list of highly sought-after CrossFit workouts that you can do at home with no equipment needed.
If you once believed that you could only experience this form of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) at the gym and/or with tons of equipment, then it’s time to be set free of those mental shackles.
You may not know it, but the reality is that a lot of CrossFit workout routines, from hero WODs to Girls WODs, simply stitch together basic bodyweight exercises like push-ups and sit-ups but with an insane number of reps for the shortest possible time.
Home workouts not only offer convenience but also reduce the risk of overuse injuries often associated with heavy lifting too soon.
And as a beginner, you are actually doing yourself a ton of good by choosing to start CrossFit home workouts without equipment. Did you know that in one survey, the injury rate among CrossFit participants was as high as 20%? That statistic is not to scare you but is a reminder to use bodyweight CrossFit workouts to adapt your muscles to prolonged stress before adding extra load on them.
With that heads-up (you are welcome), let’s dive into the 15 CrossFit workouts to amp up the tempo of your fitness routines.
1. Cindy
Cindy is a classic CrossFit workout of the day (WOD) and has a high-rep circuit training regimen. This workout program, though bearing a feminine name, is not restricted to any gender and can be done at home. It’s often the fitness exercise used to welcome new CrossFit members to their training.
The Cindy routine falls under the AMRAP 20 category, meaning “as many reps as possible in 20 minutes.” It is rated among the best CrossFit workouts for beginners. Cindy consists of the following:
5 pull-ups
10 push-ups
15 air squats
In that order, for as many rounds as you can, execute in 20 minutes. Making the Cindy part of your workout routine can help you burn fat and gain muscle and strength for more demanding workouts.
You can modify the exercises to be easier for your fitness level if needed. You could do incline pushups, where you get into the push-up position but place your hands on a chair, a bench, or some other elevated surface. That same chair or bench could also assist with the air squats, and then you can lower the surface’s height until you no longer need it.
2. Mini Murph (Quarter version)
The quarter Murph is a scaled-down version of the full version, known as the mini Murph, and is recommended for beginners to the CrossFit regimen without equipment. Every variant of this workout routine consists of reps of Cindy-style exercises sandwiched between two running sessions.
Here’s how the quarter Murph goes:
400m run
25 pull-ups
50 pushups
75 air squats
400m run
The 400m run takes the average person 90 seconds to run that distance. However, even if your yard isn’t big enough to run on a straight course for two minutes, you can circle it for a minute and a half or thereabout at your top speed. You can partition the reps into smaller, manageable sets for the pullups, pushups, and air squats.
With time and a lot of practice, you should be able to scale up to the full mini Murph, which increases each run session to 1 mile with 4X the reps of bodyweight workouts.
3. Bodyweight Triplet (21-15-9)
The bodyweight triplet is so named because it comprises repeated reps of a trio of CrossFit bodyweight workouts, namely push-ups, situps, and air squats.
The first round of the exercises requires 21 consecutive reps of each exercise and then taking a short break.
After that, take the second round of 15 reps of each exercise and then have another short break.
Lastly, do 9 reps of each exercise for the final round of the CrossFit workout.
Here is the breakdown below:
21 push-ups
21 situps
21 air squats
2 min break
15 push-ups
15 sit-ups
15 air squats
2 min break
9 push-ups
9 situps
9 air squats
4. Mark Klement WOD
74-44-11 Reps for Time:
Burpees
Push-Ups
Sit-Ups
Air Squats
This CrossFit workout routine combines four intense exercises for a high-rep workout. It consists of burpees, pushups, situps, and air squats.
It follows the 74-44-11 format, which means that you complete 74 reps of each movement and repeat them for 44 reps and 11 reps.
To do a burpee, perform a push-up followed by a jump that then sinks into a squat with your knees fully bent and butt pushed out. Descend from the squat into the push-up position to repeat the whole process.
5. 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps for time
This is a beginner-favorite CrossFit-style at-home workout as it solely consists of the usual body weights exercises that everyone is used to. A session of this regimen will take you through 49 reps each of burpees, push-ups, and air squats.
To do this workout, you will have to take each of the exercises in the descending number of reps, as the above heading suggests.
So, you do 10 burpees, 10 pushups, 10 air squats, and repeat for the next number in the sequence until the last one. Get a timer handy, as you will have to race against the clock.
Wracking, but worth it!
6. Super legs
If you are looking for a CrossFit at-home workout without equipment that really fires up your leg muscles, super legs should be among your top considerations.
This leg workout drill packs four demanding leg-based exercises that altogether contain several dynamic body movements and jumps that will put the stamina of your legs to the test.
In essence, you will be doing 5 rounds for time of:
20 Air Squats
20 Alternating Lunges
20 Alternating Split Squat Jumps
10 Squat Jumps
In the alternating lunge stage, you modify the standard lunge by alternating the knee you bend to the floor.
Alternating split squat jumps are done by jumping and descending into the deep lunge position and alternating the knee you bend with each descent.
Squat jumps are like your regular squats except that, in this case, you jump and descend into the squat position.
7. CrossFit Stimulus Travel WOD
CrossFit stimulus travel workouts of the day are workout combos you can perform anywhere and anytime, such as when on vacation or traveling for business.
The one discussed below is a combination of bodyweight exercises that challenge your core, flex your triceps and biceps, and train your leg muscles. Here’s what it involves:
6 Rounds for Time
15 Reverse Lunges
15 Hollow Rocks (see video above for the demo)
15 Push-Ups
The difficult task lies in completing those 6 rounds of exercises as fast as you can.
To do reverse lunges, all you have to do is lunge, but instead of focusing on one leg, take turns with your right and left legs.
Hollow rocks are the hardest part of these exercises. You will need to first lie flat on your back, stretch your arms overhead, and extend your legs in line with your body. Then simultaneously raise all limbs from the floor, making sure to lift your back as far as you can. Now, rock in this position for the required reps.
8. 20-minute EMOM
EMOM (every minute on the minute) is a CrossFit workout pattern where you complete a prescribed exercise within a minute and rest for whatever time you have left within that minute
EMOM regimens can be done with any combination of workouts like the one in the video above or the one described below:
Minute 1: 15 Push-ups
Minute 2: 10 Pullups
Minute 3: 15 Sit-ups
Minute 4: 20 Lunges
The sim is to repeat this pattern 5 times for a total of 20 minutes.
9. “Death By …Anything”
Any “death by anything” CrossFit workout refers to an exercise session where you start with one rep of any workout in a minute and then do one more rep per minute in the subsequent minutes.
Let’s say you pick push-ups. You will follow an EMOM-like format where the number of pushups you do in a minute increases by one at the start of the minute.
So from minute zero to minute 1, one push-up; from minute 1 to minute 2, two push-ups; and then three from minute 2 to minute 3, and so on.
You are required to follow that pattern until you get too exhausted to complete the number of pushups in the expected timeframe. Thus,
The “Death by anything” is a workout procedure that starts very easy at the onset but becomes very challenging very fast, hence the use of the term “death by anything” as a reference to the way any exercise you choose eventually wears you down as it adds more reps.
10. AnnieÂ
Annie is another classic CrossFit workout that is also among the category of workouts called “The Girls.”
Annie is a rep for time workout, which, as usual, means that you complete a number of reps for a set of exercises before the allotted time expires.
Here’s how it goes:
50-40-30-20-10 reps for time:
Double-unders
Sit-ups
This means 50 reps of double-unders and 50 reps of sit-ups, then 40 of each, and so on. That translates to 300 reps of the exercises in total before time runs out.
For a beginner, aim for 12 mins max, and then as you get comfortable with it, try scaling up to complete all 300 reps in progressively less time.
11. Angie
Another badass Girls workout by CrossFit, Angie is sure to subject both your upper and lower body to intense stress.
Angie is also a rep for time workout, and it goes like this:
For Time
100 Pull-Ups
100 Push-Ups
100 Sit-Ups
100 Air Squats
You have to complete all reps in the order written before moving on to the next exercise. Get a stopwatch handy, as you will have to time yourself.
The time it takes you to finish all 400 reps is your Score. For a beginner, 30 minutes is good enough, while advanced athletes should aim for not more than 15 minutes.
12. Zachary Tellier, hero WOD
The Zachary Tellier workout regimen is a hero at-home WOD in honor of the soldier of the same name who was killed in an Afghanistan mission on September 29, 2007.
Like the Mini Murph, this hero WOD is a chipper-style fitness training where multiple exercises are stitched together, and you have to “chip away” at one before entering the next.
Here’s the breakdown:
Reps for time:
10 Burpees
10 Burpees
25 Push-Ups
10 Burpees
25 Push-Ups
50 Lunges
10 Burpees
25 Push-Ups
50 Lunges
100 Sit-Ups
10 Burpees
25 Push-Ups
50 Lunges
100 Sit-Ups
150 Air Squats
Aim to complete all the 650 reps in 30 minutes or less, and make sure to complete each exercise rep before moving on to the next.
13. Blackjack
The blackjack is a series of exercises carefully selected to strengthen your upper body and train your core as well.
This CrossFit at-home workout is also among the benchmark WODs, which are designed to test your strengths and weaknesses in different parts of your training.
This is what the blackjack looks like:
For Time
20 Push-Ups, 1 Sit-Up
19 Push-Ups, 2 Sit-Ups
18 Push-Ups, 3 Sit-Ups
…continue this pattern until…
2 Push-Ups, 19 Sit-Ups
1 Push-Up, 20 Sit-Ups
You will notice that each round equals 21 reps, and in total, there are 420 reps. Aim to complete the whole round in 30 minutes and work to beat your previous record.
14. Fantastic 50
Wrapping up this list is the fantastic 50 training that comprises 50 reps each of 8 fully bodyweight exercises that, taken together, serve as a full body test that will shake up your core and boost your balance.
Here it goes:
For time:
50 Jump Tucks
50 Push-ups
50 Air Squats
50 Handstands
50 Walking Lunges
50 Sit-ups
50-Second L-Sit Hold
50 Burpees
There are 400 reps in all, and since you are racing against the clock, try to complete the entire circuit in 30 minutes or less.
Conclusion
CrossFit workouts demand a level of intensity and can motivate with a competitive spirit that ordinary workouts just can’t summon.
Thus, it’s easy to want to go too fast, too soon, without taking your fitness level into account.
But by adding CrossFit to your exercise program with the bodyweight workouts discussed above, you will be challenging your body to the full without wrecking it—truly building it.
