Exercise is a beneficial element to any weight loss program. The CrossFit program is popular among both men and women who are looking to participate in a full body conditioning workout that develops all of the major components of fitness. Because CrossFit keeps your heart rate up throughout the training session, it effectively burns calories. It also builds lean muscle, which in turn will contribute to your weight loss success.
CrossFit
CrossFit is a strength and conditioning program that incorporates functional exercises that utilize your own body weight and other free weight apparatus. Emphasis is put on Olympic weightlifting exercises, which increase power. According to the CrossFit Journal, the program is designed to help you develop cardiorespiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, agility, speed, coordination, balance and accuracy.
Weight Loss
To lose weight, you must burn more calories than you consume over time. Therefore, a weight loss program emphasizes increasing total calories burned by exercising regularly and increasing resting metabolism, while also limiting caloric intake by making healthy eating and drinking decisions. Exercise is beneficial to weight loss efforts because it contributes to the number of calories you burn. Therefore, the more often you exercise, the more calories you will burn. Activities that keep your heart rate elevated are most effective at burning calories.
CrossFit and Weight Loss
The CrossFit program requires you to complete a short cardiovascular bout, such as running a quarter-mile, then move directly into a few strength training exercises, like squats, push-ups and deadlifts. Activities are completed one after the other and all incorporate the large muscles in your body. This keeps your heart rate up throughout the entire workout, which typically lasts about 20 to 30 minutes. CrossFit therefore will result in a significant number of calories burned during each workout session, but because it will cause an increase in lean muscle mass, also increases your resting metabolic rate. Muscle tissue requires calories to maintain function and structure. This means you'll burn more calories at all times of the day, including while you're sleeping.
Considerations
To successfully take off weight, you need not only to increase the number of calories you burn, but also limit the number of calories you consume. The number of calories you burn during your CrossFit workouts will be canceled out if you consume high-calorie foods. Efforts need to be made toward choosing low-calorie foods that are nutrient-dense, such as fruits and vegetables. Water should be the primary drink of choice, as it adequately hydrates your body and possesses no calories.
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