Throughout the year, we hit benchmark workouts at Sycamore CrossFit (1-rep-max back squat, 1-rep-max snatch, Fran, Cindy)… The CrossFit Games Open is the time to see how we perform compared to other CrossFitters around the world.
WHAT IS THE CROSSFIT OPEN?
The Open is comprised of five workouts over five weeks, this year it starts with 19.1. Open workouts are identified by their year and the order in which they appear. The workouts will be released every Thursday during the five weeks of the Open.
After the workout is released, any athlete who has registered for the Open will have until 5 p.m. PT on the following Monday to submit their best score online.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE CROSSFIT OPEN?
The Open is one of the qualifying stages of the CrossFit Games.
While the purpose of the Open is to find the fittest athletes in each country to move on to the CrossFit Games, it’s also an opportunity for any athlete at any level to participate in the competition. It can add meaning and purpose to your training while also bringing our community closer together. (As a rule of thumb, the Open is the time of year where we see many people achieve important firsts: bodyweight snatch, muscle-ups, toes-to-bars, handstand push-ups, double-unders, etc.)
Most importantly, the Open will also give you some interesting data on your performance in the gym, which can be a guide for setting realistic goals for the following year.
THAT SOUNDS GREAT, BUT WHY SIGN UP? I’M NOT GOING TO THE GAMES…
Only a very small percentage of athletes will make it to the Games. While I can understand the sentiment of “Why bother?” I really encourage you to think about participating because you will be part of a very big international event. You can also see how you compare to thousand of other individuals across the world. Every affiliate in the world can take part in the Open, which is amazing, and they can all do it in a different way, we do it as Friday Night Lights!
YEAH, BUT I DON’T KNOW. I’VE DONE CROSSFIT FOR A FEW YEARS ALREADY. WHAT’S THE POINT?
If you’ve been doing CrossFit for a year or more, all it takes is a little competition to really bring out the best in you. It’s easy to lose motivation or intensity in your workouts if you are never pushed past what you think you can do.
If you have been interested in doing a local competition, then participating in Friday Night Lights is absolutely your best opportunity to get a taste of what it’s like to be judged and compete in a CrossFit event. While you may not make it to the games, the excitement of doing the same workout as Games athletes is a really fun element to add to your weekly fitness routine.
Finally, consider that Friday Night Lights is simply a snapshot of your fitness at one point in time. Maybe you are rehabbing an injury, just coming back to the gym after a layoff, working on being more consistent, these reasons don’t have to get in the way of participating, this is one of the most exciting times in a CrossFit gym. The easiest thing is to make an excuse and not participate. Friday Night Lights can be the catalyst to get you back on track.
WHAT ABOUT ME? I’VE ONLY BEEN DOING CROSSFIT FOR TWO WEEKS!
Even if you are a complete beginner (yes, those of you who finished Foundations), you can participate in Friday Night Lights. Every Friday Night Lights workout will feature a scaled workout option. All of these workouts can be modified or scaled so anyone who goes to the gym can do them.
Think of FNL as an opportunity to set a performance baseline for CrossFit. I promise you that you will be amazed at your progress if you continue with your CrossFit training and retest the following year.
DATA = TRAINING PROGRESS
What’s most useful about participating in FNL is having a complete record of your past performances, we also track this in WODify. From your first Foundations class to reminders about posting your WOD scores and times, writing down your training results is a huge (if not the biggest) component for seeing consistent progress in the gym.
Besides providing a nice reality check about your overall skill and fitness level, you’ll find that reviewing all the past data is beneficial for goal setting. Goal setting/athlete check ins are provided quarterly at Sycamore CrossFit
For instance, if “I” want to become better at CrossFit, there are some basic takeaways from my past Open results. Using my own data, I can note my strengths (i.e., olympic lifts, rowing, grinding workouts) and my weaknesses (i.e., pull-ups or muscle-ups – any year, any workout).
OK, I’M CONVINCED! HOW DO I REGISTER?
Follow this link to register : https://sycamorecrossfit.wodify.com/OnlineSalesPortal/PaymentPlans.aspx?OnlineMembershipId=89521&IsMobile=False&LocationId=702
Lastly, don’t worry about signing up for Rx’d or Scaled workouts. Everyone competing in FNL has the option of performing a scaled version of the workout in any given week. If you are a complete beginner, this is great news! It ensures that the experience will be even more inclusive.