5 Things I Learned From the CrossFit Open

1. I need to work on my strength.
2. I need to work on my conditioning.
3. I am not Julie Foucher.
4. It’s OK to be mediocre. Being the 5,153rd fittest chic in the world sounds like pretty good bragging rights to me.
5. It’s OK to JUST HAVE FUN with competition. For me the Open was about being part of something BIGGER than the daily WODs in our little OIB bubble. The CrossFit Community is Ah-mazing and not only the foundation of CFOIB, but the whole reason I rolled open our doors over 3 years ago. #drinkthekoolaid

What are 5 things you learned from participating in the Open? Post to comments. 

-Coach K

WOD

A. Four sets not for time:

Deadlift x 4-6 reps

Rest 30 seconds

12 – 15 Handstand Push-Ups (consecutive or accumulated)

Rest 2 minutes

B. Five rounds for time of:

5 Power Cleans (155/105)

100 Meter Run

Coach’s Notes: Post results to comments.

Coach K’s Top 7 Tips for 13.4

for the CFOIB Competitor

I did Open WOD 13.4 Thursday night. My score was meh. With my mediocre score aside, what I did get out of my 13.4 experience is a little bit of insight I’m passing along to you:

1. Don’t freak out. Yes, this week’s weight may be beyond your 1 RM so reflect on what I said last week. Don’t expect to C&J a weight you’ve never done before, let alone 3x, 6x, 12x, or more. If you’re in the “oh sh*t, this is too heavy for me” boat, then approach this WOD as a 1RM test. You’ve got 7 minutes to see if you can get it from the floor, to the rack, to over your head. No where in the rules does it say it’s gotta be pretty!  But please, be safe.

2. You just may surprise yourself this week. You may find that deep down inside, when it really matters, you can get your toes to the bar. Go ahead, I dare you.

3. Warm-up. Seriously, I can’t stress this one enough. Too often I see athletes, even coaches, hop right into a WOD without intentionally warming up with wod-movement specific exercises. If the workout is only 7 minutes then you should be spending 3 or 4 times that amount of time warming up & mobilizing. Check out GymnasticsWOD.com for great tips on these specific Open WODs.

4. Hold on tight. If you make it through the sets of 9 then be ready for those forearms to catch on fire. There’s nothing you can do about it. I’m just telling you to be ready! You can try to change how you hold the barbell or the pull-up bar but honestly, if you haven’t been practicing with your thumb around the pull-up bar or a hookgrip (yes, some people out there still don’t use a hookgrip!) it’s probably not going to be a new habit you adjust to in 7 minutes.

5. Every rep counts. This isn’t the type of WOD where 10 reps is a small spread. A 5, 10, 15 rep difference is a HUGE in this particular WOD. 5 more Clean & Jerks than another athlete is a big deal! So be proud of your score and don’t beat yourself up because you got 50 reps and Julie Foucher got 90. You’re. Not. Julie. Foucher. What you are is an athlete that CrossFits to LIVE. Not lives to CrossFit.

6. When all else fails: Scale. Get a rep, or two, or even none at your Rx division and then scale it back so you can make it your workout. The Open WODs are meant to be progressively more challenging. We can’t all make it to the Games, or even regionals. Dave Castro isn’t intentionally programming weights and movements that you can’t do on purpose, I promise. He’s doing it because there are thousands of people in the same “Oh, sh*t that’s heavy” boat.

7. Have fun. It’s just another workout of the day. You come to CFOIB because you have a passion for CrossFit. Don’t forget that.