Crossfit is the ‘sport of fitness’, and represents a type of exercise which merges many traditional training methods and philosophies into one fast paced, brutally hard, but also wonderfully effective workout routine. By combining gymnastics, interval training, weight training and Olympic lifting into ‘WODs’ (Workout of the day, for the less initiated), trainers are able to train hard and fast, get great results and do so in a fun and encouraging family atmosphere. This all sounds good, but how do apps fit in? Throughout 2014 so far, we have seen the emergence of some great crossfit apps, and today we have worked to compile a list of the best crossfit apps of 2014 so far – a list which we intend to keep updating throughout the year – of the best apps that we have come across so far. If you have any suggestions, drop them in the comments below.
1) The official Crossfit Games App – Download on iOS
The Crossfit games is the blue-ribbon event on the Crossfit calender, and offers the opportunity for everyday Crossfitters to get an annual mega-dose of inspiration. The games feature a ‘open workout’, and the app encourages you to participate and share your scores with the community. You can also share your effort with your friends or your Crossfit group. The app delivers personalised alerts to ensure you don’t miss a submission deadline whilst also keeping you fully up to date with the games themselves. A great touchpoint with the official world of Crossfit.
2) Pocket WOD – Download on iOS
This top rated app on the Apple iTunes store has helped thousands of Crossfit trainers to stay on top of their game. It was recognised by Mens Fitness magazine as one of the top 5 Personal Trainer apps worth downloading. So what exactly does pocket WOD do?
As the name would suggest, this app provides the daily WOD from the official Crossfit site, allowing you to have easy access to it as you enter your gym. It also provides functional examples of how to perform the various components of that workout – Crossfit has some unusual exercises as well as a range of exercises which if done wrong, can be dangerous – in video format. The app also has a big back-catelogue of historical WODs, meaning that you will never be short of a workout routine.
Finally, the app features some useful training tools, including a stopwatch, Tabata timer and exercise logs.
3) XFit PR
Crossfit sometimes gets a bad wrap over exercise form – and this app has set out to eliminate this. A useful guide featuring exercise form and function, as well as the translations of the WOD names so that you never confuse a Cindy with a Candy.
4) Wodzilla
Wodzilla is probably the granddaddy of Crossfit apps. It’s a functional log book, its got all of the WODs on it, it allows you to easily track the performance of your friends at your local box and it also provides some helpful tips for performing more specialist (in terms of equipment) WODS in more standard gyms.
5) GWOD Spot
The GWOD Spot app focusses on the gymnastics side of Crossfit. For many, gymnastics is the biggest challenge around Crossfit, as it’s a specailist skill which many lack a formal education in. If that sounds like you, this app could be the perfect companion. Created by a former gymnast, it provides a wealth of tips and execution plans to help you nail the technical gymnastic moves. A great app for anybody in need of taking their PRs to a whole new level.
So there we have, it the first of our list of the best Crossfit apps of 2014 so far. We’ll be sure to keep this list updates, and if you have any great app tips, pop them in the comments below.