As we close out February (which flew by way faster than January, I swear!), we are headed into Week 3 and the last week of the CrossFit Open. How have you been enjoying the workouts? Hit any PRs on your 1 rep max thruster? What about getting your first pull-up or muscle-up?
There is magic in these workouts; more so than any other workout. There’s something about the Open, about a gym full of your closest friends and gym buddies that makes you push a little harder, add a little more weight, dig a little deeper, continue moving when you want to stop, get just one more rep. Knowing there are people cheering you on, watching, wanting you to succeed… that’s powerful. The motivation you get from that is powerful.
The Open is a test of your fitness. It takes all of your hard work and consistency throughout the year and puts it into three workouts over the course of three weeks to see how you do. To see where you fall worldwide with other crossfitters.
The workouts aren’t necessarily any different from any other workout you do throughout the year, yet they are. There’s an extra element of knowing you’re being watched and tested that helps drive you in a way that your every day workouts don’t.
And maybe that’s not true for everyone, but I know it is for me, for the most part. My every day workouts are just that… every day workouts. I workout, but some days aren’t PR days. Shoot, some days aren’t even Rx days. They’re just get and stay fit days. They’re just movement days. They’re just active recovery days.
But all of that? The consistency, the daily grind, the effort. It builds to being able to push in a competition, whether it’s against the world or yourself.
I love the Open. I love seeing our CFC family push a little harder. Add a little more weight. Do things they never thought possible.
Shoot! I saw SO MANY people get their first pull-up last week. And then continue to do more! And then follow it up with their personal best in a one rep max thruster! I saw people push to get one or even two more reps when time was counting down 3-2-1! I saw people get all the way to the floor in a burpee and get back up to jump to a target that haven’t been able to do that in years!
Do you know how empowering that is? Do you know how magical that is? Do you know how inspiring that is?
Being able to move well, to be able to get up if you fall down, to pick yourself or someone else back up… that’s what we inspire people to do. Get and stay healthy so they can take care of themselves and other people if needed. But man is it so much fun to test out our abilities!
I’d love to share the excitement of the Open with you! To get you started today so you can test your abilities next year. It happens one time a year, and I promise, it’ll be fun to test your progress and maybe push just a little bit harder.
I hope you have an amazing week and for those of you taking on 23.3, good luck! Push a little harder. Get one more rep.
Stay healthy, stay strong! I can’t wait to see what y’all do this week in the Open!
Whitney
