What's Up With The Open??

The CrossFit Games Open kicks off this Thursday! What the heck is the Open? Well, lemme tell you...

This annual 5-week event beginning in February as the initial step towards earning a spot in the CrossFit Games. The Open is the first stage in a three-part process:  The Open, Regionals, the Games, and is a chance for people of all ability levels to participate in some friendly competition at their own gym.

"But I'm not good enough to do something like this!"

You're not the only one who feels like they need to better their skills before taking on something like The Open–this isn't news to us, or the organizers. Fret not!

Each week, there are two different versions of the workout released: Scaled, and RX. Those who've been doing CrossFit for a while will find appropriate challenge in the RX workouts, while those who are newer can take on workouts free of the heavier weights and technical movements of the more advanced division. We've had complete beginners take this on with us in past years (and they've done great), so don't feel like you're not up to the challenge!

The process begins with a live workout announcement and demo each Thursday night at 7:00 p.m., streamed through games.crossfit.com. Once the workout is announced, we take it on as a gym each Friday. Our morning classes take on the workout as they would in any other class, but the evening hours are replaced by a series of heats running from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. (or so). Signing up for our formal classes that day is business as usual, and those looking to take on the workout in the evening can just show up to be placed in the next available heat.

Curious where you stand in the worldwide CrossFit community? You can sign up through the Games site and see where you stack up in your country, region, state, etc. This isn't a necessary step in taking on these workouts, but it's a pretty cool process to take part in. Scores need to be entered before Monday night so we can validate all participants' results.

Nervous? You're not alone– fighting through our fears together is what makes this challenge such a fun one. We need you to help cheer us on though, so come take these workouts on with us and stick around after the event for a beverage and some food with the other brave participants.

The Open is always a fun couple of weeks, and this year looks to be no different. Our friends from Twin Cities Movement will be on hand, family and friends are more than welcome to come cheer and check out the event, and we'll be hanging out after the last heat for a bit to share in the excitement of getting through another challenging workout. Come take this thing on with us!