Are you ready 2016 CrossFit Open?!

It's that time of year again! The time of year that all CrossFitters around the world impatiently wait for Dave Castro to determine there fate each Thursday night for 5 weeks. The CrossFit open is upon us once again and if you have not signed up already it's time to commit and get your name on that leaderboard.

While it is always filled with anxiety, wonder, and competitive stress the CrossFit open is a must do for everyone. How often are you able to compete in the same competition as Rich Froning or Annie Thorisdotter? The answer is, once a year ;-) If you participated in the open in 2015, this is a great opportunity to see the progress you have made this past year and retest your fitness. If you are new or have only been crossfitting for a few months, no worries! With the added option of scaling there is no reason to not participate and see where you place amongst the community.  The open gives you a perfect opportunity to see where you stand, find your strengths, find your weaknesses, and learn what you need to focus on the next year. This is where you determine your short term goals and make a plan for 2016. 

If all of this isn't reason enough to participate, The support and energy you feel during the open is unreal! Not only do you find overflowing encouragement within your home box, but every CrossFitters Instagram and Facebook feed helps you feel the connection with the worldwide community. You can be part of that too! Register today and let's see what CrossFit Macomb can do! 

We will be doing the open WODs every Friday after the workout is announced. You will be doing it anyways so you mine as well register ;-) Here is the registration link: https://games.crossfit.com/cf/login?returnTo=%2Fregister-athlete&flow=games

The cost is only $20! $20 you will never regret spending 

What to Take From the CrossFit Open

Congratulations to all of you who have completed the 2015 CrossFit Open!!! The open is the best thing we could ask for as a CrossFit athlete. The open gives us a goals, motivation, and direction. This is where we learn what to focus on next, and where to take our training. It is a yearly reality check and push to keep us on track and excited about our improvements and opportunities.

Since the open is over, now is the time to evaluate your performance and start working toward improvement. Recognizing the workouts that you struggled with is one of the greatest tools you can have as you continue with your fitness progression. What workouts were the most challenging? Which ones did you do better on? Think about the different movements, rep schemes, lengths, and focus of each WOD. Evaluating your weaknesses is the first step in turning them into your strengths.  Ask yourself these questions; what were your physical limitations? What were your mental limitations? Did you lack strength, endurance, mental focus, or skill?

If you found you lacked strength, it's time to suck it up and start hitting those heavier weights in the WOD. Yes it may take you longer, yes it is going to hurt both mentally and physically, but the more reps you get in under your belt, the easier it becomes. If you need help assessing which WODs you should be lifting heavier and which WODs you should use a weight you can do quickly, ask one of your trainers. Always be sure to tell them your specific goals so they can help you make the right choice.

If endurance was your issue, your focus needs to be to keep moving. Keep your body going during the WOD. If you break, make it short and sweet. Try to stick with a consistent pace. This may mean cooling your jets in the beginning of the workout. Going all out in the first 3 minutes will make the last 12 a struggle. It may take some time to learn how to pace yourself but remember the goal is to keep moving. If you find you started out too hard, slow down, but keep moving. If you feel like you can push a little harder speed up the last half. Be patient and teach your body how to breathe and stay calm under stress. A great guide is to think about your pace as 80% effort for the first 80% of the WOD and all out for the last 20%. This works well in most situations. Remember to note how you feel after the workout so you can quickly learn your threshold and understand how to best pace yourself no matter what WOD is thrown at you.

Mental focus can be the only thing holding you back. As much as CrossFit is about physical strength and skill, it is three times more of a mental battle. If you lack the confidence in yourself and your abilities, you will not do your best. If you are overwhelmed with the time, the reps, or the movements, you have doomed yourself from the beginning. Practice mentally preparing yourself for each WOD. Think of a strategy and tackle one thing at a time. Take all your doubts and counteract them with positive mental notes that will help you keep pushing. A healthy mental attitude will make all the difference in your performance.

There are always a lot different skills and movements in the open. If you found that your downfall was a skill, or multiple skills, its time to start practicing. This is where you will need to put the extra time in. Maybe its 10 min before and/or after the WOD or, even better, take advantage of the open gym time. Get a plan together on how you are going to improve on this specific skill. Where are you at now and what progression do you hope to take? Just like your goals on the goal wall, you want to give yourself a timeframe and decide on a plan that fits within that. Ask your trainers for advice on what you can do to improve, check out progression programs online, ask your fellow CrossFitters what has worked for them. Make a plan, implement it, and be patient enough to see it through.

Whether you decide this year’s focus is strength, endurance, mental focus, skill work, or some combination of the four, get to work! You don’t necessarily have to carve out hours more of time, just ensure you are narrowing your focus and goals as you are doing the daily WOD. 10-20 extra minutes to work on a skill or two will not only make you a master of the skill, but will improve your workouts. Struggling through a WOD with a little extra weight will only make you better. In fact, that case will kill two birds with one stone; strength, and mental toughness. Please communicate with your trainers on what your goals are and ask them to help you get there. Support and accountability is essential to staying on track and reaching your goals.

Sign up for the Open!

This week starts the first week of the 2015 CrossFit open.  This is a worldwide competition that starts the journey to the CrossFit Games. To be part of it, all you have to do is sign up. Everyone signed up will post their scores for this years 5 workouts and see where they rank.  

If you did the open last year, you know how cool of an experience it is to participate in such a huge competition. You are not only competing against your fellow box athletes but CrossFitters around the world! Everybody does the same workout, everybody posts their scores, and everybody gives it their all.

This year CrossFit is introducing a scaled division. This is an amazing opportunity for some of you who have steered clear of the open due to some of the more challenging movements like double unders or pull-ups. This is your year to join in and see where you fall, experience the push, and feel the support and community that you have around you.

Set aside your fear and sign up for the open. It is $20 that you will never regret spending. If it makes you feel any better, you will be doing these workout at CFM anyways. You mine as well reach higher than your box and compete with the world!

Here is the link to sign up!: https://games.crossfit.com/competition

Have you Registered up for the Open Yet?

Have you registered up for the open yet? What are you waiting for? You have one more day to get your name on that leaderboard and join in the event that has CrossFitters around the world shakin in their nanos with excitement, anxiety, and hopefulness. Lets show off what we can do, where we have come, and surprise ourselves with our best. So get on your computer, register for the open, and download the newest CrossFit Games app and get ready for the Open!

CFM will be judging will be judging the open WODs at all classes on Fridays then doing make-ups on Saturdays at 11:30 and Sunday upon request. 

Register for the open here.

Download the newest CrossFit Games app!

Countdown to the Open

You may have seen the countdown to the CrossFit Open on the CFM whiteboard recently. What’s that about you ask? Perhaps you already know and have your own countdown started, but for those of you who would like to know what the CrossFit open is and how to be part of it, this is for you.

 It’s amazing to see just how far your CrossFit community reaches outside your box. As a CrossFitter, you are part of big club where a handshake is done with your fist, and the secret password is “3-2-1 GO!” The open connects you with your fellow CrossFitters in a worldwide competition. Whether you are new to CrossFit or looking to be named the fittest on earth, the open is a chance to see where you stand and get a taste of what the CrossFit games physically and mentally require. 

The Crossfit open is your first step to the CrossFit Games. The open covers 17 different regions around the world, and last year consisted of 138,000 registered athletes. With CrossFit growing at such a fast rate, 2014 is sure to be the largest open yet. (Read: “How Fast Are the CrossFit Games Growing? The Numbers Tell the Story” by Tabata Times.)

The open is 5 weeks long and consists of 5 different WODS. The first WOD will be posted on Thursday February 27 and the following four will be posted each Thursday after. If you choose to participate, you will perform the WOD and be judged by one of the CFM coaches for reps and time. Every rep must meet the movement standard in order to count, and your CFM coach will validate your performance and enter your results. You can attempt the WOD as many times as you would like. You have until the following Monday to submit your best score. The 48 fittest athletes and 30 fittest teams will be asked to compete in the regional competitions; the top 3 from regionals are off to the games!

Registration will begin on January 15, 2014. You will need to register your information and pay a registration fee; probably between $25 and $30.  The sign up link can be found here. You will be asked to create an account before registering. 

Remember, the open is for EVERYONE. Just like becoming a CrossFitter, it doesn’t matter your age or skill level everyone is welcome to participate. You’re going to be CrossFitting anyways; so you might as well do the open WODs. It never hurts to see were you stack up, you may surprise yourself. Good Luck!