Open 2017
In the coming weeks, you will hear the coaches talk about signing up and participating in the CrossFit Games Open.
The Open is a world wide, web based, affiliate run competition to find the fittest man and woman in the world. It is the entry level for the CrossFit Games. When you sign up, you will be competing with Mat Fraser and Katrin Davidsdottir, our reigning champions. No other sport that I know allows you to compete in the same “arena” as the pros.
Starting February 23, and going for 5 weeks, one workout will be announced every Thursday. The Open workouts need to be completed by Monday at 5pm. We will perform the Open workouts as a gym on Friday and Saturday. The second weekend we will be having CrossFit Sonora come down and WOD with us and then we will go up there for the 3rd event.
At CrossFit Oakdale, we are big fans of the Open. At CFO, we try to work hard, the right way, every day. The Open just calls for a teensy little more focus, and possibly, effort. You may get a little nervous before a workout is announced, which is a good thing. You may put in a little extra work to get better at an aspect of your fitness, which is a good thing. You may pay special attention to what you are putting in your body, which is a good thing.
As the sport has evolved, my views of the Open have evolved. First, we don’t train for the Open. We train to be the best version of ourselves. It just so happens that the Open is CrossFit, and CrossFit helps us be that best version. We do CrossFit, so generally, the Open is just another challenge to overcome.
The workouts have gotten heavier over the years, and the skill demands have increased, but CrossFit HQ has done a great job of creating an event that tests both the best in the world and the newest noob. If you have been doing CrossFit for 6 months or more, I suggest you plunk down $20 and sign up.
And the truth is, you have likely done an “open” workout before. They are generally good tests of fitness, so they show up in our programming from time to time. For those of you that are adjusting your training to the Open, I get it. I will smatter in some old Open workouts in the next 5 weeks, but we’re not going to re-test every Open workout just to do it. More on this in the coming days. Generally, we work in the Open skills on a weekly basis, so if you are coming to CFO regularly and not avoiding weaknesses, you should be up to the task.
Wanna be good at Open? Have a great engine, be mentally tough, strong, good at moving the barbell in the power and Olympic lifts (and their variations), good at gymnastics movements like pull-ups, toes to bar, HSPU, muscle ups and more. Wanna be great in the Open? Be great at these things.
All that being said, it creates a fun atmosphere at CFO every week. We take it serious, but not too serious. If 7 minutes of Burpees can be fun, the Open is fun. Crazy t-shirts are worn, PRs are hit, hands are high fived, limits are pushed, but supporting each other and coming together as a community is the best part.
Workout of the Day
Gymnastics Strength/Skill
OTM 6
Handstand work
30 seconds on, 30 seconds off
This is a slightly different time domain as previous weeks.
Conditioning
AMRAP 15
15 Box Jumps 24/20
12 Shoulder to Overhead 115/75
9 Pullups