How to try Kate Middleton’s favourite high-intensity workout at home

Burning fat and building confidence, this high-intensity exercise burns up to 15 calories a minute

With over 1.7million Google searches each month, CrossFit is one of the world’s most popular workouts, so it’s no surprise to see so many celebrities taking on the challenge.

Vanessa Hudgens, Cameron Diaz, Jessica Biel, and even Kate Middleton are known for incorporating CrossFit into their weekly routines, helping them to increase their fitness, build muscle, and burn fat.

But, for those who aren’t quite sure what CrossFit is, fitness experts at BarBend have revealed everything you need to know about the workout, from how many calories it burns and what it involves to the benefits and how you can do it at home.

A spokesperson from BarBend said: “CrossFit is one of the most effective workouts for building muscle, burning fat, and toning your body, so it’s no surprise to see that Kate Middleton is a huge fan.

“The workouts can be challenging, combining weightlifting, gymnastics, and metabolic conditioning, however, the focus is on hitting your next fitness or strength goal, rather than the number on the scales, which helps people forget about their weight and become more confident.

“High intensity workouts are known to have numerous benefits on mental health, too, from stress relief and sleep quality to confidence and mood. With such a high-pressured role in the royal family, the Duchess of Cambridge is reaping huge benefits from this exercise.”

What is CrossFit?

CrossFit is a workout focused on functional fitness, which include exercises based on the types of movements you do every day.

The concept emphasises explosive, strength, and endurance- based exercises that push your body and mind through new challenges.

Common exercises include squats, snatches, handstands, and pull-ups, using kettlebells, weights, and medicine balls.

How many calories does CrossFit burn?

While everyone is different, CrossFit burns a lot of calories, due to its high-intensity approach. It’s estimated you can burn up to 15 calories per minute of CrossFit, with a 60-minute session burning 480 calories on average for an 180lb person.

A typical workout is one hour and is split up into 4 parts including the warm-up (5-10 minutes), strength component (15 minutes), workout of the day (20-30 minutes) and cool down (5 minutes).

Why does Kate Middleton do this workout?

Variety – Kate Middleton is known for her love of fitness, keeping her workouts varied with a range of activities, from yoga and pilates, to running and weight training, so CrossFit is a great choice, as it combines cardio, strength training, and gymnastics.

Confidence – While the workout isn’t for everyone due to its high intensity, it can massively help build confidence, as the aim is to become stronger both mentally and physically, rather than dropping pounds.

Metabolic rate – Kate has an incredibly toned physique and strength training is known to burn more calories than cardio alone, as it builds muscle, which increases your resting metabolic rate. This allows the Duchess to ditch restrictive diets and focus instead on fueling her body with nutritious foods.

Manages stress – Regular exercise can help to reduce stress and anxiety as it releases a hormone called cortisol. It also helps us to retain focus and be more present, taking time aside to forget about our everyday worries. People like Kate Middleton, who have high-pressured roles, can really benefit from using their exercise session as a time to de-stress.

A better night’s sleep – A recent study in Preventive Medicine Reports says that adding some strength training into your routine during the day can actually help improve your quality of sleep. Compared to lighter exercise like a leisurely run, strength training tends to create a bigger surge of adenosine, which promotes drowsiness.

Lower Blood Pressure – At least 31 percent of adults worldwide experience from high blood pressure. If left untreated, it can lead to a heart attack or stroke. Exercise is one of the ways that can help improve blood pressure and help decrease the risk of heart disease-related illnesses. CrossFit training specifically has been positively associated with a significant decrease in blood pressure over a period of a year.

Can you try CrossFit at home?

While most people go to a CrossFit gym to do this workout, there are plenty of ways you can get started at home, without splashing out on a membership.

It’s a good idea to start adding some key exercises into your weekly workout sessions to get the hang of the foundational movements. These are great for beginners who are curious about this royal approved workout, but aren’t quite ready to dive right in.

If you’re not already working out regularly, try these exercises out and focus on quality over quantity. These are some of the fundamental movements in CrossFit training.

• Burpees
• Tuck Jumps
• Tricep dips
• Push ups
• Handstand push ups
• Skipping
• Air squats
• Sit ups
• Running (1 mile)

If you are already hitting gym and feel ready to step up, try the ‘Murph’ workout, which is a popular CrossFit sequence, involving an intense combo of strength, stamina, and endurance. It may be tough, but you can lower the reps or scale it down if this feels too difficult at first. When you’re starting out, you’ll likely need to scale the workouts to meet you at your own level.

Perform each exercise in turn, for time.

• Run: ½ mile

Followed by 10 Rounds Of:

• Ring Row: 5
• Push-Up: 10
• Air Squat: 15
• Run: ½ mile