I take for granted each year how many new members we have that don’t know what the Open is. I’m sure that coming from any other gym environment, you just don’t expect there to be an inclusive, worldwide test of fitness waiting for you.
But there is. And if there was one thing that we as a gym train for each year, it’s the Open. The CrossFit Open is a 5 week long competition, starting late February/Early March. Workouts are completed at your home gym, garage, or wherever you can make it happen. Scores are submitted online, and you’re ranked against the many other people in your Region.
The Open is structured so that many people can do it, even our relatively new members. This year, there’s even going to be a “Scaled” division, so that even more of our members can participate. I know many of you may not think of yourselves as competitors, but coming to a CrossFit gym, we look at progress from the perspective of not just how you look and feel, but how you perform. The Open can be an excellent benchmark for where you are, and how far you’ve come over the past year.
There’s few reasons not to do the Open, and we’d love to see record numbers of CrossFit RVA participants this coming one. I’m sure many of you will first think “how can I get ready?”, but the fact is, you’ve been getting ready all along just by coming to the gym and participating in the group classes. But, we can focus our efforts between now and then to get more fit than ever.
Take yourself seriously
For many of our newest members, it may be hard to get around the idea that the gym is just something you “do”. Wake up, work, gym, go home, go to sleep. Just another part of your day. Instead, come to the gym with purpose. Pay attention, focus on moving well, and give a solid effort.
Work on your weaknesses
The group classes cover a wide array of what you need to become fit. But you can go above and beyond, just by addressing your weaknesses. Ask an instructor what your weaknesses are, and what you should be working on. I’ve met plenty of members who had glaring issues, but weren’t even aware that they were such a big deal. Once you know what your issues are, attack them. Drill before or after workouts. Even better – ask an instructor how you can work on the things you need most.
You’ll even notice quite a bit of additional “Supplemental” work from now until the Open, as we’re posting the majority of the RVA Competition Group programming for our most motivated members to add in to their training.
Compete
For those that came to the Winter Swolestice, you know it was one of the best community events we’ve ever had. Or maybe try this cool competition series that’s pretty big around here? Competition in the conventional form may not be for everyone, and that’s OK. But for those that want to dig in, it’s an excellent opportunity to provide you short term goals that will keep you motivated all the way until the Open.
Measure your progress
Are you keeping a log book or entering your scores into our system? If not, you should be! It’s easy to forget about all of the progress you’ve made, or to clearly see what you should work on most. Make sure you’re keeping track of your workout times/scores, weights lifted, and even how you felt on certain days, and other factors that might impact performance.
Everything outside of training
It’s easy to just focus on the how hard you’re working in the gym, but that means little if you don’t have everything else square away. Recovery is important too – including sleep, stretching/mobility/self myofascial release and triggerpoint work, nutrition, and stress management. This is all outside of the scope of this humble article, but look closely at all of these things, and start working on them now, not 3 weeks before the Open begins.
How can we help you?
We’re doing a few things in the near future to make sure this is our best Open yet:
- The already mentioned supplemental work to help you tackle your weaknesses and improve conditioning.
- The RVA Open Prep Course! 2, 2 hour long seminars to help you improve on some of the most common Open movements.
- The Movement RVA Open Instruction Series. We’re going to be releasing a series of videos leading up to the Open, to give you additional tips and homework to continue honing your skills. Follow us on Youtube to watch the videos as they come out!
Finally, the info we have so far about the 2015 CrossFit Open.