Continued from CrossFit Training. The diet and beginner principles of CrossFit include:

Eat a “caveman”-type diet that emphasizes lean meats, vegetables, nuts, seeds and fruits, while minimizing intake of simple sugars. Eat enough calories to support exercise but not enough to promote obesity.

Do whole-body exercises. Practice major lifts, such as deadlifts, snatches, squats, presses and clean and jerks.

Do dumbbell and kettlebell exercises, such as swings, thrusters, one-arm snatches and overhead squats. Also, do basic gymnastic exercises on the floor, rings and parallel bars.

Train intensely and move quickly from one exercise to the next.

Vary your exercises every workout. Use many different patterns and combinations of sets, reps and types of exercise.

Play and learn many different sports.

Build rest into your exercise program.

Always use good technique. Maintain a neutral spine and maximize the use of your hip muscles (glutes and hamstrings) rather than your back (erector spinae) and knee muscles (quads) when doing exercises.

Build cardiovascular fitness using high-intensity interval training.

Do exercises within your capacity. For example, while a young, extremely fit young man might do iron crosses on the rings, an 80-year-old heart patient might pull against a chest high bar or rope.

Of course if you have a heart condition or any other health problem you must consult with your doctor prior to starting any exercise program.