The CrossFit Open is almost here and whether you have aspirations to compete at the CrossFit Games, or you started CrossFit recently, the Open is for you! That may sound like a bold, blanket statement but here is why.
The Open is a yearly event where each week a new workout is thrown at us and we are asked to rise to the challenge. This can sound daunting at first but at DISTRICT we see things a little differently. The Open is a chance to have a huge amount of fun with our friends and fellow members. The Open is a chance to try things we never have, or improve on something we did last year. The Open is our way of getting together, challenging ourselves to do the best we can, and supporting everyone around us!
Each workout has an RX and scaled version and can be tackled by each and every person. Every year we see new lifting PR’s, people completing movements they never have before; getting their first pull up or handstand push up. Every year we have more fun supporting each other than ever before.
So now I have given you all the amazing reasons to try it, you may be asking; how do I get the most out of it? How do I really enjoy it and do my best in the open? Below are a few of my top tips.
Test yourself in classes. You can do this in three different ways.
-
Test your capacity!
How many times do you finish class lying on the floor and unable to get up? Knowing that you truly pushed yourself to your limit? If the answer is never or rarely then this is something you can try in class. Experiment with pacing, try bigger sets than normal, maybe even go a little too hard and have to slow down. Why? Well if you never do this in class, what will happen in a workout where you do actually push that bit harder? You simply don’t know, so try to test it out. Find out where your red line is and then tackle The Open workouts understanding how hard you can push.
-
Test your strength!
How long have you been sticking with the same weight dumbbell or barbell compared to the RX? If The Open comes up and the men’s RX dumbbell is 22.5 and you always choose 17.5 or 20 then how do you know if you can cope with 22.5? Your coaches will support and advise you on this but why not try to go a little heavier? If halfway through the workout you feel like you might not finish, or maybe you want to go lighter then at least you know where you are and what you can handle.
-
Test your skills!
Do you always go for single skips? Add a band to your pull-ups? Do you do Handstand push-ups with an extra ab mat? The truth is no one ever got better at double-unders by doing singles. Try doubles in class, remove the band from those pull-ups, see if you can get workouts done with a little less assistance. You may well surprise yourself and end up having an even more exciting time in the open than you expected.
Lastly, just have fun and don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Are you aiming to go to the Games? If no, then NEVER repeat an Open workout during the five weeks. It is an unnecessary strain on your body. Come to class, be active, enjoy The Open but do not repeat. A sample week could look like this:
Monday to Thursday; come to class as normal but test out some new skills, weights, and pacing strategies. Friday, an active recovery workout, get the blood pumping and flush out those muscles. Saturday ‘The Open’. Sunday; be active, have a nice walk, swim, or bike ride, come to burn or go for a light jog.
If we circle back to the first few things I wrote about the CrossFit Open, the main point is to test ourselves and have fun!! We can still have amazing weeks of training, we can learn new skills and try new workouts. We can come out on the other side with new goals, having achieved new things and ready to take on anything!
