It’s that time of year again. CrossFit Christmas, otherwise known as “The Open”. CrossFit Oshkosh will hold its first Friday Night Lights of the open season on February 26th, where box members will WOD it out and perform whatever Dave Castro may throw at us for 16.1.
For us CrossFit “veterans” at the box, the excitement has already been buzzing around for a couple of weeks. There has been talk of what movements we are excited to see and those we are also dreading. We’re discussing the leaderboard and how we hope to see our placement improve from 2015 to 2016 (even if that means finishing in 999th place instead of 1000th). Some of us our hoping to get our first muscle up, while others are hoping to string movements like toes to bar and pull ups together with ease.
But for CrossFitters who have only been exposed to the atmosphere of the box for a couple of months, when The Open rolls around – they are just straight up confused about the excitement of a $20 online competition.
I started CrossFit in October of 2013, so I got my first Open experience during the 2014 season. I had no idea what The Open was. Absolutely zero clue of what all the hype was about. I remember getting asked on the daily by my coach “Are you going to sign up for The Open?!”, in the back of my head I was thinking “what is this guy talking about, I’ve been doing this stuff for hardly 6 months and he wants me to sign up for some online competition?!”, so I would just smile and say maybe and continue to wonder what this “Open” excitement was all about.
After completing the 2014 Open I finally understood why The Open was such an exciting event in CrossFit land. It’s not going to the box to do just another WOD like I expected it to be. It is pushing yourself to dig out every last rep you can possibly complete, all while being cheered on by your fellow box members and coaches. It’s watching someone from your box complete a work out they never thought possible and celebrating their accomplishment with some of the best people you have ever met. It’s spending your Friday night with a group of people who have the same goals as you and cheering them on throughout the whole remainder of the WOD, just like you know they will do for you. It’s entering your score into the leader board knowing you did your very best and excited to see what next week brings.
If you are stuck in the same place I was, not quite sure if you should spend $20 on signing up for an online competition, or give up some Friday nights to be at the box. Trust me when I say, it is worth it. Over the next five weeks you will strengthen and make new friendships within the box, push yourself harder than you ever thought possible and probably even do a thing or two you never thought you would be able to do.
If you are in the area and need your Open workouts to be judged feel free to join us on Friday nights at every week of the Open. Email info@crossfitoshkosh.com to let us know you are coming.
We will also be holding 16.2-16.5 in our new location, and the last workout of CrossFit Oshkosh 1.0 will be Open workout 16.1.
Written by: Mary Weider
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