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CrossFit at Home and Driveway Training for Fitness Over 50

Want to try CrossFit at home for over 50? You can do a driveway workout that is highly effective for fat loss and developing healthier muscles.

In the photos and video below, you’ll note that I did this workout in my driveway.

Training in a driveway gym is a lot of fun and more versatile than you might imagine.

In fact, you can have a better workout in a driveway than you can at a regular gym.

I’ve also done this style of training in my living room, at the park, on my rooftop patio, on my balcony, at the gym, in my backyard, and even in an empty parking lot. Crossfit for over 50 can be done anywhere!

What is CrossFit?

Perhaps the best way to do CrossFit is to drop into your neighborhood CrossFit studio – called a “box” – and try a class.

You don’t have to be among elite athletes or a CrossFit Games competitor to go to a box. Many boxes offer CrossFit workouts for beginner-level older adults and masters athletes.

What is CrossFit at Home?

You can also do a CrossFit-style workout at home – in your living room, backyard patio, or driveway.

The principles of CrossFit at home are based on cross-training (hence the name “CrossFit”), which is a fitness program that includes both strength training and high-intensity cardiovascular intervals.

CrossFit for Over 50 – Dane Findley shows the Driveway Training fitness workout.

Strictly speaking, cross-training means doing another type of exercise other than the one you normally do:

  • So if you primarily train indoors, then training outdoors is cross-training.
  • If you mostly use dumbbells, then using kettlebells is cross-training.
  • But CrossFit at home also emphasizes functional movements our ancestors did in everyday life – such as lifting, squatting, pulling, and pushing.

CrossFit often includes Olympic lifts and barbells, but as any good personal trainer will tell you, barbells can sometimes be hard on the joints of older people – so, in this workout, I mainly opted for dumbbells and TRX straps instead.

CrossFit at Home for Over 50

The following workout can burn calories from surplus fat while also sculpting muscle. Plus, it can be modified to match the fitness level of mature athletes.

You don’t have to use the exact equipment I use here.

Use your creativity to create variations on the exercises, using whatever you have available – kettlebell, dumbbell, resistance band, fitness vest, stability ball, suspension strap, medicine ball, or ankle weights.

If you have no equipment, you can still have an excellent workout. Make needed modifications, do more repetitions of each exercise and do them faster.

You’ll sweat, believe me.

Try This CrossFit at Home Workout for Over 50

The following workout uses both weight training and bodyweight exercises to develop your overall strength.

Beginners can do their training in the traditional bodybuilding way – 3 sets of each exercise with a 2-minute rest in between.

However, true CrossFit at-home exercise for over 50 typically involves high-intensity workouts that move faster than vanilla bodybuilding. So be sure to use proper form – especially if you’re going to lift heavy weights – and get clearance from your doctor to participate in physical activity and make sure you don’t have a health condition that would conflict with CrossFit for over 50 workouts.

If fat loss is a priority, it’s a good idea to use the timer on your phone to ensure your rest periods don’t run too long. This will keep your heart rate from plummeting and help you remain in a fat-burning zone:

  • Intermediate and advanced-level athletes can instead do a circuit training variation, in which you do 3 or 4 exercises back-to-back with no rest period and then take a 3-minute break before repeating.
  • Each circuit is repeated three times before moving on to an entirely new circuit.

Driveway Gym: Warm-Ups Emphasizing Abdominals

Put all your fitness tools – including water and a mat and/or towel – in your driveway (or wherever you’re exercising) before beginning so that you don’t have to take unnecessary breaks looking for equipment.

If you’re training outdoors, I encourage you to wear sunscreen – including on your scalp and inside your ears. If you have light-colored eyes, you might want to wear sunglasses and a cap as well.

Refer to the video near the bottom of this article to see each exercise in action.

Man does variation on plank exercise during driveway training workout.

Training Warm-Up with the Toe-Point Plank

Form the perfect plank pose – with abdominal muscles pulled up and in – and keep your glutes activated.

Your arms are bent so that elbows are braced on the mat.

Point your toes (causing your body to slide forward slightly) and then flex your heels (causing your body to slide back and create a stretch in the calves).

14 repetitions.

CrossFit for Over 50 – Man does abdominal training in the sun and fresh air of his driveway.

CrossFit at Home for Over 50: Driveway Hip Swivel

Still holding the perfect plank, with your shoulders positioned directly above your elbows, swivel to each side – gently touching the edge of your hip to the ground. This exercise engages the obliques (sides of your waist).

14 reps (7 each side).

Hip Swivel with Leg Reach

Similar to above, only this time, as you swivel the hip to each side, you also reach the top leg back to gently touch the ground behind you.

TRX suspension training in driveway.
You might be surprised at all the places you can attach a TRX strap, including a tree branch and car roof rack – as long as it’s secure and elevated.

Suspension Training Superman

Face away from the straps. The is still a plank exercise, only this time you’re using TRX suspension straps to hold the plank midair – like superman flying up-and-away. Then you return to a starting toe-touch position.

14 reps.

CrossFit for Over 50 – Older athlete does high intensity interval training in his driveway.

Driveway Gym: Jumprope

This is still a warm-up, so keep your feet soft, and your knees slightly bent as you jump rope. Your navel should be pulled in tightly, and your pelvis should remain centered (resist the temptation to arch your lower back).

60 jumps.

CrossFit for Over 50: The Second Training Circuit

At this point in this CrossFit at-home workout, you should be fully warmed up. In this second circuit, you can probably build the intensity and push yourself a little farther.

A healthy workout works on the edge of discomfort – you feel targeted muscles burning, but there should be no profound dizziness or joint pain.

Muscled man does driveway fitness training.

TRX Squat and Row During CrossFit at Home

Face the straps. With feet apart, squat low, then press back up to stand as your row your elbows back-and-in. You want to use your leg muscles and back muscles equally.

16 reps.

Suspension Training Rear Fly and Front Raise

Face the straps. Alternate rear delt fly (for your posterior deltoids – a real posture improver) with front arm raise for your shoulders.

CrossFit for Over 50 – Dane Findley, age 54, does TRX training in his driveway.

The further away from you your feet are, the more challenging the movement. So you can adjust to your desired resistance level simply by where you position your feet.

16 reps (8 fly and 8 raise, alternating).

Driveway Gym: TRX Front Fly

Face away from the straps and do the fly movement for your pectorals.

CrossFit for Over 50 – TRX chest fly exercise

Placing your feet like you’re standing almost upright makes it easier – while leaning farther forward with your feet behind you makes the exercise more challenging.

12 reps.

Silver-haired man does decline push-ups exercises during driveway training.

Decline Push-Up

Elevate your feet for push-ups. This exercise is highly effective for developing the all-important upper-chest area of your torso. Beginners can do the standard version (or even on their knees), while intermediate and advanced athletes can do single-leg reps (8 on each side).

16 reps.

Toddler Jump

Your starting position is bent forward – with hands on the ground.

Your feet start near your hands, then jump your feet back so your legs come together into a plank position. Repeat.

Driveway fitness training can include the Toddler Jumps Exercise.

It’s okay to keep your knees slightly soft. Also, if you have a pair of larger dumbbells, you might find it more comfortable to set those on the ground and use them as handles. That’s optional, however.

16 reps.

CrossFit for Over 50: The Third Training Circuit

As you undertake each exercise, ask yourself where in your body you feel it most.

Ideally, you want to feel the targeted muscle contracting.

If you feel any pain in your spine or joints, you need to reposition yourself. Often, changing the placement of your feet, or squeezing your core and glute muscles more tightly will help take pressure off of your joints.

Try not just to collapse your body weight downward.

Instead, visualize directing your energy up toward the sky. This is how dancers and circus acrobats can perform uninjured – despite relentless hours of exercise. They keep their abdominals and buttocks muscles strong, and they lift as they move.

CrossFit at Home: Suspension Training Sissy Squat for Quads

Face away from the straps, tucking the straps underneath your arms against the sides of your torso. Lean forward, then press up onto the balls of your feet and stay like that. Now, bend your knees and squat.

TRX sissy squat exercise.

If your knees feel like they’re in good shape, you can even bring them in front of your toes a bit – you’ll feel it more in your quadriceps muscles that way.

12 reps. (Remember not to hold your breath.)

CrossFit for Over 50, training the suspended heel-raise exercise.

Suspended Heel Raise

Same starting position as the above exercise, only this time you keep your legs straight, allowing your heels to slowly stretch down to the ground. Then, pop those heels back up – as high as you absolutely can – as you intensely contract the calf muscles of your lower leg. Exaggerate the range of motion. Keep the weight of your body centered in the ball of your feet (instead of rolling your foot slightly to one side).

20 reps.

Driveway Tricep Dips with Elevated Feet

With tricep dips, I find it helpful to keep my hips as close to the bench or chair as possible.

man exercising in his driveway

In this variation, feet are elevated. Try to rotate your elbows back and put some torque in your grip – pressing down into the bench as you almost turn your hands out. Distribute weight evenly into the heel of your palms to protect your wrists (instead of rolling weight more onto one side).

16 reps.

Driveway Horizontal Pull-Ups

Pull-ups can be a bit tricky at home. You need a bar or something to which you can hang on while pulling.

At the gym, the smith machine makes for an easy way to do horizontal pull-ups because the bar is secure, and you can easily adjust the height.

At home, you might have a pull-up bar in a doorway, or some people slide under a kitchen table and grab the edge with a reverse grip.

If you happen to have a truck or SUV in your driveway, you might be able to slide under and grab the bumper or tow pull handles (as I do in the photo above).

Whatever creative solution you find for pull-ups, be absolutely sure that it’s safe and secure.

12 reps.

CrossFit at Home: Training the Row-and-Press with a Resistance Band

Secure one end of a looped resistance band, then grab the other end and:

  • Pull the band toward you in a rowing motion.
  • Pause at the point of contraction, then slowly press your arms up.
  • Lower back down to the row, then release to starting position.

This exercise hits the back and shoulder muscles together. See video for a demonstration.

Anytime you’re doing a shoulder press, proceed slowly. Make any slight modifications needed to the movement to accommodate your rotator cuffs.

9 reps.

Banded Back Pull-Over

For back pullovers using a resistance band, bend your knees and stick your chest out (but keep the top rib pressed in a bit – no need to over arch). The band should be positioned high above head level. With straight arms, pull the ends of a band down, using your back muscles (not your arms) to initiate the movement. See video.

14 reps.

Banded Hammer Curl During CrossFit at Home

For banded hammer curls, you want the band positioned low – near foot level. Soften your knees, engage your core, bolt your elbows into the sides of your torso, then slowly curl the band up and down like you’re hammering.

Really try to pump blood into the biceps muscle at the top of each rep. See video.

14 reps.

Banded Overhead Tricep Extension

Face away from the band, raise your arms overhead, gripping the ends of the band, then extend your arms overhead, contracting the tricep muscles of your upper arm. Then slowly returning to starting position bending at the elbow. See video.

14 reps.

CrossFit at Home: Driveway Training Finishers

“Finishers” are those last couple of exercises at the end of a workout when you unleash yourself, working as intensely as possible (since you know it’s almost over). The idea is to work up a robust sweat.

The battle rope is ideal for finishers. You can secure the other end of the rope around a tree or pole, place a heavy dumbbell on it, or do what I did for this video and simply park your car tire over the top of it!

Older athlete does battle rope in his driveway.

Battle Rope Alternating Arm Pumps

CrossFit for over 50 means listening to your joints. If they feel pain, stop the exercise. This is especially true with battle rope movements.

If your shoulders and elbows are having a good day, then grab the ends of a battle rope and alternatively pump your arms, keeping your core and buttocks engaged to help protect your lower back.

45 seconds.

Battle Rope Simultaneous Arm Pumps

Similar to the above exercise, except both arms together. You’re trying to create a snap sound when the rope strikes the ground. Imagine cracking a whip.

45 seconds.

Dane Findley age 54 helps others achieve stellar wellness and a healthier physique.
Dane has a master’s in Depth Counseling and has spent decades as a professional fitness and Pilates trainer. Today, Dane is a Healthy Lifestyle Advocate who curates the popular Quality of Life Newsletter – a free weekly update for those who want to increase their daily joy.

You can get fit by training on your own time and schedule. CrossFit at home makes that possible.

CrossFit at home is a workout program that usually combines strength training, cardio, and gymnastics. It’s designed to improve overall fitness and help people achieve their health and physique goals.

The public perceives a CrossFit at home workout as being quite intense, but – in truth – the exercises can be modified to match your unique circumstances.

Typically, CrossFit at home workouts are short, higher-intensity, and constantly changing.

The workouts tend to focus on functional movements like pull-ups, pushups, squats, and burpees.

CrossFit at home can be an exciting way to stay in tip-top condition. You can do it anywhere, anytime, and it doesn’t require much equipment or space.