Why did I join in the 2015 CrossFit Open?

Ah the CrossFit Open. If you are any sort of CrossFitter, you have heard of and know about the Open. For those of you that are not into CrossFit and read my blog to find out more (and be convinced how amazing it is!) here is what it is all about. 

 The 2015 Reebok Crossfit Games season begins with the online Open. Anyone can sign up to compete in five workouts over five weeks and post their scores online. Last year the Open reached more than 209,000 athletes from around the world. Basically this is the beginning of the competition season for CrossFitters. 

 It is considered a standalone, ultimate fitness test. This year they are doing scaled workouts. (The intent of the scaled workouts is to allow everyone who wants to compete, the ability to compete at an appropriate level. Normally workouts are done as prescribed or Rx'd). This is great because it allows more people to be involved. The scaled workouts are not for anyone who's fighting to advance to the next stage of the CrossFit Games season. However, this is certainly not me. 

 So why not join the open? Here are the (satirical) top 10 reasons not to join the open. 

 But seriously, I cannot see a good reason not to. Basically, you challenge yourself. Although you will be ranked with every other CrossFitter in the world, I have no desire to be the best in the world. I do have a desire to be the best I can be. To compete locally. To strive for greatness in my own terms. To overcome my fears. To do something I have never done before. This is why I joined the open. 

 Am I scared. Hell yes. I have no idea what the work outs are (they are not announced until Thursday of each week) and I have no idea if I will be able to do even the scaled version. But then I look back on how far I have come and I remember that it WILL be okay. 

 Sunday I completed Grace in 5:05 at 50lbs (Grace is a benchmark girl, a workout with a girls name used to measure and judge progress. There are also hero workouts. See here for some idea of what I mean). Saturday I was amazed at how long I could hold myself up on the rings. Each day I can see my body changing. Each week I am down a pound or more. I have muscles I did not know I had popping out. 

 I don't care where I fall in the world (although I am striving to not be the LAST). But I do care about trying something I have never tried. Pushing myself to and past my limits. Being a part of this community that makes me feel like they know me, they get me and they will still support me. 

 The Open will be a milestone in my fitness journey that next year I will use to mark how far I have come and celebrate the progress. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Progress is Everchanging

Image
It's been a minute since I have been able to sit down and write a blog (clearly, since my last one was nearly a year ago) but I feel like an update is needed.  After my last post a year ago, I hit very close to my goal weight, a lower weight than pre-pregnancy. Summer hit after that and summer has always been my downfall. Top that off with some major events in the fall/winter of 2021 with my little family, I just didn't have it in me to maintain the plan I wanted.  I did, however, complete a marathon before 40. One of my bucket list things. That happened right before the holidays. It was not my ideal situation; with my personal life getting in the way and needing to put my family first, the training just wasn't there. But I did it and I finished. I did something the majority of the world won't even come close to doing in their lifetime so there's that! I had plans for 2022. Mostly to be consistent, which is a constant struggle of mine. But I started out and put my w...
Read more

The challenges of fitting it all in

I started this off originally with a different topic in mind. I actually wrote nearly the entire post about Fat Tuesday and Lent. Then I thought, "OMG this has nothing to do with my concept of my blog." Therefore, back to the drawing board and onto this post! So this week has been trying for me. And yes, I do recognize it's ONLY Wednesday. It's not trying because I am stressed out or because there is a lot going on. It is trying because my regular job, the one I do 7am - 3pm before I immerse myself in Crossfit, has required extra time at night on my part. Time I normally spend at the box. I have to say though, my food is 100% on point this week. I spent hours Sunday prepping my food for the week, making sure I had variety in all the different areas (protein, veggies, and fruit) and planning my week. This is probably the BEST food prep I have done since I began the Whole30 and Paleo eating so for that I am proud. Now the planning for workouts: my normal routine c...
Read more

The Struggle Continues

My last post was a few months ago and talked about my back injury and the debilitating pain I was in. After a series of unsuccessful emails and suggestions from the doctor that did not help, I vowed to just go back to working out once the Orange Theory Fitness near my house. Mid-December the studio opened and I began going, scheduling 3 times a week so that I didn't over commit or injure myself. By the beginning of January I saw that the amount of calories I was burning in a 3x a week schedule was NOT going to help me loose the weight I needed to so I upped my workouts to 5-6 days a week and joined the weight loss challenge which began January 16. I was going late afternoon, about 5:30pm which worked for me. My new job is further and I spend about 2+ hours each day commuting in regular traffic. I planned to work my normal hours of early morning to late afternoon rather than 8am-5pm however, circumstances did not allow for that and I was forced to move my schedule to 8am-5pm. Th...
Read more