Why you should enter the Open...

I’ve just signed up for the Great North Run. It’s been on my “Sh*t to do before I'm 30” list, (which has now become my “Sh*t to do before I'm 40” list). I can run a half marathon anytime I like just put on my shoes, grab the dog, and time myself for 13.1 miles. But that’s not the same as signing up for an event. We are social: belonging and connection are basic human needs. Do I think I’m going to win it? No, I just want to complete it and enjoy the atmosphere (and maybe half a Brown Ale or two). The point is, doing these things with others counts. Buying in counts. This is one reason why we register for challenges of this kind.

More than 250,000 people from around the globe registered for “The CrossFit Open” last year making it the largest CrossFit community event of the season! What makes “The Open” particularly special is that it ties together friends from within the same gym, the country and the whole world. 

The Open is INCLUSIVE and welcomes anyone from 14 to 100 years old. All you need to do is sign up, and enter a score each week. Open workouts, like class workouts, are scaleable and are a celebration of the graft you’ve put in over the last 12 months. You may not make that person declared the fittest on earth at the end of it, and no one expects that of you, to but for those 5 weeks, you will be part of something truly inspirational. 

The first year I participated in the Open, I learned a lot about myself. Mid way through the thrusters, I was in that now familiar dark place and considering my life choices. 

There I was, a Commando trained soldier, supposedly in peak physical fitness, nearly reduced to near tears by a barbell. Spurred on by the other athletes (who had all finished by the way) I dug a little deeper and got it finished. I sucked, but the high fives and fist pumps still rained down and that post WOD euphoria and sense of achievement kicked in. 

I got through it. I didn’t quit. My initial “Open” experience highlighted some serious weakness’ in my fitness, in my training and gave my ego a huge kick in the nuts. It gave me a lot of things to work on for following year. 

Twelve months later, and every year since, those ’thrusters’ reared their ugly head again and guess what….. I still sucked…. but nowhere near as much as I did as the year before.

Be accountable, be a part of something challenge yourself. It’s OPEN SEASON.

On Saturday morning at 10.30, there will be a more in depth explanation of how the Open will run at CFA and how you can get involved.