The 2019 OPEN
It’s that time of year again, can you believe it?
5 weeks of functional fitness to test your skills and improvement since last year. The past few months of changes in the CrossFit world have left people feeling confused and questioning whether or not to do The 2019 Open.
My question to you is WHY NOT? What do you have to lose? Why not take the true test of fitness for another year?
I want you to take a step back and remember your first CrossFit Open. To me, that was something I won't ever forget. I just started CrossFit and jumped right into the Open. Some things I remember very well: Getting my first chest to bar, the community pushing me to do one more rep, and really proud ripped hands. I didn’t care what the person next to me was doing, or another members score. I cared about where I was at that moment with the skills I currently had.
First time doing The Open this year?
I am even more excited FOR YOU. This is an experience you will always remember. Sure, you may feel nervous or scared. But we have all been through that feeling and that is a reason to participate in itself! If you are feeling scared then face your fears and test your skills. The community is behind you. It is a good way to understand where you currently are with fitness and allows you to set goals for the year. It brings you closer with people in the community and pushes you mentally. You will become a stronger athlete just for signing up for The Open!
This is what The Open is all about:
Growth
A True Test of Fitness
Community
Growth:
The Open not only tests our overall fitness level but pushes us to develop new skills mentally and physically. Yep, I mean that first pull-up and pushing through those last 9 burpees. The Open brings out a fire inside of us that we don't always have on a Monday morning class. It allows us to believe in ourselves a little more and strive to gain a new skill to get ONE MORE REP. The feeling of gaining a new skill is something that stays with us for the rest of our lives. We won't ever forget our first bar muscle up - or even better RING muscle up! The Open allows us to grow physically and mentally. It allows us to push ourselves to the next level which carries over into our everyday lives as well.
Testing Fitness:
Anyone can do The Open. You do not have to be a full-time athlete or competitor to come out and test your skill set. It is about seeing how you have improved since the last year, or even better, seeing what you need to work on for the upcoming year. The Open is exciting because it enables you to identify where you are as an athlete. The only thing that matters is comparing yourself to YOU. It is a great feeling to see how your hard work has paid off as The Open displays your improvements but also keeps you humble working towards the more skillful movements that CrossFit consists of.
Community:
What is CrossFit without a community? Without your best friends screaming at you to do one more burpee or thruster? The community we have is everything. The reason we show up, the reason we sweat, the reason we improve. It is all because of our community. The Open displays the best parts of the community. Everyone is pushing each other a little more, pushing the limits and allowing one another to PR that day. If you need a reason to do The Open this year - then pick this one. Your friends are counting on you and this community wouldn't be the same without you.
The Open gives you another purpose to work your butt off every day, test your skills and most importantly motivate your surrounding members.
-Chelsea Young