The CrossFit Games open is the premier event in most CrossFit gyms around the world. Coming into its 12th season, the open is an online workout qualifier or starting phase to crown the fittest male and female on earth. So why would it benefit you to sign up? After all the vast majority of us, have no interest in being the fittest on earth. Most of us want to live longer healthier lives and look good naked – I mean that’s my goal. So why sign up? Here are 3 reasons:
Fun
First and foremost the open is a lot of fun! It’s the biggest community event of the year at Westchester Fit and brings our super diverse community together. Whether you’re one of the 6am crew OR a “Strength” class disciple, it’s a time for us to all come together. It’s the time of year where for 3 weeks, Friday nights are spent at the gym with your fit fam. After you crush the workout, you cheer your friends on and possibly enjoy an adult beverage. Without fail, every year, someone who wasn’t going to sign up comes up to me and tells me how glad they are that they did. If you’re on the fence, just come for fun.
Test yourself
The second reason I think the open is absolutely amazing is because you get a very accurate barometer of where you stand fitness wise. Every gym has a “top athlete” but where do you stand compared to people just like you? People your age? RX, masters or scaled division? It’s a great way to test yourself. Most importantly, you learn about yourself. Pushing through a hard work reveals a lot about someone’s character. Do you quit when things get hard? Or do you keep going and push harder? They say iron sharpens iron, and I’ve seen people accomplish some amazing things during the open in the face of adversity.
Goals
I think this aspect of the open is probably the most important for everyone. So many people leave the open feeling exhilarated, excited and eager to improve and progress. Whether it’s working towards your first muscle up, jumping to a 20” box or deadlifting 200lbs, the open will tell you exactly where you stand. Over the last 13 years, I’ve seen goals set from the open fuel people to set massive PRs and also improve their quality of life. When people have performance based goals they almost always lean in towards healthier habits: eating more nutritious food, less alcohol, better stress management, and more fitness. For this reason, and this reason alone, I think anyone from beginner to advanced athlete should participate in the open. It can add more fuel to your fire or reinvigorate the spark you had for CrossFit when you first started.
These are just 3 simple reasons why I encourage all of my clients to sign up for the open. I want to see them all have fun, set massive goals, and take action for the year to come!
- Coach Chris