The CrossFit Open is coming back and it's right around the corner! Although it has changed just slightly, we are still super excited about the Open and everything that it brings with it. If you have been with us for a while, we hope you are getting excited as ever for the 2021 Open. If you haven't, or aren't sure what the Open is, I hope to educate you and share just how cool the Open is and why we love it so.
But first, let's first understand what exactly the Open. If you are totally new to this, I'll draw a parallel to golf and the PGA Tour. When we do CrossFit here at the gym, we are like the millions of golfers who hit the links throughout the year. In the golf world, a select few get to participate in the PGA Tour - tournament's that are reserved for the professionals only. In the CrossFit World, think of the Open as the first event in CrossFit's PGA Tour, except it isn't professionals only. Everyone gets to play, even us average Joes. After the Open, the pro's will advance to the quarterfinals and on to the other events in the CrossFit Season. But for now, we get to experience the fun!
This year, the Open will consist of 3 weeks of workouts to be released on March 11th, 18th and 25th. On each of these days, a workout or set of workouts will be released and they need to be completed by the following Monday. Typically we all do the workouts together as a group each week. For example, the first workout(s) will be released on Thursday, March 11th and then our gym and thousands of other gyms around the world will complete the workout on Friday the 12th. You have the opportunity to "redo" the workout if you feel you can do better, and often the pro's repeat these workouts a few times. Final scores will need to be submitted by Monday the 15th. Then on Thursday the 18th, a new workout or set of workouts will be released, and finally the same thing on the 25th.
Now that you understand what the Open is, let's get into WHY the Open is so exciting:
COMPETITION
First things first, the Open is a competition and it allows us to test ourselves in a competition setting. A lot of people are drawn to CrossFit because they were athletes in the past and CrossFit gives them the competitive outlet that was lost once the sport ended. For those that aren't super competitive, it still is a chance to test yourself and see where your limits are. You might not be concerned with the leaderboard or what place you finish, but you get to test your limits and see how far you have come.
SUPPORT
The most important aspect of the Open is effort. Believe it or not, noone cares what your score was or where your place. But everyone cares that you push yourself and give it your all. And when you do give it your all, everyone knows it and everyone loves it! There is an interesting phenomenon in CrossFit - often times the person who is last to complete a workout gets cheered on the loudest. Like I said, no-one cares if you are first or last, only that you are trying your best. And it's an awesome feeling when people get behind you to push you to the finish.
COMRADERY
When we get together, typically on Friday nights, its so fun and exciting. Everyone is together and ready to give it their all, together. You have your support cheering you on and you feel like you can do anything. And once you experience that, it just strengthens the bonds you already have with you fellow gym-mates. After weeks of pushing each other further than thought possible, you truly feel like more than fellow members of a gym, you feel like teammates.
If you couldn't tell, I'm super pumped for the Open and the Coaches are too. We hope you guys are getting excited, we know we are going to see some barriers conquered and some new PR's hit. If you are planning on participating, let us know!!
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