February 2023 / Article 4
WHAT IS THE OPEN
One of the most anticipated events in the fitness community is The Open. Whether you’re a seasoned athlete or just getting started, preparation for the event is crucial to a positive experience and your success. With that in mind, we have compiled a short list to make sure you’re ready.
Click here to add our Calendar to your Calendar App and stay in the loop, get down to an official CrossFit gym in your area for the full experience and we’ll see you out on the floor!
NUTRITION & DIET
If you look at any of top level sport, come game week, the athletes’ nutrition is focused on one thing, performance. You’ve heard the saying “shit in, shit out”, let’s put the burgers and beers down for this period and give our bodies the best chance they have at dominating these workouts!
GENERAL PREPAREDNESS
Preparing for the unknown and unknowable is a difficult task, but let’s do as best we can! Make sure you’ve packed your speed rope, wrist wraps, knee sleeves, chalk, gymnastics grips, lifters, towel and anything else you might need in your bag the night before.
FUNCTIONAL ATTIRE
Make sure you dress for success with comfortable and breathable workout clothes that allow for full range of motion, nothing worse than a pair of shorts that split on you mid squat, and consider bringing an extra set of clothes if you tend to sweat a lot. Don’t forget to wear shoes are designed with intent, my personal favorites and a brand that is gaining traction globally is Vivobarefoot.
ENOUGH SLEEP
Make sure you get to bed early and get your 8-10 hours in! Yes, Castro and HQ might be dropping hints at his return to live announcements and that’s exciting, but let’s not forget that in South Africa, the announcements happen at 10pm and if you’re an early bird, staying up late to watch might jeopardise your performance at 5am. Be wise, catch the rerun on YouTube.
HYDRATION & FUEL
It’s game day, make sure you’ve got your bottle topped up with water, carbs, electrolytes, aminos, or whatever your fuel of preference is. Get some in before and keep it close during and for after. Just a word of warning, this ain’t no pump sesh, so make sure you scale back on the pre-workouts – the Open is known to get your heart rate up, too much caffeine will blow you out.
KNOW THE RULES
Make sure you’ve spent some time going through the rules, don’t be “that guy” and argue with your judge, it’s just not cool.
SCALE IF NECESSARY
Listen, I’ve been at this game for longer than most on this subscriber base. In 2012 we didn’t see anything wrong with scaling the Open workouts and going RX was considered an achievement when you eventually got there. Know your fitness and skill level, and scale accordingly. If you’re out of your depth it can be frustrating and very dangerous if it goes wrong!
HAVE FUN
The Open is an amazing community building event on the fitness calendar and something we look forward to every year. Official entries are closed now, but if you did not sign up this year, I encourage you to follow along with the workouts, test yourself and if you enjoy it sign up in 2024 – it’s a real blast!
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