Four Reasons to Sign Up For the CrossFit Open

On February 22, the 2018 CrossFit Open will kick off at all Balance locations and around the world. The CrossFit Open is a five-week long fitness competition that gives CrossFit athletes the opportunity to test their skills, participate in a CrossFit competition for the first time, and have a great time while bonding with other CrossFitters around the world – and maybe even qualify for Regionals, and eventually the CrossFit Games. We sat down with CrossFit Games athlete Rachel Weiss, who will be competing in her fifth CrossFit Open this year, and shared her top five reasons why everyone should sign up for the CrossFit Open.

1. See how you’ve improved: The CrossFit Open is a great opportunity to compare yourself year after year to see how you’ve improved since last year’s Open! I still love to look back at workouts I did five years ago to measure my progress.
2. It’s really fun. It’s still a competition, but it’s in your home gym, so you have your community around you, and you can’t match that energy in any other setting.
3. You’re part of a team. The Open isn’t just for Games athletes – everyone gets to be part of it. It’s just another test of fitness. It’s also great to be judged in a workout, and you get to be held accountable to a higher standard. Since most CrossFitters don’t compete regularly, it’s fun to get to do that in your home gym, in a familiar setting.
4. Why not? I’ve never heard anyone be upset that they did the Open. You’re going to be doing the workouts in classes every Friday anyway, so you might as well pay the $20. You don’t have to worry about the rankings or the leaderboard, and you just get to be part of the community. Most people are doing it just for fun. Most people do CrossFit to make themselves better – it’s about being better than you were yesterday.

And her best advice for someone who’s nervous about competing in the Open for the first time? “Don’t psych yourself out over it! It’s okay to be nervous, but it’s good to try things that make you nervous, and just make sure to enjoy it and have fun!”