What I Learned from My First CrossFit Open

This year I competed in my first CrossFit Open and it was an eye opener. While I feel I should’ve probably done better, it was an excellent experience, challenge, and learning opportunity. Regardless of what we are doing athletically or fitness related, there is always a benefit that comes from reflecting and modifying our training patterns to get the most out of ourselves whether that’s physically or mentally. We are a ways out from the Open and the quarterfinals are underway, but there are a few lessons I learned and I think they apply to any competition you may participate in.

            If you’re familiar with the Open and followed it this year, you know the first workout had ring muscle ups and that was the separator. I haven’t worked much on rings, so I knew my best shot was to burn through the first 4 exercises of the 5-exercise workout and try to complete all those reps if possible. Workout 1 is where I learned my first two lessons.

Lesson 1: Know the standards/rules! – No matter what competition you are part of, there are obviously rules that will impact the outcome. As this was my first time competing in this particular event, I missed a rule change from previous years that would’ve helped me score higher. It was even different from previous years for my coaches, so it was a learning experience for all of us.

 Lesson 2: Always have a strategy! – Before the Open came around, I assumed most athletes just kind of went for it each workout. After watching the first announcement, seeing some social media posts about strategy, and talking to my coaches, I realized this was wrong and it makes sense. We have strategy in any sport or game we play, why not in this type of competition? The key, as with anything, is to tailor that strategy to your strengths and minimize the effects any weakness may have on the outcome. This leads us to workout 2.

When Workout 2 rolled around, I was feeling good about my chances to put up a good score on the first of two parts. The second part was strength based, and as a smaller athlete I knew that wasn’t going to be where I shined relative to the hundreds of thousands of other athletes in the Open. I came in with a good strategy, executed it well, and came out disappointed that I didn’t do better. I wanted to do the workout again, but wondered if I would do any better and wondered why I hadn’t. The more I recovered from the workout and thought about it, the more my week came into view and lesson 3 hit me.

Lesson 3: Everything else matters! – Sometimes we forget that outcomes can be affected by our other life factors – sleep, nutrition, hydration, stress, support system surrounding and during the game – but they all play a role. If you aren’t sleeping or eating well, you are going to feel sluggish. Adrenaline can only overcome so much. I had a particularly busy week that probably played a bigger role in how I performed than I thought it would. It is important to monitor life as you get close to big competitions or games, and do your best to manage all aspects to maximize performance.

After workout 3, I figured I was going to need a little break but actually felt pretty good. I had trained around a shoulder issue and made it through the Open without it bothering me despite a shoulder heavy third workout. I kept training, albeit at some lighter weights for my coaches’ workouts, and had no issues. Then I started a PT course where I was working on filming some heavier lifts for class and that’s when the load (and lesson 4) creeped in.

 Lesson 4: Listen to your body, especially your gut! – First off, as a PT I 100% know better and still fell victim to a bit of overtraining. You feel good, you keep going. That’s what we all do as athletes. Even your doctors, therapists, coaches are not perfect unfortunately (although sometimes we may seem to think we are). When I knew I should probably take a week to really de-load and do some active recovery, I felt good enough that I ignored my better instinct. Now, luckily, it was some minor muscle tension and I know how to go about taking care of that. Not everyone is lucky though when it comes to overtraining and if you don’t have a coach or therapist along for the ride, it can be aggravation that was easily avoidable.

            Overall, I had a ton of fun with my coaches and gym during my first CrossFit Open. I learned a lot, pushed myself, and got really interested in how the top athletes condition themselves to perform in this way. It’s different than anything else I’ve competed in before and a true testament to how far we can push the human body, as we see with the top athletes in any sport. When we walk about competition and being at our best, remember these 4 lessons:

Lesson 1: Know the standards/rules!

Lesson 2: Always have a strategy!

Lesson 3: Everything else matters!

         Lesson 4: Listen to your body, especially your gut!

If you have anything you learned during this year’s Open, jump on Facebook or Instagram and send me a message!