The Best 5 CrossFit Cardio Workouts To Improve Endurance

CrossFit is a unique training style where you must be strong, have excellent gymnastic skills, and have a tremendous aerobic base. 

Although CrossFit Is known for short, high-intensity workouts, you can make significant progress in your performance by performing long workouts at moderate intensity. This is the case whether you are a new member at a local CrossFit gym, preparing for the CrossFit Games, or simply aiming for weight loss. 

These five long CrossFit cardio workouts elevate your heart rate, enhance your cardiovascular endurance, and build your aerobic base. 

Incorporating exercises like pull-ups on the pull-up bar, front squats, and dumbbell thrusters, these workouts not only build your conditioning but keep it specific to the demands of CrossFit athletes.

From interval workouts to longer sessions, they offer a mix of chipper workouts, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), and steady-state cardio, making them ideal workouts of the day (WOD) for anyone looking to improve their fitness in a short amount of time. 

Whether following a specific CrossFit training program or looking for the best cardio workouts, they will provide the daily jolt you need to reach your fitness goals.

Give them a shot for your workout of the day, and if you are ready to elevate your fitness level without dealing with aches and pains in training, enroll in my FREE Bulletproof Training Program!

The Top 5 CrossFit Cardio Workouts

1. The Hero WOD: “Murph”​

For Time:

1-Mile Run

100 Pull-Ups

200 Push-Ups

300 Air Squats

1-Mile Run

*Wear a 20/14# vest if you have one

Description: The Murph workout honors Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy and is a staple in the CrossFit community, often performed on Memorial Day. The workout consists of a 1-mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 air squats, and another 1-mile run, all while wearing a 20 lb weight vest if you have one.

Points of Performance

• 1-Mile Run: Start strong but conserve energy. Maintain a steady pace to ensure you can tackle the bodyweight exercises effectively.
• Pull-ups: To conserve energy, use a kipping or butterfly pull-up technique. Focus on keeping the core engaged and using the hips for momentum.
• Push-Ups: Keep a tight core and maintain a straight line from your head to your heels. Avoid sagging hips or flaring elbows.
• Air Squats: Ensure full depth by getting your hips below parallel and standing fully at the top. Keep your chest up and knees tracking over your toes.
• Second 1-Mile Run: Push through fatigue and maintain good running form.

This Hero WOD is a great cardiovascular challenge and tests your muscular endurance and mental toughness.

2. “Fight Gone Bad“

3 Rounds of:

1 minute of Wall Balls (20/14 lbs)

1 minute of Sumo Deadlift High-Pulls (75/55 lbs)

1 minute of Box Jumps (20 inches)

1 minute of Push Presses (75/55 lbs)

1 minute of Rowing (for calories)

1 minute of Rest

Description: Designed to simulate the metabolic demands of a mixed martial arts bout, this workout includes three rounds of five exercises for one minute each, with a one-minute rest between rounds. The exercises are wall balls, sumo deadlift high-pulls, box jumps, push presses, and calories on the rowing machine.

Points of Performance

• Wall Balls: Aim for a target 10 feet high. Use your hips and legs to generate power and keep your chest up.
• Sumo Deadlift High-Pulls: Keep the bar close to your body and drive through your heels, pulling to your chin with elbows high.
• Box Jumps: Land softly with bent knees and stand fully on the box.
• Push Presses: Dip slightly at the knees and use the power from your legs to drive the bar overhead.
• Rowing: Focus on a strong leg drive, a lean back, and an arm pull. Keep your strokes per minute moderate but potent.

This high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workout targets all major muscle groups. It is a comprehensive workout for improving cardiovascular health and muscular endurance.

3. “Cindy”​

20-Minute AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible):

• 5 Pull-Ups
• 10 Push-Ups
• 15 Air Squats

Description: A classic CrossFit WOD, “Cindy” is a 20-minute AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 air squats.

Points of Performance

• Pull-Ups: Use a kipping or butterfly technique to maximize efficiency. Keep your grip slightly wider than shoulder-width.
• Push-Ups: Maintain a straight line from head to heels, keeping your elbows close to your body.
• Air Squats: Focus on the full range of motion. Keep your heels down and chest up, and engage your core throughout.

“Cindy” is an excellent benchmark WOD that tests your cardiovascular fitness, muscular endurance, and ability to maintain form under fatigue.

4. “Helen“

3 Rounds of:

• 400-Meter Run
• 21 Kettlebell Swings (53/35 lbs)
• 12 Pull-Ups

Description: “Helen” is another CrossFit benchmark workout consisting of 3 rounds of a 400-meter run, 21 kettlebell swings (53/35 lbs), and 12 pull-ups.

Points of Performance

• 400-Meter Run: Maintain a pace to transition smoothly into the kettlebell swings.
• Kettlebell Swings: Using hip drive, swing the kettlebell overhead with straight arms. Keep your back flat and engage your core.
• Pull-Ups: Again, use a kipping or butterfly pull-up technique. Focus on efficiency and rhythm.

“Helen” is a perfect blend of running and strength training, enhancing your aerobic capacity and muscular endurance.

5. “Kelly”​

5 Rounds for Time:

• 400-Meter Run
• 30 Box Jumps (24/20 inches)
• 30 Wall Balls (20/14 lbs)

Description: This workout consists of 5 rounds for time of a 400-meter run, 30 box jumps (24/20 inches), and 30 wall balls (20/14 lbs).

Points of Performance

• 400-Meter Run: Aim for a steady pace. Control your breathing to prepare for the box jumps.
• Box Jumps: Land softly and stand fully on the box. Step down if needed to maintain a consistent pace.
• Wall Balls: Use a full squat and drive the ball to a 10-foot target. Catch the ball with soft hands and go right into the next squat.

“Kelly” is a long CrossFit workout that tests your cardiovascular health and leg endurance.

These CrossFit WODs offer high-intensity interval training, bodyweight exercises, and weightlifting, making them perfect for enhancing cardiovascular fitness, muscular endurance, and overall athletic performance.

How To Know You Are Not Training Aerobically

Aerobic base has become one of the hottest buzzwords in the fitness world. Most people now acknowledge that having a robust Aerobic System is hugely beneficial for almost any endeavor you wish to engage in, whether in the gym or outside of it. 

But, unfortunately when I see people attempting to train “Aerobically” I rarely see it being done correctly. These are the common pitfalls when trying to train your aerobic system. 

As well as strategies you can take to ensure that your training is practical so that you can develop an aerobic base rivaled by no one.

Reaching Muscle Fatigue Mid-Workout

If you are trying to train your aerobic system and during the session you find yourself reaching muscle fatigue and failing repetitions of the exercises you are doing, then you are not training the Aerobic system. 

This would be a sign that you are training Aerobically because the work you are doing exceeds your ability to sustain it beyond two minutes. True Aerobic work will allow you to maintain a pace for the full duration of your session.

If you think about long-distance runners or cross-country skiers, you never see them failing a stride or having to stop because their legs can’t propel them another step. This is what your aerobic work should look and feel like, regardless of what you are doing. 

Feeling Burning Sensations In Your Muscles

I touched on this previously in the three energy systems section, but it can’t be overstated enough. When we try to train the Aerobic System, the intensity is high. 

When the intensity is too high, and you are working above your Lactate Threshold, Lactic Acid accumulates faster than we can clear it. Resulting in burning sensations in the working muscles.

This is a sign that you are moving faster than the Oxidative System can keep up with from an ATP production standpoint and moving into an Anaerobic training zone. 

Actual Aerobic work will be at a pace that is challenging for the time required but allows you to maintain a pace that does not enable Lactic Acid to accumulate above the Lactate Threshold. 

Collapsing After Your Metcon

This concept will tie in with the other two quite nicely. You have likely been there where you finish a Metcon and immediately have to fall to the ground to recover for the next five minutes. This is the ultimate sign that the Aerobic system was not trained.

Actual Aerobic training will challenge you to maintain a pace and extend that pace out longer and longer. Still, it will not force you to go to the ground when finished. 

After a piece of Aerobic activity, you should be able to see the clock strike zero or finish your last rep and then either grab your things and exit the gym or reduce the pace to a walking intensity and cool down for 5-10 minutes.

When this is not the case, it is likely that for some portion of the conditioning piece, you had dipped into Anaerobic mechanisms and were training above the Lactic Threshold, which forced your pace to decline with time. Now that the session had concluded, you were so tapped from an energy standpoint that your only option was to fall to the ground as your body recharged. 

As you can likely picture in your head, when this happens, the work that proceeded is not work that could have been sustained for hours or four times the interval like the Aerobic System is set up to do.

The Three Energy Systems

The human body has three energy systems: the ATP-CP system, the Glycolytic System, and the Oxidative system. 

At any given time, all three of these systems are working simultaneously. But, depending on the intensity and duration of what you are doing, a larger percentage of energy will be derived from a specific one while the other two work in the background to support it.

ATP – CP System

The ATP-CP system is responsible for driving fast and explosive activities that last 8-10 seconds, and in trained individuals, it can be extended to 30 seconds. 

This can include exercises such as a one-rep max Deadlift, a one-rep max Power Clean, or sprinting. The ATP-CP system is the opposite end of the spectrum when training the Aerobic system. 

Think of this system as your strength system, which is used to produce power. It is by far the “fastest” of the three energy systems when it comes to generating ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate), the molecule that allows the muscle to perform any kind of work, but that also means that it will fatigue the fastest as well. Leading into the Glycolytic System.

Glycolytic System

When intensity continues to be pushed past the threshold of the ATP-CP system, the Glycolytic System takes over. The Glycolytic System is responsible for activities ranging between 30 seconds and 2 minutes and is present when you begin to feel the burning sensations in the muscles, breathing begins to rapidly increase, and the work you are performing begins to feel unsustainable.

Although this system can generate ATP quicker than the Oxidative system, like the ATP-CP system, it could be more sustainable work and will eventually fatigue out.

Oxidative System

To this point, the energy systems I have mentioned are deemed Anaerobic energy systems. Beyond two minutes is where the Oxidative System or the “Aerobic” energy system takes over and is the system that we are talking about when we look to develop an Aerobic Base. 

Unlike the ATP-CP and Glycolytic systems, the oxidative system is fueled primarily by oxygen to create ATP. You will prioritize this system during workouts that feel like steady state cardio. Thus, as long as oxygen is available, it can sustain work beyond 2 minutes and up to several hours. 

Utilizing oxygen for energy is a slower process than using stored ATP or glycogen, as in the Anaerobic energy systems. This is why the intensity or pace you are moving at will dictate whether the Aerobic system is used.

An important note, however, is that although the Oxidative system can sustain you for hours, you can still prioritize it in shorter intervals by using a pace that “could” be sustained longer. 

A good rule of thumb for tapping into the Oxidative system at shorter intervals is to utilize a pace that could last four times the interval, such as 40 minutes if the intervals you are performing are 10 minutes a piece.

Now that you have a basic understanding of the human body’s three energy systems, we can discuss what Aerobic training does not look like to ensure that when you attempt to train it that is what you are actually doing.

Wrapping Up On The Top CrossFit Cardio Workouts

A robust Aerobic system benefits almost anyone, whether you are looking to become the fittest version of yourself, drop 15+ pounds, compete in a sport like CrossFit, or improve your ability to perform high-volume strength training. 

However, there is a right and a wrong way to develop it. You are either utilizing the Oxidative aerobic system or not.

Incorporating these top 5 cardio CrossFit workouts into your routine can significantly enhance your aerobic base with a unique blend of HIIT workouts, steady-state cardio, or fatigue-based functional movements. 

So get them on your training schedule, and let’s get to work!

Enroll in my Bulletproof Training Program and elevate your fitness level without dealing with aches and pains.