Why Everyone Should Sign up for the Open
First let me explain for those of you who don’t know, what the Open is.
The CrossFit Open is an annual, global competition that anyone can enter. Generally you do it at your own CrossFit gym and each person is judged to make sure they adhere to the standards for that workout and you enter your scores on a global database, comparing yourself with thousands of like-minded people across your gym, country, region and the world.
When I say anyone can enter, I mean it. The workouts come in two types - RXd (as prescribed, withe the weights and movement standards prescribed in advance) or scaled (where the movements are made more accessible, for example, pullups might be scaled to jumping pullups, which are still challenging but achievable for most people). At our gym, we also add a super scaled version for people who might not be quite ready for the scaled version yet.
The workouts are really hard but they are just CrossFit workouts - you know, the stuff you do every time you come to the gym.
The workouts are released on Friday morning each week and you have until the following Monday night to complete them. We get most of them done during Friday Night Lights but there are opportunities across the weekend and Monday to get them done too.
I know some of you will be thinking, well this is fine for those people who have been doing CrossFit for a while or who have done competitions before but it’s obviously not for the likes of me. Well, let me tell you, we have successfully got brand new people through the CrossFit Open every year we have done it.
It really is for absolutely everyone! And you don’t need to be able to lift heavy or go super fast or do pullups….
So why should you do the CrossFit Open?
1 - It’s good for you. Pure and simple, it challenges you and that makes you stronger - mentally and physically. It’s good for you to force yourself out of your comfort zone and suck it up. Force yourself to be positive in a situation you might not be totally comfortable with. It’s good to push yourself harder than you do most of the time to see what you are really capable of. People are generally pleasantly surprised by what they achieve in the Open.
2 - It’s fun. (Remember it doesn’t always have to be fun to be fun.) No one who did the Open ever regretted it. You might stress and worry about each workout before they happen but that is your problem to over come (I refer you back to point 1) Once each workout is over, you are always glad you did it and proud of yourself. There may be a bit of you that will even want to redo the workout but that’s a whooooool other topic….
3 - It is sociable. We all get together and you do the workouts with other members of the gym you may not have met before and it reinforces the great community atmosphere we have at the gym. We have an awesome DJ who will ensure you are pumped for each workout ( I haven’t actually asked him this year but I’m sure I can persuade him….) It’s a like a party with added sweat!
4 - It sets a marker in the sand. It is an opportunity for you to showcase to yourself what your body can do - how far you have come mentally and physically. You might not be able to compare your scores to last years because they parameters have changed but you know what you could and couldn’t do last year. You know what you struggled with and what you were proud of and this year is a chance to see what’s changed. It’s a chance to see what needs work on for the coming year. If it’s your first Open, it might be your first chance to compete - did you ever think you’d be entering a global CrossFit competition?
5 - It’’s good for you. I come back to this again. We don’t sit in the easy chair at CrossFit. We grow and learn and progress by making ourselves feel uncomfortable and by learning how to control our anxieties and fears and excitement to channel those feelings and emotions into better performances. If your head is telling you you don’t want to do it, or you aren’t really competitive or you aren’t really bothered by it, pull yourself up. Ask yourself some serious questions. Don’t give yourself the easy way out!
