BIO Athletes...why enter the Open?

By Coach Danny

Every year when I register for The Reebok CrossFit Open (after a lengthy explanation on how it all works) my non-CrossFit friends always ask – If you aren’t going to make it to the Games, why do you do the Open? So here is my breakdown of my I think everyone should compete in The Open…

First and foremost for every level of athlete from beginner to beast, Friday Night Lights at BIO is where you get to see our community at its best!!! Everyone who attends gets to see everyone have a crack at the WOD’s, cheer on your fellow athletes, and really add to the atmosphere on which (in my opinon) is 5 of the best nights of the year…… and there is always the beer and pizza afterwards :)

For those athletes new to CrossFit:
This is an opportunity to set a benchmark for your fitness level at the start of your fitness journey. You may set your get your first pull-up or your heaviest deadlift ever, these are the moments that make the Open special because it brings out the best in every athlete. And don’t worry at trying to do the Rx WOD’s – The Open has scaled options that all athletes of all levels can take part in, even if you are new and haven’t had much experience. There are plenty of athletes that will do scaled options whether it’s because of injury, never done a movement before, or the weights get too heavy. That’s ok, it’s all about having a go and being supported by your fellow athletes. Come along, have a go, and enjoy your first of many experiences as part of awesome our community.

Never competed before:
For those that have been doing CrossFit for a little while and are toying with the idea of doing some comps, The Open will give a good idea of what level you are at and as with new athletes, set benchmarks for you fitness. Can you Rx a WOD? Do you need to scale due to weight? If the CrossFit gods are in your favour, you may even be able to Rx every WOD …… depending on how evil Castro is feeling :) In 2015 when I did my first Open, 15.3 involved ring muscle ups at the start of the WOD. So basically if you couldn’t get a ring MU your score was zero. One athlete at the box spent the entire 14 minutes to get 1 lonely muscle up, but the excitement on his face and the lap of the gym high fiving everyone in the box just after nailing it was worth every attempt and it was great to be there and share that with him. Even if your goal is to Rx every WOD and you don’t get very far, now is the time to attempt it.

Competing athletes:
Game time!!! This is what we train, eat, sleep, and repeat that process over and over for the past 11 months since the last one. No, we probably won’t make Regionals. No we probably won’t rank anywhere near the top 1000 athletes in our category, but jeez it’s fun challenging ourselves to get close. And all while having everyone in the box screaming at you to lift a little heavier, move a little faster, and give it everything you’ve got. It’s always great to see athletes like Jared, Grace, Simone, and Sav lead the way and show us how it’s done – truly inspiring and something that I have aimed for since my first Open!!

I can’t wait to see everyone on that first Friday ready to go!!!

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