Tonight marks the start of the 2018 CrossFit Open, and from CrossFitters around the world to non-CrossFitters, I send my apologies in advance.
For the next 5 weeks, we’ll be filling your social media feeds with pictures, comments, scores and who knows what else from the Open. Every Thursday night we’ll be anxiously waiting to see what torture Dave Castro, the Games Director, has cooked up for us. We’ll be texting friends with our guesses as we wait and then strategy after the workout is announced. It all sounds so silly…and maybe it is, but the Open is also what makes CrossFit so much fun and the community so strong.
For the next 5 weeks, every Open participant will complete the same workout with the end result being the top competitors in each region qualifying for Regionals this spring, which then leads to the CrossFit Games this summer. 99% of participants have no chance at making Regionals, let alone the Games, but we still pay donate our $20 to CrossFit for the chance to battle our friends and see how we stack up against the best in the world. There is no other sport where you can gauge how far behind the top athletes you are–I know Russ Westbrook is much better at basketball, but how far behind him am I really?
There is something special about the CrossFit Open; I cannot tell you how many times I have witnessed someone getting a PR or completing a movement, like a muscle up, during the Open. Even though most of us will end our CrossFit season at the end of the 5 weeks, the Open somehow manages to get the best out of all of us. Don’t believe me, just drop in your local CrossFit box when the class is completing the workout for the week.
If you have a CrossFit friend, give him or her a pass during the Open. If you’re a regular reader of All About Your Benjamins, give me a pass. I plan on blogging about my Open Season, which admittingly, I’m not going into in as good as shape as I have in the past. I promise to contain the Open coverage to one post a week, and I’ll probably share a video of my pain from the workout for your enjoyment.
To the CrossFitters out there…Happy Open Season and best of luck!
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