“Don’t join an easy crowd; you won’t grow. Go where the expectations and the demands to perform are high.” – Jim Rohn
The 2024 CrossFit Games Open is just over one week away and the question that comes up each year is, “Should I participate in the Open?” Whether you have just started your CrossFit journey or have been working out for years, it’s a great question to consider. If you’re wondering what the CrossFit Open is, it is a world wide event that all CrossFit affiliates can participate in. It’s one of the largest community fitness events on the planet. It lasts three weeks, and each week CrossFit Headquarters releases a workout that everyone completes. You can even enter your score and see how you did compared to all of the other athletes who signed up to participate.
So the question of whether or not to participate emerges because all of us are at different points in our fitness journey. Some of us are just starting out or getting back into a rhythm of moving consistently each day. Some of us have been consistent, we enjoy our time in the gym, and don’t have a strong desire to do competitions. Some of us may feel like we are fitter than we’ve been in how much weight we can move or how good our cardio is. Regardless of where you’re at with your fitness, here are a few reasons you may want to participate in the CrossFit Open.
1 – It Challenges You. We learned that challenging ourselves is part of the Greater Culture DNA, but it is also part of being human. Finding ways to see what we’re made of and what we are capable of means we want to try out things that may be difficult. There are three different workout variations each week so you can find the right level of difficulty for you.
2 – It Builds Community. One of the fastest ways to bond and create a sense of community is to share experiences that are tough. Think about if you’ve been on a sports team, or completed a really tough project. It can bond the group because you all went through it together. The Open is the same way. We all get to complete the same test, and then talk about what our experiences were like. There is a respect and camaraderie that is shared because we all go through it together.
3 – It Is a Measure of Fitness. We track different metrics for our fitness that include things in and outside of the gym. We keep track of weights we are lifting, times we complete workouts, food we eat, heart rate and blood pressure stats. These help give us a glimpse into our overall health and fitness. The Open is another opportunity to add a metric to where our current fitness level is. This can help us see the progress we’ve made or get motivated about what we can achieve moving forward.
4 – It’s Fun. If it isn’t fun, then why do it? While the workouts may be tough and challenging in the moment, having a community cheering you on, representing team teal or team purple, and then sharing the stories of what it was like completing the workout with a Cowbell or Fit-aid after is fun. It’s an opportunity to have fun with your fitness and appreciate what your body can do. We’ll do our best to make sure the event is a fun one for everyone participating.
These are just a few of the reasons that people like to participate in the open, and you probably have your own for why you want to sign up. We would love to learn more about why you signed up for the open.
Let’s all enjoy the challenge, build the community, measure our fitness, and have fun in the upcoming weeks.
