Skip to content
Beginner

Course

Forma. Start: home CrossFit basics

Twenty workouts from the coach’s own beginner programme: short, in rounds, no equipment.

  • 4 weeks
  • 5 workouts a week
  • ~18 min
  • Chair
  • One payment, no time limit
Workout 1 — free Get access · $29

Or the club with the course — $79 a year, one payment

4 weeks
20 workouts
~18 min

About the course

Start is the beginner programme the coach runs with his own group, moved into the app without changing what matters: the same 20 sessions, the same order, the same words. The aim of the first weeks is to work the big muscle groups and get you into the process, not to wring you out. The coach demonstrates every session himself: every movement has his video.

More about the course

The first sessions are work by the timer — a new movement every minute — then simple rounds with a minute of rest. The CrossFit formats arrive one at a time: three rounds for time, AMRAP, EMOM, starts every 2–3 minutes, ladders and a long chipper for time. Twenty workouts in a row, four blocks of five. The coach suggests five a week, but the path is not tied to a calendar: you go at your own pace, and a missed day breaks nothing — the next workout waits where you left it.

Sessions are short — 14–21 minutes including warm-up and cool-down, about 18 on average. The main part is up to 11 minutes; the warm-up — top-to-bottom joint mobility, no running — and the stretch at the end are not counted in that. No equipment — you need a sturdy chair and a mat: you will do dips off the chair and step-ups onto it. There are no jumps or burpees in the course. The app works out how many reps you should do today from how your last session went — too hard, too easy or just right. If a movement is not there yet, there is a simpler one: dead bugs for sit-ups, push-ups from the knees.

Day one is the first workout, not a max-effort test: the coach believes the first session must not destroy you. Your starting load comes from the onboarding on first login, and after the second workout the app offers a short test to fine-tune it. Inside the programme the coach has his own reference points: an inchworm ladder in the penultimate session that you come back to in a month or two, and a final three rounds where you compare how it feels with your very first workout.

Who it is for

  • You are starting from zero or coming back after a long break — a year or more.
  • You want a real coach’s programme, not a list of exercises off the internet.
  • You have no gear and little space: a mat, a chair and two square metres.
  • You can find 15–20 minutes a few times a week and want to still be going in week three.

What you will get

  • Confident technique in the base movements: squat, knee push-up, sit-up, lunge, step-up.
  • Every CrossFit format in gentle doses — and an inchworm ladder you will come back to and see the difference.
  • The habit of coming back — not once a year on a burst of enthusiasm, but regularly and calmly.
  • A working knowledge of every CrossFit format: rounds, for-time, AMRAP, EMOM, ladders, the chipper.
  • Your own numbers: the coach’s reference points — the inchworm ladder and the final three rounds against your very first workout.
  • Readiness for the next step: repeat the course at a higher load or move on to harder training.

Equipment

  • Chair

Program

Twenty workouts in order. The weeks are a guide, not a calendar.

Week 1 5 workouts
  1. Workout 1
  2. Workout 2
  3. Workout 3
  4. Workout 4
  5. Workout 5
Week 2 5 workouts
  1. Workout 6
  2. Workout 7
  3. Workout 8
  4. Workout 9
  5. Workout 10
Week 3 5 workouts
  1. Workout 11
  2. Workout 12
  3. Workout 13
  4. Workout 14
  5. Workout 15
Week 4 5 workouts
  1. Workout 16
  2. Workout 17
  3. Workout 18
  4. Workout 19 Benchmark
  5. Workout 20 Benchmark

The first workout is free

Here it is in full. Do it now — no card, no payment.

  • Knee push-up ×8
  • Air squat ×13
  • Dead bug ×13
Do it in the app
Open it on your phone — point the camera
The full plan

Push-ups, squats, dead bugs

Introducing the body to training

Workout 1. Work by the timer: every minute a new exercise — do it, then rest until the minute is up. Minute 1 knee push-ups, 2 squats, 3 dead bugs, 4 rest. Three such rounds; after the third, straight to the cool-down. The goal is to switch on the big muscle groups and simply begin. No rush, no maximum: technique and a comfortable load matter more than numbers.

  1. Warm-up: joint mobility Circuit · 1 round
  2. By the minute EMOM · 3 rounds · 11 min
  3. Cool-down and stretch Sets · 1 set

How the app adapts

Before a workout you choose Easier, As usual or Harder. Afterwards you rate the effort from 1 to 10 and the next load shifts.

  • +5 % Easy, all done
  • +2 % Just right
  • −5 % At the limit
  • −10 % Something hurt

Get access to the course

Leave your email and pay — access opens automatically and the course appears in the app under this email.

Course · Beginner

Forma. Start: home CrossFit basics

  • 4 weeks
  • 20 workouts
  • One payment, no time limit

First workout free

$29

Payment is handled on app.lava.top. Use the same email you entered here: access opens automatically as soon as the payment lands, and another address will not be matched to the order.

One payment, no time limit

It is easier not to quit as two — start on Monday.

Bring someone along

Course FAQ

What equipment do I need?

No equipment — you need a sturdy chair without wheels and a mat. You will do dips off the chair and step-ups onto it. No chair? Use a stair step for step-ups and a windowsill for the dips.

I am completely out of shape. Will I cope?

That is exactly who this course is for. The coach tells beginners to start at the minimum — and the app does it for you: after the onboarding on first login it lowers the rep counts, then asks how each session felt and adjusts the next one. If it is hard, pick "Easier" — that is not failure, it is part of the plan. Sit-ups can always become dead bugs.

How long is a session?

About 18 minutes on average including warm-up and cool-down — 5 minutes each of joint mobility and stretching plus up to 11 minutes of main part. The shortest run around 14–15 minutes; the longest are the first two sessions (three rounds with a minute of rest) and the inchworm ladder at around 20–21. Before you start, the app shows the estimated time for each difficulty option.

I missed a session — what now?

No drama: do it the next day and shift the rest. Do not try to squeeze two into one day — for beginners that ends in soreness and another week off. And if there is no energy or time at all, the coach has an alternative for any day: a walk, up to 10,000 steps.

I have diastasis. Can I do sit-ups?

The coach advises against sit-ups, Russian twists and toe reaches with diastasis. Wherever they appear, do dead bugs — twice the reps. The app says so right on the exercise, and with the "pregnancy" limitation set the swap happens automatically.

My muscles are sore. Is that normal?

Mild soreness a day or two after a new load is normal, especially in the first two weeks. Walking, water and sleep help. If the pain is sharp, in a joint, or lasts more than three days, rest and see a professional if needed. Mark "Pain" in the session feedback: the app will reduce the load.

Related guides

All guides

Exercises in this course

All exercises