If you haven’t smashed the registration button for the 2025 CrossFit Open yet, you’re probably in one of two camps. Either you’ve done the Open before and you just haven’t made the plunge again yet (it starts in 3 weeks, you have some time), or you’ve never participated in the Open and you might not really know even what it’s all about. So, let me address these two groups separately.
If you’re a CrossFit Open veteran (how many years?), you know what’s about to go down – the best three weeks of the CrossFit year. True, you might get immediate whiplash PTSD if I mention the workout that crushed you the most, but we love the Open for the challenge that it represents, and the community spirit that floods the gym more than ever.
If you haven’t signed up yet, maybe you’re a bit disappointed still in the way that CrossFit HQ handled the death of Lazar Dukic at last year’s CrossFit Games? I know that I am, I feel like a lot more should have been done to address the lack of risk mitigation in that event, and that goes all the way to the top. However, I am signing up for the Open, because to me the Open is not about the CrossFit Games – I have never aspired to be a Games athlete. For those that do have that dream this year, the Open is a must as the first stage of competition against their peers. But for me, the Open is an annual test that I plan for and must take on, because it’s a chance to compete with MYSELF.
If you’ve completed the Open once before or ten times, you have historic data on the state of your fitness in those years. Now is your chance to once again take on the challenge and with brutal honesty, see where you stack up. After the Open, you can make an assessment – are you more fit now? Less fit? Why? Which types of workouts or movements tripped you up this time, and which ones did you excel at compared to last year? Don’t miss out on this year’s challenge and the opportunity to collect more data.
If you have never completed the Open, don’t read too much into anything above that makes it sound difficult, it’s not – it’s really easy! Hehehehe… No, it’s not easy, but it’s fun, and it’s challenging, and you should do it because everyone else is and you don’t want to be left out. The Open, like any CrossFit workout, is designed to challenge all participants relatively. To that end, for each of the three weekly workouts there will be an “Rx” version for experienced athletes, a “Scaled” version with movements that most people can complete, and a “Foundations” version for beginners.
We will also make the Open an awesome CFKI community event with our annual Intramural Open! Anyone that would like to participate will be placed on a team, and the teams will compete each week for points. You can get points for completing the Open workout, and for other fun challenges in and out of the gym. More on the Intramural Open soon!
The Open starts on Thursday, February 27th when CrossFit will announce the first workout at 3pm Eastern. Register here for the Open! Let’s do it!