You may have been hearing talk starting to brew around the gym about the CrossFit Open 2021 coming up. The time has come to start signing up to compete!
What is the Open?
In summary, the CrossFit Open is a 3-week online competition that connects the CrossFit community on a global level by uniting hundreds of thousands of people across the globe. Starting March 11th, a workout is released by CrossFit HQ every Thursday evening. All those competing have until the following Monday afternoon to complete the workout and upload their score to the official CrossFit Games leaderboard. More info soon to come on how we will be structuring the event at the gym!
This year the Open is more accessible than ever! In addition to having the RX and Scaled divisions as previous years, this year they are adding a Foundation and equipment free option. The Foundation option allows members new to CrossFit to still take part in the event even if they may not be fully confident in some of the CrossFit specific movements. The open is for anyone and everyone, no matter your age, fitness level, or experience, and we want to share why you should sign up!
1. Give Yourself a Benchmark
By signing up for the Open and submitting your scores each week you will be able to track your progress and results year to year. If you are just starting out and hesitant to sign up, your future self will thank you five years from now when you can see the hard evidence on the gains you have made! Your results year to year magnifies the progress you make day to day that can sometimes be hard to see. No matter the outcome, you will have a goal to surpass for next year.
2. Learn about Yourself
The Open will deliver many opportunities for learning. When putting yourself to the test you will find out you are capable of more than you think by accomplishing something you once thought you couldn’t. By assessing your performance, you can decide on some skills and components of fitness you want to improve upon for next year. Set a new goal and prioritize it in your training. Your performance and opportunities for growth are inspirational to yourself and those around you. You’ll also be able to officially test the goals you’ve been working on in a competitive yet supportive environment.
3. Add to Your WHY
We all have a ‘WHY’ behind our reason for coming into the gym to train. Whether it be to keep up with your kids, actively explore the outdoors, weight loss, improve body composition, pursue your physical potential, test yourself mentally, or because it simply feels good and is enjoyable. Now more than ever some days it can seem hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The Open serves as an added boost of external motivation to continue coming to your 3-6 classes/week and maximizing your efforts each time you’re in the gym. With an end goal to want to be able to perform your best come March 11th, it will make it that much more worth it to dig in deep when you feel like easing off. Give your training an added purpose.
4. Memorable Firsts
The Open is renowned for serving as the place many athletes get their first Pull-ups, Toes to Bar, Double Unders, and of course Muscle-ups! The adrenaline of competing, and support from you own community is fuel that pulls out strength you didn’t know you had. Every year countless PR’s are set! You will be inspired by seeing your friends and yourself set PRs and really push their limits.
5. Compete Again
Once we stop playing sports as kids and young adults, we often rarely compete again. Make it official by signing up for the Open on the CrossFit Games website. By committing to signing up you get to experience the thrill of competing again, and there’s something about being accountable to a leaderboard that can give you another gear. The nerves before, followed by the pump of adrenaline following ‘3-2-1 GO’ will remind you of some great memories in sport.
6. It’s FUN!!
Last, but not least, it’s FUN!! After the 3 weeks you can look back at the workouts you completed and feel a great sense of accomplishment for putting yourself out there and giving it your all. Take time to bond with the community, cheer each other on, and celebrate your accomplishments.
Written by Tori Fiissel Photo by Robin Martin
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